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Literature vocabulary · Plot and Structure

Resolution

Meaning in literature, with examples

/ˌrezəˈluːʃn/nounCore term

In literature, resolution means: The final part of a story, after the climax, where the main conflict is settled and loose ends are tied up.

In Turkish: çözüm, çözülme, son

How it is used

The last stage of the classic plot structure. Critics describe a resolution as satisfying, neat, rushed or open. Many modern stories avoid a full resolution and leave an open ending. The French term dénouement means the same thing.

Example sentences

  1. The resolution feels rushed: everything is solved in the final two pages.

  2. There is no clear resolution, so readers must decide whether she returns home.

Common collocations

  • satisfying resolution
  • open resolution
  • reach a resolution
  • conflict and resolution
  • climaxThe most intense and important moment of a story, when the main conflict reaches its turning point and the outcome is decided.
  • falling actionThe part of a plot after the climax, in which the tension decreases and the results of the main conflict become clear before the resolution.
  • conflictThe struggle between opposing forces in a story, such as two characters, a character and society, or a character and their own desires, which drives the plot.
  • expositionThe opening part of a story or play that introduces the characters, setting and background information the reader needs to follow the plot.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Plot and Structure

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