A Secret for Two

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LESSON - Determining the Climax in Stories

Climax

Climax is the term used to refer to the part of story or play where the tension or action reaches its highest part. Sometimes, the climax is a "crisis" point in the plot. Sometimes, it is just where things "come to a head" and something happens or the main character must make a decision that will lead to one outcome or another.

Those who analyze literature often represent the plot of a story with the diagram below. The climax is represented by the high point, and the action of the story begins to fall from there, until problems are resolved.

Examples of Climax:

Examples of Climax in a Plot

1. A little girl has been looking for her lost dog. She hears a bark coming from around the corner, and she looks around to see . . .

2. Kevin has worked very hard to try out for the soccer team at school. The coach has posted a list of this year's team members on his office door. Kevin walks forward to look at the list . . . .

3. Mary's parents have been discussing whether or not to move to another state. They call Mary and her sister down to talk with them about their decision . . .

4. Lois has performed in the state gymnastics finals. She waits anxiously to hear the names of the winners. The announcer says, "And first place goes to . . ."

5. The school's football team is down by three points in the fourth quarter. They are in field goal range. The kicker kicks, the ball is up, and the kick is . . . (good or bad?).

Examples of Climax in Famous Literary Plots

1. The deaths of Romeo (who kills himself because he thinks Juliet is dead) and Juliet (who kills herself when she awakes and sees Romeo dead). Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare

2. Peeta and Katniss agree to eat the poisonous berries instead of attempt to kill each other (and the outcome is that they are both declared winners). The Hunger Games

3. Wilbur is declared the winner at the county fair, and his life is saved (the farmer will not butcher him). Charlotte's Web

4. When Gaston and the townspeople come to attack the beast, and Belle admits her love for the beast. Beauty and the Beast, Disney

5. In "The Three Little Pigs," suspense builds up until the confrontation between the third pig and the wolf. This confrontation is the climax.

LESSON - Mood in Stories

Mood Definition

What is mood? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing can influence its mood, from the setting and the imagery to the author's word choice. For instance, a story that begins "It was a dark and stormy night" will probably have an overall dark, ominous, or suspenseful mood.

Mood Explained

Generally speaking, any word that can be used to describe emotion can be used to describe the mood of a story, poem, or other piece of writing. Here are some words that are commonly used to describe mood:

What Makes Up a Mood?

These are the basic elements that help determine the mood of a piece of writing:

• Setting: A story's setting is where and when it takes place. Setting is one of the first things to be described in a narrative, and therefore plays a major role in establishing the mood.
  • In the "dark and stormy night" example from above, the story's mood is established almost entirely by the setting (in this case, the weather and the time of day), which makes for a gloomy and potentially even frightening atmosphere.
  • A story that takes place in a cotton candy kingdom, by contrast, is likely to have a whimsical, cheerful, or light-hearted mood.
• Imagery: Imagery is similar to setting in the sense that it helps to establish mood using descriptions of physical things in the world of the story. Not every image in a work will be indicative of the story's mood, but images that are repeated or described in detail usually do reflect the mood.
  • A story that has a lot of roses, candlelight, and boxes of chocolates might be trying to establish a romantic mood.
• Word Choice: The words that a writer chooses to use play a huge part in determining the mood of a piece, in part because different words that mean the same thing can have different connotations.
  • The difference between "a dull, uneventful night" and "a peaceful, silent night" might contribute to the difference between a text with a gloomy or melancholic mood and a calm, reflective mood.