Periphrases are divided into

2. Complication 4. Falling action

______________ ______________
1. Exposition 5. Resolution

Beginning Middle End
In some novels this five-stage structure is repeated in many of the individual chapters, while the novel as a whole builds on a series of increasing conflicts and crises. Such a structure is found both in such classics of fiction as Flaubert’s “Madame Bovary” and in the adventure thrillers of Alistar MacLean.
EXPOSITION: The exposition is the beginning section in which the author provides the necessary background information, sets the scene, establishes the situation, and dates the action. It may also introduce the characters and the conflict, or the potential for conflict. The exposition may be accomplished in a single sentence or paragraph, or, in the case of some novels, occupy an entire chapter or more. Some plots require more exposition than others. A historical novel set in a foreign country several centuries ago obviously needs to provide the reader with more background information than a novel with a contemporary setting.
COMPLICATION: The complication which is sometimes referred to as the rising action, breaks the existing equilibrium and introduces the characters and underlying or inciting conflict (if they have not already been introduced by the exposition). The conflict is then developed gradually and intensified.
CRISIS: The crisis (also referred to as the climax) is that moment at which the plot reaches its point of greatest emotional intensity; it is the turning point of the plot, directly precipitating its resolution.
FALLING ACTION: Once the crisis has been reached, the tension subsides and the plot moves toward its appointed conclusion.
RESOLUTION: The final section of the plot is its resolution; it records the outcome of the conflict and establishes some new equilibrium or stability (however tentative and momentary). The resolution is also referred to as the conclusion or the denoument, the latter a French word meaning “unknotting” or “untying”.
SETTING
Fiction can be defined as character in action at a certain time and place. Now we turn our attention to setting, a term that, in its broadest sense, encompasses both the physical locale that frames the action and the time of day or year, the climatic conditions and the historical period during which the action takes place. At its most basic, setting helps the reader visualize the action of the work, and thus adds credibility and a n air of authenticity to the characters.
There are, however, many different kinds of setting in fiction and they function in a variety of ways. Some settings are relatively unimportant. They serve as little more than incidental and decorative backdrops. Some settings, on the other hand, are intimately and necessarily connected with the meaning and unity of the whole work. The most important fictional settings are those that are “dramatic”, those that are organic and essential parts of the work as a whole.
In order to understand the purpose and function of setting, the reader must pay particular attention to the descriptive passages in which the details of setting are introduced. Generally speaking, unless such passages are intended merely as local colour, the greater the attention given to them, the greater is their importance in the total work. In most short stories and in many novels setting is established at or near the beginning of the work as a means of orienting the reader and framing the action that is to follow.
The quality of the language by which the author projects the setting provides another clue as to his or her intention. When that intention is to invest the setting with a photographic vividness that appeals essentially to the reader’s eye, the details of the setting will be rendered through language the language that is concrete and denotative. The author will pile specific detail on top of specific detail in an attempt to provide the illusion of stable external reality. On the other hand, the author may want us to “feel” rather than simply “see” the setting, as is the case when setting is to be used as a means of creating atmosphere. In that case the appeal will be to the reader’s imagination and emotions through language that is connotative, emotionally heightened, and suggestive. The author will, that is, manipulate the poetic qualities of language to elicit from the reader the desired and appropriate response. Often the author will want the reader to both see and feel the setting and will use the resources of language to bring about both effects simultaneously.