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Literature vocabulary · Plot and Structure

Rising action

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounCommon term

In literature, rising action means: The part of a plot after the exposition in which complications and tension build up step by step toward the climax.

In Turkish: yükselen eylem, gelişme bölümü, düğüme doğru gelişim

How it is used

Used in Freytag's pyramid and in school plot diagrams. Teachers ask students to list the key events of the rising action. It is often the longest part of a novel or play, full of obstacles, decisions and reversals.

Example sentences

  1. During the rising action, each lie the hero tells makes his situation worse.

  2. Mark three events in the rising action that lead directly to the climax.

Common collocations

  • events in the rising action
  • the rising action builds
  • rising action and climax
  • expositionThe opening part of a story or play that introduces the characters, setting and background information the reader needs to follow the plot.
  • 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.
  • 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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