Okuzeka
Literature vocabulary · Plot and Structure

Falling action

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounCommon term

In literature, falling action means: The part of a plot after the climax, in which the tension decreases and the results of the main conflict become clear before the resolution.

In Turkish: düşen eylem, çözüme gidiş

How it is used

Mostly used in school plot diagrams and essays on structure. In tragedy, the falling action often shows the hero's downfall; in modern novels it may be very short or missing.

Example sentences

  1. The falling action shows how the village reacts to the trial.

  2. In this story the falling action lasts only a single paragraph.

Common collocations

  • the falling action shows
  • climax and falling action
  • events in the falling action
  • climaxThe most intense and important moment of a story, when the main conflict reaches its turning point and the outcome is decided.
  • resolutionThe final part of a story, after the climax, where the main conflict is settled and loose ends are tied up.
  • rising actionThe part of a plot after the exposition in which complications and tension build up step by step toward the climax.
  • plotThe series of connected events in a story and the way the writer arranges them, especially how one event causes another.

More terms: Plot and Structure

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: