Writing Help 129 | - ☆ Freelance Writer
Apr 05, 2013 | #1
Terms You Need for Writing about the Novel
Although the focus of this series is on the novel and its devices, it must be mentioned that the novel as we know it today, since it is a relatively young form (not much more then 300 years old), owes a great debt to those genres which precede it by hundreds or even thousands of years. One such genre, epic poetry, is one of the earliest and most direct ancestors of the novel, and as such many of the terms that we use in the analysis of the novel come from that rich and ancient tradition. The terms under discussion in this article, in medias res and ab ovo, derive from the Roman author Horace's Ars Poetica, written almost 2000 years ago and analyzing literature composed up to 800 years before that. Horace suggested that it is best to begin an epic in medias res, or "in the middle of things," as opposed to ab ovo, or "from the beginning" (literally "from the egg"). Novelists have found this epic convention appealing from the beginning of the form, and although while in medias res is very popular, ab ovo beginnings are nonetheless still very common as well.
The ab ovo opening of a novel is the most direct and intuitive way to begin a tale; after all, it makes sense to us to start a story at its beginning, follow it through its middle, and then conclude with its final events. Many of the common forms of narrative we use in everyday life, like simple accounts of how the day went, jokes, anecdotes, and descriptions of interesting events, use this method of straightforward presentation. Ab ovo cuts down on the potential for confusion, requires little planning, and is thus perfect for oral presentation as it does not tax the memory of the listener and the forethought of the teller too greatly. Many excellent novels unfold in this way, tending to develop gradually and build in a way consistent with Freytag's Pyramid, discussed in a previous article. The distinction between plot and story (to be covered in more depth in an upcoming article), or the artful ordering and selection of events versus the plain actual events and circumstances themselves, is least pronounced using this method, and a more naturalistic feel is achieved in the writing.
In contrast, in medias res involves opening a novel somewhere in the middle of the action, rather than at the beginning of the chain of events that unfolded to bring things to a given level of development. Picture for a moment a novel where the narrator begins with the lines "I awoke to the screams of thousands chanting and dancing around me, torches flaring high into the dark night and the stench of burning human flesh revolting my singed nostrils. I had a plan for escape, but it won't make sense until you know how all this came about." Here, we have no exposition or introduction to the protagonist/narrator, no idea how things have come to be the way they are, and no hint as to the general setting and circumstances. We have been thrust into a situation full of tense excitement and dread, and are as disoriented as the narrator is when he awakes to find himself in a desperate bind. This is the essence of in medias res, and the effects are impressive.
First, it provides an immediate hook for the reader; with such exciting events presented in the first lines, one will be highly tempted to continue, whereas some mundane exposition is less likely to captivate. Next, it creates great suspense from the outset; we are dying to know what happens, but we must wait until we know how things led to this point before it will be revealed. Finally, it allows us to immediately put ourselves in the place of the narrator; since we know nothing about him, we project our own characteristics onto the central figure, and feel his troubles as our own. As a result of these powerful initial effects, many fast-paced novels of adventure and action begin in this way, making in medias res a staple of most modern bestsellers.
In Medias Res, Ab Ovo
Although the focus of this series is on the novel and its devices, it must be mentioned that the novel as we know it today, since it is a relatively young form (not much more then 300 years old), owes a great debt to those genres which precede it by hundreds or even thousands of years. One such genre, epic poetry, is one of the earliest and most direct ancestors of the novel, and as such many of the terms that we use in the analysis of the novel come from that rich and ancient tradition. The terms under discussion in this article, in medias res and ab ovo, derive from the Roman author Horace's Ars Poetica, written almost 2000 years ago and analyzing literature composed up to 800 years before that. Horace suggested that it is best to begin an epic in medias res, or "in the middle of things," as opposed to ab ovo, or "from the beginning" (literally "from the egg"). Novelists have found this epic convention appealing from the beginning of the form, and although while in medias res is very popular, ab ovo beginnings are nonetheless still very common as well.
The ab ovo opening of a novel is the most direct and intuitive way to begin a tale; after all, it makes sense to us to start a story at its beginning, follow it through its middle, and then conclude with its final events. Many of the common forms of narrative we use in everyday life, like simple accounts of how the day went, jokes, anecdotes, and descriptions of interesting events, use this method of straightforward presentation. Ab ovo cuts down on the potential for confusion, requires little planning, and is thus perfect for oral presentation as it does not tax the memory of the listener and the forethought of the teller too greatly. Many excellent novels unfold in this way, tending to develop gradually and build in a way consistent with Freytag's Pyramid, discussed in a previous article. The distinction between plot and story (to be covered in more depth in an upcoming article), or the artful ordering and selection of events versus the plain actual events and circumstances themselves, is least pronounced using this method, and a more naturalistic feel is achieved in the writing.In contrast, in medias res involves opening a novel somewhere in the middle of the action, rather than at the beginning of the chain of events that unfolded to bring things to a given level of development. Picture for a moment a novel where the narrator begins with the lines "I awoke to the screams of thousands chanting and dancing around me, torches flaring high into the dark night and the stench of burning human flesh revolting my singed nostrils. I had a plan for escape, but it won't make sense until you know how all this came about." Here, we have no exposition or introduction to the protagonist/narrator, no idea how things have come to be the way they are, and no hint as to the general setting and circumstances. We have been thrust into a situation full of tense excitement and dread, and are as disoriented as the narrator is when he awakes to find himself in a desperate bind. This is the essence of in medias res, and the effects are impressive.
First, it provides an immediate hook for the reader; with such exciting events presented in the first lines, one will be highly tempted to continue, whereas some mundane exposition is less likely to captivate. Next, it creates great suspense from the outset; we are dying to know what happens, but we must wait until we know how things led to this point before it will be revealed. Finally, it allows us to immediately put ourselves in the place of the narrator; since we know nothing about him, we project our own characteristics onto the central figure, and feel his troubles as our own. As a result of these powerful initial effects, many fast-paced novels of adventure and action begin in this way, making in medias res a staple of most modern bestsellers.