According to Christopher Booker, famed author, journalist and Eurosceptic, there are seven basic plot narratives that all works of fiction can fit into. This idea of a set number of plot structures is not a rarity in academia. Some say seven, some say eleven, and some go as far as the twenties. Nonetheless, we can use these plot structures when identifying works of fiction and incorporating them into stories that have taken place in reality.
Overcoming The Monster
- The hero, or protagonist, sets forth to defeat an evil or antagonist threatening the hero or their homeland. Works such as Dracula, Beowulf and Star Wars fit this category. However, the story of Perseus truly captures the essence of the narrative. Perseus, the demigod son of Zeus and the greatest hero of the Hellenes before the arrival of Hercules, is sent forth on a prophetic quest to slay the gorgon Medusa, a snake-haired, monstrous feminine. After doing so and saving the native of Argos from her wrath, Perseus uses her petrifying head to turn the monster Kraken into stone, a monster sent by his godly uncle Poseidon no less. He gets the lady and becomes the king, and they all live happily ever after. Or as happily as possible in the Grecian bronze age. This story doesn’t have the profound tragedies the others have made use of. Thus, it is become less and less popular in today’s fiction.
Rags to Riches
- It’s pretty self-explanatory: once destitute, now rich. Cinderella, Aladdin, the Prince and the Pauper, you know this one. Some lowly figure gets some deus ex machina-like help and undergoes a significant change in class economy. It is not very proletariate to uphold the notion that capitalism is better.
The Quest
- Now, we enter slightly more exciting territory. In the most basic sense, the quest follows a protagonist and a set of companions who undergo a significant adventure, facing many obstacles and temptations, to go to a specific location to retrieve something specific, like an object or person. The most notable of these stories would be the tale of the Argonauts, Jason and his rag-tag group of Avenger-like characters setting sail around ancient Greece to retrieve the famed skin. However, in some cases, a person takes place over an object, such as in Helen of Troy and the tale of the Iliad.
Voyage and Return
- The protagonist goes to an exotic land and overcomes obstacles, learns lessons and returns, most of the time with difficulty, to their homeland a changed person. The Odyssey is the most obvious of these stories, but you’re tired of Greek myths, so let’s look at something a little more current—Alices Adventures in Wonderland. A naive young girl in a strange land overcomes the obstacles and returns to London wiser than she once was.
Comedy
- Arguably the loosest to define. In its most basic sense, comedy focuses on a humorous protagonist who overcomes adversity, resulting in a happy ending. Humour is subjective, not just to individuals but also to historical ages. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy much in the same sense as Big Lebowski. Happy endings – thats the main point of a comedy.
Tragedy
- A majorly flawed protagonist undergoes a significant obstacle, resulting in their fall from grace. Yeah, yeah, we all know what this one is. The Scottish Play itself, Macbeth. Tragedy is not all that common in today’s works of fiction; it’s hard to create, let alone enjoy. In all fairness, not many audiences want to watch or consume a work where the character they are forced to be attached to falls from great heights.
Rebirth
- Arguably, it is the rarest and most challenging to create. The protagonist undergoes a significant character change due to events, often becoming a better individual for it. A Christmas Carol is an excellent example; the name Scrooge has become synonymous with grumpiness, yet Ebenezer becomes a jovial, Christmas-loving geriatric at the end of the story. DM.
