Climax (from Latin culmen “peak”) in literature is a critical moment plot development works that reveal all the poignancy of the plot. It is also a decisive moment in the relationship between the hero and his environment.

The most suitable genres for developing the climax are drama and epic. If in novels and dramatic works the denouement after the critical moment develops slowly and step by step, then in short stories it develops at lightning speed and unexpectedly, since the climax itself occurs at the very end of the work.

Climax concept

Climax - ambiguous concept, and besides literature it is also found in astronomy and music. The meaning of the concept in music is similar to the literary one: it is the point of highest tension in the whole work or its individual factions. In astronomy, the culmination is understood as the moment when the center of a celestial body passes through the point of intersection of the daily parallel and the celestial meridian.

The role of the climax in the plot

Human attention is designed in such a way that it is most active at the beginning of becoming familiar with something new. Then, over time, interest gradually fades away. In order to regain the reader's attention and again activate his attention, writers take advantage of punchlines. The intensity of passions increases interest and makes you worry about the fictional characters.

The climax in literature is the most important element of the plot. It not only increases the interest of the work, but is the very purpose of writing it, what the writer wanted to say. It is at the climax that the main plot conflicts arise and are resolved.

The apogee of events is present in all works with a linear narrative structure and a pronounced plot. First of all, this big genres, among which:

• story;
• novel;
• play;
• poem;
• Oh yeah.

There is also a climax in small genres, such as:

• short story;
• story;
• fairy tale;
• parable;
• bike.

There is no climax in works with a non-linear narrative structure and a complete lack of plot. These include:

• essay;
• flow of thoughts;
• sketches;
• sketches;
• notes.

Another genre that may lack a climax is chronicle. The presentation of events in direct chronological order does not imply emotional intensity in any particular fragment.

The traditional structure of a narrative composition implies a logical sequence of parts in this order:

• Introduction - the reader is transported into the world of the work, learns the time, place and other circumstances in which what is described occurs.
• The beginning is a meeting and getting to know the characters.
• Development of events - the characters' characters are revealed in more detail, the main event in the work is approaching.
• The climax is the apogee, the decisive moment of the plot.
• Progression of events - describes the consequences of a critical point in the short term.
• The denouement is the life of the heroes after the climax.
• Conclusion - the writer's focus moves away from the detailed description of the characters and moves back to the circumstances.

The structure of the composition of short genres is somewhat different. The climax in them is shifted towards the end, after which a quick denouement immediately follows. Short story writers often play on the effect of surprise, which gives the critical moment special poignancy and is perceived more vividly.

Sometimes writers resort to the technique open final, leaving the reader the opportunity to think through further developments. In this case, the culmination will be the last, final part of the work, and the denouement and outcome will be absent.

Types of climax

Depending on the volume and complexity of the work, there is two kinds climactic moments:

• main;
• secondary.

The presence of additional critical moments is typical for works of large volume, in which, in addition to the main storyline, there are many branches.

While central conflict is the main idea and motive for writing the work, the secondary ones serve to more accurately reveal the characters of non-main characters, holding the reader’s attention in moments of relative calm in the central storyline. If there are several conflicts, the solution to each of them will have a separate climax.

Examples of climaxes in fiction

• “The Night Before Christmas” by N. Gogol - Vakula hands Oksana the hard-earned slippers and proposes marriage to her.
• “The Master and Margarita” by M. Bulgakov - a conversation between Christ and Pontius Pilate, Margarita’s departure to the ball, while Woland and his henchmen show their true colors.
• “Woe from Wit” by A. Griboedov - the culprit for spreading rumors of madness is revealed to Chatsky; it turns out to be Sophia.

The climax is one of the plot elements in the development of a conflict in a literary work. The unfolding of the plot action, in which the conflict of the work grows, leads to the moment of highest tension, a turning point, a decisive clash of struggling characters and circumstances, after which the upward movement of the conflict is impossible: it continues only in the direction of its resolution. The culmination in the development of the action of a literary work is one of the most important stages in the implementation of the creative plan. F.M. Dostoevsky constantly noted the points of greatest tension of action in his novels. “Capital. Porfiry visits him. A solitary conversation,” Dostoevsky’s recording records one of the most decisive, turning-point episodes of the novel “Crime and Punishment” (1866), immediately preceding its denouement. His note about “Demons” (1871-72) has the same meaning: “The most important thing in Tikhon,” i.e. scene of Stavrogin’s meeting with Tikhon, containing the so-called “Confession of Stavrogin”.

The term climax is commonly used in the analysis of composition and plot in epic and dramatic works, but a climax can also be seen in a lyric poem. In the plot development of a work, the climax is most often considered to be a description of a certain turning point in the life of the hero, the result of which is the maximum disclosure of his inner world, the essence of character, directly related to the main problem of the work. In large works with several storylines (“Quiet Don”, 1928-40, M.A. Sholokhova), each has its own climax. Most often, the question of the climax is directly dependent on the plot and features of the composition. The two climaxes in the novel “Eugene Onegin” (1823-31) by A.S. Pushkin (Onegin’s explanation with Tatyana after a letter to him and Tatyana’s explanation with Onegin after a letter to her) are justified by the peculiarities of the ring composition of the work, where the poet reproduces the same situation, only with a different plot twist and a different meaning. In a dramatic work, the weakening of the intensity of the action after the plot peak most often occurs gradually. Sometimes the climax immediately precedes the denouement, but often manifests itself in an unusual form. The intense action of the first scene in Pushkin's The Miserly Knight (1830) is separated from the equally effective episode in the palace by the monologue of the old Baron. This is the semantic culmination of the tragedy and at the same time a kind of plot slowdown (see) before the stormy finale. When analyzing the plot sometimes the term “catastrophe” is used instead of the climax, meaning the moment of resolution of tension in the play (Romeo and Juliet in the Crypt)

The word culmination comes from Latin culmen (culminis), which means top.

Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, Dal Vladimir

climax

luminary, astronomer. the transition and the moment of passage of the luminary through the noon of the place; reaching the greatest height. Climax, roll through the meridian.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov

climax

climax, w. (Latin culminatio) (book).

The passage of the luminary through the meridian (astro.).

trans. The point of highest ascent, highest tension.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I.Ozhegov, N.Yu.Shvedova.

climax

The passage of a luminary through the celestial meridian (special).

The point of highest tension" of the rise, development of something. (book) K. events.

adj. climactic, -aya, -oe. K. moment.

New explanatory and word-formative dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

climax

and. The passage of luminaries through the celestial meridian (in astronomy).

1. The period of the highest rise, development, tension of smth.

   The moment of highest tension in the development of an action, usually preceding the denouement (in literary criticism).

   The moment of highest tension in a piece of music, usually distinguished by a high register, increased sound volume, and harmonic means (in music).

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

climax

CLIMAX (from Latin culmen, gen. culminis - peak)

the point of highest tension, rise, development of something.

In astronomy, the passage of luminaries through the celestial meridian. There is an upper culmination (M), when the sun is closer to the zenith (Z), and a lower culmination (M), when it is closer to the nadir (Z) (P, P - North and South poles of the world).

The moment of highest tension in the development of action, maximally aggravating the artistic conflict. At the climax, a turning point occurs or is planned, preparing the denouement (the “mousetrap” scene in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”).

The moment of highest tension in a musical structure, a section of a musical work, or an entire piece. As a rule, it is distinguished by a high register, increased sound volume, and harmonic means.

Climax

(from Latin culmen, gender culminis ≈ peak), point, period of the highest rise, maximum tension in the development of something. In art (literature, theater, cinema) it is the most intense moment in the development of the action (plot), the decisive, turning point in the relationships and clashes of the characters, from which the transition to the denouement begins. From the point of view of content, K. is a kind of life test that sharpens the problem of the work to the maximum and decisively reveals the character of the hero (for example, the scene with the shot in “Uncle Vanya” by A.P. Chekhov). See also Plot.

Wikipedia

Climax

Climax:

• The culmination of astronomy is the moment when a star passes through the celestial meridian during its daily movement.
• Climax in art is the moment of highest tension in the development of a work of art.

Climax:

• "Climax" is a TV series shown in the United States by CBS between 1954 and 1958. Each episode presented a separate psychological or mystical drama.

Climax (astronomy)

Climax- the moment of passage of a star through the celestial meridian during its daily movement. Otherwise: the moments when the luminary passes the points of intersection of the daily parallel of the luminary and the celestial meridian.

There are upper and lower climaxes. At the moment of the upper culmination, the luminary rises to its maximum height above the horizon. At the moment of the lower culmination, the luminary descends to its minimum height, in some cases it may appear below the horizon.

They also distinguish between the upper culmination to the north and south of the zenith. If the luminary culminates south of the zenith, then at the moment of culmination its astronomical azimuth is 0°, and if the luminary culminates north of the zenith, then its azimuth at the moment of culmination is 180°.

Knowing the declination of the star δ and the latitude of the observation site φ, we can calculate the zenith distances of this star at the moments of culmination:

Z = 180º - ;
z = φ - δ;
z = δ - φ.

In a similar way, by observing a star at its upper and lower culmination, you can determine its declination and latitude of the observation site. If the star's upper culmination occurs south of the zenith, then

δ = 90° - (z+z)/2;
φ = 90° - (z-z)/2;

and if north of the zenith, then

δ = 90° - (z-z)/2;
φ = 90° - (z+z)/2.

Examples of the use of the word culmination in literature.

A period of tireless agitation work began, which became a period of political climax Lunacharsky.

He - climax“Kevin’s teachings,” Amok said slyly, as if he were making a subtle joke.

The population of this house was preparing for the birth of young Myatlev, and the dark green uniform, delivered by Mr. Sverbeev just in time, marked his appearance climax in the follies orchestrated by providence.

A long string of stories about the relationship between Shakespeare and Combe has reached climax at Roe's.

The climax The image in the play, Koonen continued, is considered to be the dance of the seven veils, as a reward for which Salome demands from Herod the head of Jokanaan, who rejected her.

Symphonic short stories and Symphonic songs, 17 symphonies, merging together, are perceived as bright chapters of the symphonic chronicle: in them, images of wise folk tales come to life, captivating pictures of native nature are painted, collisions of heroic struggles unfold, music involves in the world of lyrical feelings, and episodes of a folk or fantastic nature are replaced by dramatic expressions climaxes.

A play must have its own beginning, middle, end, verified effective climax, and it is advisable to construct the episodes not prosaically, but dramaturgically - in one state the characters enter, in another they leave - there are many purely dramatic understandings and techniques according to which the theatrical action is formed.

Before moving on to the story about climax plague, when the disaster, having gathered all its forces into a fist, threw them at the city and finally took possession of it, we still have to tell about those desperate, endless and monotonous attempts that were made by individual people, such as Rambert, just to regain their happiness and defend from the plague that part of themselves that they stubbornly defended against all attacks.

The situation worsened, and at the end of the month the terror reached climax: Roy Rutberg from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, on the border in the Gaza region, was killed.

Events have reached climax in mid-1997, when the vice mayor of Suzhou, who ran the LDC, said at a meeting with German investors in Hamburg that President Jiang Zemin did not support the development of IPS, that German investors would be welcome in the LDC, and therefore they did not need Singapore.

In short, Tolstoy’s literature degenerated into Tolstoyism for two reasons: because of the immense horror of death and because his religious and ethical ideas did not fit the plot, climax, denouement and other tricks of narrative art.

I didn’t buy anything With the wasted money Wormholes of ink The steps of the forehead were worn out The nickels laughed Over the broken rose Wax fools Drank the tuberculous light I wandered around like a stain Across the fields of cheerful everyday life Bone dominoes I lived in humpbacked tubers In the jelly of twisted water I tore apart the tight threads Like a barrier from divination And the absurdity of intercourse And the day, mustachioed like a centaur, galloped after me, taking bad advice out of the mouth of the night, either stretching out a thread, or poisoned meat, but I wanted to survive climax story Where the heroic mug Kills the scoundrels And with an eye on the evil rushes with his bare ass sparkling 10.

Much could be said about the visual power of this film, but one of the scariest moments occurs right before culmination, when the heroine's brother appears again, still wearing driver's gloves, and grabs his sister with the idiotic purposefulness of a hungry dead man.

Khristich was good with his absence at the beginning and his gradual, precisely calibrated tempo-rhythm, approach to the author and reader, foreshadowing the semantic climax- meeting in the final.

This antagonism has survived its climax in those places that were the original centers of civilization.

It is difficult to imagine almost any musical or literary work without tension and passion. This makes the listener or reader empathize, causing the only desire - to find out what will happen next.

It is not surprising that this “aggravation of the situation” plays a key role. In order to correctly answer the question of what a culmination is, one should analyze in detail what types of it exist, and the features of its use in different types of art.

There is a lot of controversy about the origin of this word.

Some scientists believe that it came to us from Ancient Greece and in Greek meant “point, peak.”

Others insist on Latin roots.

The exact definition of what climax means is given on Wikipedia, which describes several of its types:

1. Astronomical - the moment when a celestial body passes through the celestial meridian (during the day).
2. Literary – the most acute situation in a literary work.
3. Musical – maximum tension of sounds in a melody.

Climax as a plot element

This element is found in many literary works - both large genres (novels, stories) and small ones (stories).

Important! An exception may be essays, sketches, sketches - genres where there is no clear plot line, but a free flow of thoughts.

If the main plot elements are present: exposition, plot, development of events, denouement, the apogee comes after the development of events. First, the author introduces readers to the main characters. Then he plunges into the world of their lives, problems, relationships.

The reader worries more and more, and then the climax comes when it becomes clear whether the hero will achieve his goal, whether he will win.

The climax in literature is a way to maintain interest in a book and awaken the desire to read it to the end.

Kinds

Depending on the genre, a work may contain one or more climactic moments:

• central (main);
• additional (minor).

Thus, in stories there is most often only one acute moment, after which the main problem is solved and the denouement occurs. In voluminous works (novels), the author describes several such situations. This is due to a large number of characters, storylines, and conflicts of interest.

To understand in more detail what a climax is in literature, it is worth turning to different works.

One of the most striking examples is the controversial novel The Master and Margarita. It has several escalating situations.

Each of the heroes experiences their own. The main character, Margarita, goes to the ball as a queen.

And Pontius Pilate talks with Jesus Christ and realizes his innocence. Woland's retinue reveals its cards at the same time.

If we analyze Nikolai Gogol's story, the most poignant moment will be when the blacksmith Vakula arrives with a gift for his beloved Oksana - the royal slippers. The reader is faced with the main question: will the beauty agree to become the blacksmith’s wife?

From small genres, this element of the plot can be traced using the example of any of the fairy tales. The popular fairy tale "Kolobok" - the climax comes when he agreed to sit on the fox's nose to sing a song. And everyone is waiting, will the bun manage to escape this time or will the fox eat him?

Climax in musical works

Any music lover is familiar with the moment of apogee, the intensity of emotions.

It does not matter what musical genre or direction we are talking about: classical (operas, musicals) or modern.

What is climax used for in music? What new thing does she bring to musical works? Should it always be there?

Determining the climax will help answer these questions.

It means the most emotional aggravation, the point of highest tension and expectation. This element is present in any melody. It's easy to recognize. It is expressed with the help of upper sounds, which sound longer, more expressively, sometimes creating the effect of a ragged, intermittent melody.

It is as necessary in music as in any other art form. Human perception is designed in such a way that at first most people feel very interested. Over time, interest becomes less, and so that it does not fade away, such poignant moments are used.

They are usually used in the area of ​​the golden ratio - this is the second part of a piece of music, between the middle and the end.

The melody grows, becomes more intriguing and exciting. The sounds are sometimes strong, sometimes barely audible.

All musical instruments involved in the work take part in this.

For those people who love modern music, the highest point of intensity in the song occurs after the second verse, when the melody becomes faster, the tempo and timbre increase.

There are different ways of expressing climax in music. This does not always happen strongly and loudly. Often the greatest intensity of passions is conveyed very quietly, intensely, making you freeze in anticipation of the outcome. It all depends on the author’s idea, content, and overall design.

Important! This is not just a way to make the work even more interesting, it is the idea itself, the main meaning, the message that the author wants to convey to listeners.

You can find out what a culmination is in the modern Russian language by turning for help not only to the Internet, but also to dictionaries (Explanatory Dictionary edited by Ushakov, Literary and Encyclopedic Dictionaries).

They most fully describe the meaning of this term, and also provide examples for each of the designations.

There is another definition of the highest point of intensity - female. This refers to the woman’s sensations during sexual intercourse, the feeling of satisfaction.

There are many myths about whether female and male pleasure can be equal in strength. Some people believe that all the talk about the female peak of pleasure is just a myth, and no climax actually occurs.

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Let's sum it up

Climax is a multi-valued concept in Russian. It is usually associated with the creative sphere. Understanding what apogee is in any form of art makes it possible to correctly understand and perceive the essay, analyze the information that the author wants to convey.

In contact with

Everyone knows that the climax is the most intense moment of the work, which requires special attention from the viewer. It is found exclusively in all forms of literary creativity, from the simplest sayings to large forms of prose. The presence of this aspect in the work is inevitable, otherwise the reader's interest will be lost.

Description

Climax is the highest point of tension, which shows the essence of the problem and ways to solve it. In small literary forms, there is often only one intriguing episode, which is usually found at the end. These are easy-to-understand stories, parables, fables and the like. A striking example is the climax of a fairy tale. We take any story from a children’s book, for example “Cinderella,” and look for the decisive moment there. Of course, the most interesting thing for a child will be to read about how the evil stepmother found out that the mysterious guest at the ball is Cinderella, who is now marrying the prince.

Fairytale elements

Arabic tales have several climaxes, since they consist of different chapters. An example is Sinbad the Sailor. In each of his seven journeys there were previous events, their denouement and outcome, which was always happy. The plot is simple, but there are many tense moments; while reading this work, we understand that every time the climax is the way home, which Sinbad will be able to find during his next voyage.

Complex climaxes

In works of large form, as a rule, there are many climaxes. In a story, there can be several leading storylines that intertwine with each other, and each of them must have its own climax and events preceding it. The destinies of the heroes are intertwined, during which one solution to a problem can become the basis for the emergence of a new plot. As an example, let us take Bulgakov’s work “The Master and Margarita”. It is safe to say that in this case the climax is the entire novel. Here the disappearance of the outfits in which the ladies were dressed in the theater is replaced by a scene of Margarita’s experiences, which lead her to meet Azazello. And Professor Woland’s journey to Moscow leads to the fact that the Master frees from all sins someone who has sat in his chair for more than one millennium.

Conclusion

It is believed that for the reader it is the moments of the climax that are the most interesting. Therefore, authors often stretched out decisive events into chapters, forcing us to turn pages one after another in search of answers to all the questions that previously interested us. As a result, the climax may be unexpected, with many contradictory facts. Such works are called non-standard, the most interesting and exciting. If the plot comes to its logical end, then reading such a book is simple and accessible. It is ideal for those who often fly on planes or travel on trains.

We can say that the climax in literature is the most interesting moment of the work. He reveals to us all the secrets and shows the true faces of the heroes. And if something seemed incomprehensible to you, it means that this was intended by the author. Think of such books as mysteries that no one can solve.