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Literature vocabulary · Plot and Structure

In medias res

Meaning in literature, with examples

phraseAdvanced term

In literature, in medias res means: A Latin phrase meaning 'into the middle of things', used for a story that begins in the middle of the action and explains earlier events later.

In Turkish: olayın ortasından başlama, in medias res

How it is used

Used as an adverb in analysis: the novel begins in medias res. The phrase comes from Horace's Ars Poetica, and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey are the classic examples. Earlier events are usually filled in through flashbacks.

Example sentences

  1. The story opens in medias res, with the narrator already running from the police.

  2. Starting in medias res grabs the reader's attention from the first line.

Common collocations

  • begin in medias res
  • open in medias res
  • start in medias res
  • flashbackA scene that interrupts the main story to show events that happened earlier, often to explain a character's past or motives.
  • expositionThe opening part of a story or play that introduces the characters, setting and background information the reader needs to follow the plot.
  • epicA long narrative poem about the heroic deeds of legendary figures, often involving gods, wars and journeys and telling the story of a people.
  • 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

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