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  2. MacGuffin - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin

    The use of a MacGuffin as a plot device predates the name MacGuffin. The Holy Grail of Arthurian legend has been cited as an early example of a MacGuffin. The Holy Grail is the desired object that is essential to initiate and advance the plot, but the final disposition of the Grail is never revealed, suggesting that the object is not of significance in itself. [8]

  3. Plot twist - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_twist

    A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. [1] When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist ending or surprise ending . [ 2 ]

  4. Deus ex machina - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina

    Deus ex machina in Euripides' Medea, performed in 2009 in Syracuse, Italy; the sun god sends a golden chariot to rescue Medea.. Deus ex machina (/ ˌ d eɪ ə s ɛ k s ˈ m æ k ɪ n ə, ˈ m ɑː k-/ DAY-əs ex-MA(H)K-in-ə, [1] Latin: [ˈdɛ.ʊs ɛks ˈmaːkʰɪnaː]; plural: dei ex machina; 'God from the machine') [2] [3] is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is ...

  5. List of narrative techniques - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_narrative_techniques

    Plot twist: Unexpected change ("twist") in the direction or expected outcome of the plot. See also twist ending. An early example is the Arabian Nights tale "The Three Apples". A locked chest found by a fisherman contains a dead body, and two different men claim to be the murderer, which turns out to be the investigator's own slave. Poetic justice

  6. Chekhov's gun - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov's_gun

    A common misconception is that the reveal itself is a Chekhov's gun plot element. There are however exceptions in the James Bond films; in Licence to Kill for example, Bond gets an instant camera with a built-in laser gun that takes X-ray pictures, but is immediately used for comedic effect and makes no further appearance in the film.

  7. Three-act structure - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-act_structure

    The first act is usually used for exposition, to establish the main characters, their relationships, and the world they live in.Later in the first act, a dynamic, on-screen incident occurs, known as the inciting incident, or catalyst, that confronts the main character (the protagonist), and whose attempts to deal with this incident lead to a second and more dramatic situation, known as the ...

  8. Plot Twist (disambiguation) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_Twist_(disambiguation)

    A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. Plot twist may also refer to: "Plot Twist" (Sigrid song) "Plot Twist" (TWS song) "Plot Twist", a song by Marc E. Bassy

  9. Cliffhanger - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffhanger

    The 1914 film serial Perils of Pauline was shown in bi-weekly installments and ended with a cliffhanger.. A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or before a commercial break in a television programme.