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Plot Structure

Oral

Plot develops in medias res. Poet reports being in the middle of a situation, and then explains in detail how it came to be in episodic time order.

Example

We are at rest five miles behind the front.

--Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front

Literate

Narrative plot develops with a beginning,build-up, middle, and end in a systematic time sequence, a climactic linear plot.

Example

Fairy tales start, "Once upon a time . . .

Exception: Primally-strong emotions trigger a default back to the oral mode.

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