SMITH, Jeffrey Alan. The Essential Implausible : Implied Settings and Requisite Characters in Narrative Construction. In Hradec Králové Anglophone Conference 2023, 23-24 March 2023. 2023.
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Basic information
Original name The Essential Implausible : Implied Settings and Requisite Characters in Narrative Construction
Authors SMITH, Jeffrey Alan.
Edition Hradec Králové Anglophone Conference 2023, 23-24 March 2023, 2023.
Other information
Original language English
Type of outcome Presentations at conferences
Field of Study 60204 General literature studies
Country of publisher Czech Republic
Confidentiality degree is not subject to a state or trade secret
Organization unit Faculty of Arts
Keywords in English literary theory; narrative; narrative theory
Tags International impact
Changed by Changed by: Mgr. Jana Pelclová, Ph.D., učo 39970. Changed: 7/2/2024 20:55.
Abstract
This paper will suggest that there is a certain kind of fictional device, often unremarked but visible in many stories on close examination, that has not yet been theoretically identified or named. This device is related to what is popularly known as the “plot hole,” an illogical or implausible moment or twist in a story. Plot holes are common, are often just mistakes or carelessness on the storytellers’ part, and a minor industry has developed among fans that aims to identify them, compile them into YouTube videos and treat them as unintended comedy. In the cases to be described here, however, the plot “hole” is actually essential, an enabling element without which the story could not exist at all. Presenting a few highly varied examples, the paper will propose new theoretical terms for elements of this type – the “implied setting” and the “requisite character” – and will briefly attempt to distinguish these devices both from “mere” plot holes, and from the kinds of familiar implausibilities (for instance, in fantasy stories) that routinely call for the “willing suspension of disbelief.”
Links
MUNI/A/1054/2022, interní kód MUName: Paradigms, strategies and developments - Anglophone literary and cultural studies III
Investor: Masaryk University, Paradigms, strategies and developments - Anglophone literary and cultural studies III
PrintDisplayed: 27/7/2024 18:08