What is plot, kinds of plot and its importance ?

Ans.

Introduction

Aristotle while referring to tragedy speaks about the following six elements or parts of a literary piece. They are the plot or muthos, character or ethos, thought or dianoia or texts, melody or melos and spectacle or opsis. A novel like a drama also contains the above mentioned parts or elements leaving aside the spectacle. A novel has therefore the following elements: (a) A Plot, (b) A few characters, (c) A setting, (d) A thought or the novelist’s point of view, (e) The dialogue, (f) The language and (g) The style. The drama and the prose fiction are compounded of the same raw material.

Importance of the Plot

The plot is the raw material out of which the novel is created. Aristotle gives the first and foremost importance to the plot. In his opinion the plot is the first thing, character is secondary. The plot is the soul of the novel. Aristotle calls it action which is the first requirement. The novel deals with action and events, with things that are suffered and done. These constitute what we call the plot. These events happen to the people. They are either differed by men acted by them. The men or women who carry on the action or experience are the characters or the dramatic personae. The character, therefore, is the second element of the novel. The characters during their action interact with other figures. The language of contact or communication is called the dialogue which is the third element of the novel.

What is a Plot?: The plot is the raw material of the novel, of which it is made of. It is the story proper but technically it differs from the plot. According to E. M. Forster. “A story is a narrative of events, arranged in the time sequence.” The plot is also a narrative of events, at the same time it explains the connection with two events, the first event being the cause for the next. For example the King died. The Queen died afterwards. It is a story relating two events. The one dies after the other. But the plot is different. For example, the King died. The Queen also died due to the shock of the King’s death. This is a plot because the two events are related to each other. These include the relation between cause and effect. A story bound by the rules of cause and effect is called a plot. In the plot the question ‘Why’ is involved. The plot requires intelligence and mental effort to understand it. The story is a matter of interest. It is entertainment for readers. The plot is a serious affair.

The Raw Material or Nature of the Plot: The plot is mainly concerned with life. It is the picture of the society or the world, we live in. It is therefore the imitation of life, which should be as real as possible. For the entertainment of readers the novelist can introduce some fiction also. The novel is a varied picture of life. Life is always changing, the world presents a variety of picture. So, the plot-interest also varies. We have a picture of life in Robinson Crusoe, which is completely different from the life presented in Sons and Lovers of D. H. Lawrence. The world represented in Oliver Twist and David Copperfield differ from the world and life represented in Mayor of Casterbridge and Far From the Madding Crowd.

Kinds of the Plot: The plot has two kinds :

1. The novels of loose plot.

2. The novels of organic plot.

1. The Novels of Loose Plot: The novels of loose plots are stories containing a number of episodes. The events are detached from one another. There is no logical relationship between them. The central figure, binds the different events and episodes. It is a narration of the events. The plots of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Joseph Andrews of Henry Fielding and Vanity Fair of W. M. Thackeray are loose. In the loose plot there is no unity and sequence.

Function of the Plot: It is the plot which decides the value of the novel. It is true that one function of the novel is to provide amusement for the leisure hours of the readers. It should provide welcome relief from the strain of his routine work. A novel which serves this purpose is to be recommended. At the same time the entertainment and pleasure provided to the readers should be healthy. Literature should not only be amusive but instructive also. The next essential of the plot is its ethical value. A novelist should handle the ordinary story in a manner that he raises it to the state of elevation so that the readers may feel themselves elevated and learn something from the plot of the novel.

The Greatness of the Plot: In this connection the plot is great when it picturises life in its reality. It covers the broad base of the world. It lays its foundation broad and deep in the things and leaves a constant and serious impression upon readers. The greatness of the subject matter is not only the criteria for the greatness of the plot but also requires the mastery of handling of the plot also. The novelist should frame his plot from the field and confine himself to the world, he has known, felt, realized and experienced. A male writer should frame his plot like a male and a female writer should frame his plot like a woman. A woman writer cannot represent the actual temperament of the mist society so well as a male novelist.

The Nature of the Plot: The plot for convenience can further be divided into two groups:

1. The Simple Plot

2. The Complex Plot.

1. The Simple Plot: A simple plot has a single story. It is mainly concerned with the hero. It is directly connected with the hero. The plot of Robinson Crusoe is simple. It contains details about the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, who has life, his home and goes abroad in the prospect of a bright future. It is limited to an individual only, whose fate does neither affect the nation nor the vast society.

2. The Complex Plot: Another kind of plot is the complex or complicated plot. This plot has more than one plot. Besides the main plot, there are sub-plots also. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has a complex plot. The main plot is concerned with the love of Elizabeth and Fitz William Darcy. The heroine suffers from prejudice against the hero and the hero suffers from pride. The tide of circumstances removes the pride of the hero Fitz William Darcy and the prejudice of the heroine Elizabeth Bennett. There are sub-plots in the novel such as the elopement of Lydia with Wickham, the marriage of Charles Bingley with Jane, the eldest sister of Elizabeth and Collins marriage with Charlotte. In the complex plot there are happenings and mishappenings. There is reversal of fortune and redressal or redemption from grief. The plot involves the following-I’ve misunderstanding or the error of judgement. Tess in Tess of the D’urbervilles fails to understand Alec. Bathsheba Everdene in Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd fails to understand Gabriel Oak.

The discovery of truth and ignorance of truth cause confusion. Joseph is confused to know in the novel Joseph Andrews of Henry Fielding that Farry who is his beloved happens to be his sister. The discovery of truth appears when Mr. and Mrs. Wilson declare that Joseph Andrews is their own son, who was lifted away by the shepherds in childhood and Fanny has been brought up by them. She is not their daughter.

Conclusion: In this way, the success of a novel depends upon the well-knit plot, which is the soul of the novel. The plot of the novel should be so constructed that it reveals the author’s actual point of view which is his message to his readers. These then can be imparted in two ways-The direct method and the indirect method. Under the direct method the novelist keeps his views directly. Under the indirect method the novelist gives his own point of view through a character, who plays vital role into the novel.