- A plot subordinate to the main plot of a literary work or film. Also called counterplot, underplot.
- A subdivision of a plot of land, especially a plot used for experimental purposes.
Dictionary:
sub·plot (sŭb'plŏt') ![]() |
| Literary Dictionary: subplot |
subplot, a secondary sequence of actions in a dramatic or narrative work, usually involving characters of lesser importance (and often of lower social status). The subplot may be related to the main plot as a parallel or contrast, or it may be more or less separate from it. Subplots are especially common in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, a famous example being that of Gloucester and his sons in Shakespeare's King Lear; but they are also found in long novels such as those of Dickens.
| Wikipedia: Subplot |
A subplot, sometimes referred to as a "B story" or a "C story" and so on, is a secondary plot strand that is auxiliary to the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance. Subplots often involve supporting characters, those besides the protagonist or antagonist.
Examples of works of fiction or drama which contain a subplot:
Subplots are distinguished from the main plot by taking up less of the action, having less significant events occur, with less impact on the 'world' of the work, and occurring to less important characters. When, as in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Cancer Ward, about a group of patients at that ward, no one character's story clearly predominates, the plots will not be distinguished into the main plot and subplots. Because of their brevity, short stories and to a large extent, novellas, mostly contain no subplot.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
| Translations: Sub-plot |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - sidehandling, bihandling
Français (French)
n. - intrigue secondaire
Deutsch (German)
n. - Nebenhandlung
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - δευτερεύουσα πλοκή (έργου)
Italiano (Italian)
intreccio secondario
Português (Portuguese)
n. - enredo secundário (m)
Русский (Russian)
побочная сюжетная линия
Español (Spanish)
n. - argumento secundario
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sidohandling
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
次要情节
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 次要情節
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - עלילה משנית
If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.
To select your translation preferences click here.
| sub– (prefix) | |
| El Ard (1970 Drama Film) | |
| counterplot |
| What does the word subplot mean? Read answer... | |
| What is the subplot of romeo and juliet? Read answer... | |
| What is the subplot of the play metamorphosis? Read answer... |
| What is one of the subplots of Flowers For Algeron? | |
| What are the subplots in the book The House of the Scorpion? | |
| Is there subplot in Foggerty's Fairy? |
Copyrights:
![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Literary Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Copyright © Chris Baldick 2001, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Subplot". Read more | |
![]() | Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
Mentioned in