Many aspiring writers are concerned about the question of what a climax is in literature. This is the one Foundation stone, on which the fate of the work depends. Will it be able to intrigue the reader, will it live for centuries or will it flash with a weak spark and sink into oblivion?

What works of literature have a climax?

It is precisely where there is a conflict, its development, that is, a storyline, that there is necessarily a climax. In literature, these are stories, short stories, novellas, plays, novels, and sometimes poetry, for example, ballads, poems, fables.

In other types of genres, its presence may be inappropriate or undesirable. These include lyric poems, essays, sketches, descriptions, essays, and some types of articles, for example, critical or selling ones. Although there are exceptions always and everywhere. But in any case, no matter what type of work it is, no matter what genre it is written in, the presence of a climax requires the presence of a conflict, its development.

Can poetry have a climax?

This is a rather controversial point in the literature. After all, the storyline is not observed everywhere. For example, poetry of the 19th century. It was believed that it could not have a plot in any way. Lyrical poems usually described exclusively the experiences and internal struggle of the hero, glorifying nature and female beauty.

The turning point was the publication of A. S. Pushkin’s novel, which he wrote in verse. And in it, of course, there is a conflict that develops, reaches its apogee, that is, a climax occurs. In literature, this was the first experience of writing a novel in verse. However, it was received with a bang by readers.

Today this trend has many followers. In modern poetry, there are a huge number of works where conflict, its development and culmination take place. Examples in twentieth century literature are:

What is a climax?

The development of the plot in the work is provoked by conflict. It grows, old relationships become impossible. This can happen both in external events and at the spiritual level. inner life heroes. And then comes this turning point - a revolution in the hero’s consciousness or an action, an event that changes everything around.

So, what is a climax in literature? The definition of this part of the work will be quite simple. The moment when conflict situation reaches its highest point, its peak of development, which is considered to be the culmination. After all, this word itself is already translated as “peak.”

One of Guillaume Musso's heroes came up with a witty answer to the question of what a climax is in literature. The definition in short is this: it is the point of no return. And in fact, this turning point is the boundary that must be crossed. After it comes a new countdown of an absolutely changed being or consciousness.

“A touching story about a boy and a dog” clearly demonstrates the presence of a climax. This work tells how Dimka, who selflessly loves dogs, becomes disabled. The mother, who had previously been opposed to keeping a dog in the house, decides to take this serious step. The climax comes when the baby buries his face in the puppy's fluffy fur and laughs cheerfully for the first time since the injury. And his mother sternly tells him: “You promised that you would raise the dog yourself. It's time to keep your promise!"

And now the reader is transported through the years ahead. Not a boy, but a young man, limping, walks next to the aged dog, carefully watching him - what if he needs help? Dima understands that once upon a time it was this animal that forced the baby to get out of his wheelchair.

Scheme of constructing a plot literary work

Each plot consists of an exposition, a plot, a climax and a denouement. The classical construction should be exactly like this, the parts are in the marked sequence.

However, today authors are quite free with the rules once established by the classics. Today, the climax quite successfully plays the role of an introduction, intriguing the reader at the very beginning. However, even in this case, a denouement following it is necessary. Therefore, at the end of the work the writer returns to the climax. And in those rare cases when the author gives the reader the opportunity to think of the ending options himself, the climax is a stunning final chord.

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, you should analyze in detail what types of it exist, the features of its use in different types 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 it 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. It's connected with big amount characters, storylines, 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. main character, Margarita, goes to the ball as the 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 faces 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 doesn’t matter which one musical genre, direction we're 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.

Everyone takes part in this musical instruments involved in the work.

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

Eat different ways expressions of apogee 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 modern Russian by turning for help not only to the Internet, but also to dictionaries ( Dictionary edited by Ushakova, 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.

Useful video

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

- (new lat., from lat. culmen top). 1) the passage of a star through the meridian. 2) the highest point of the celestial body above the horizon. Dictionary foreign words, included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. CLIMAX 1) the passage of a star through... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

climax- and, f. culmination f., German Culmination lat. culmen (culminis) top. 1. astr. Passing through the celestial meridian. Sl. 18. Compose the culmination of the sun, moon and planets. MAN 10 559. Upper climax. Lower climax. BAS 1. 2. trans.… … Historical Dictionary Gallicisms of the Russian language

Top, peak, crown, apogee, zenith; highest point, point, highest level Dictionary of Russian synonyms. culmination see highest point Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical guide. M.: Russian language. Z.E... Synonym dictionary

Modern encyclopedia

CLIMAX, in astronomy, the passage of one of the inner planets, Mercury or Venus, through the solar disk. The culmination of Mercury occurs every 13 years, Venus every 100 years. The term also denotes the passage of any celestial body through… … Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

Climax- (from Latin culmen, genitive case culminis apex), 1) the point of highest tension, rise, development of something. 2) In astronomy, the passage of luminaries through the celestial meridian. They distinguish between the upper culmination, when the sun is close to the zenith, and... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (from lat. culmen gen. p. culminis apex), 1) the point of highest tension, rise, development of something. 2) In astronomy, the passage of luminaries through the celestial meridian. There is an upper culmination (M), when the luminary is closer to the zenith (Z), and a lower one (M), ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

CLIMAX, climax, women. (lat. culminatio) (book). 1. The passage of a star through the meridian (astro.). 2. transfer The point of highest ascent, highest tension. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 … Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

CLIMAX, and, women. 1. The passage of a luminary through the celestial meridian (special). 2. The point of highest tension, rise, development of something. (book) K. events. | adj. climactic, oh, oh. K. moment. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu.... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Luminaries, astrakh. the transition and the moment of passage of the luminary through the noon of the place; achievement greatest height. Climax, roll through the meridian. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dahl. 1863 1866 … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

- (Culmination) the passage of any luminary through the midday or midnight part of the observer’s meridian. Upper K. the passage of any luminary through the midday part of the observer's meridian. Lower K. the passage of every luminary through the midnight ... ... Marine Dictionary

Books

• "Black Death" . Special forces soldier from the future, Alexander Kontorovich. The culmination of the “Black Cycle”, which made the word “misfit” generally accepted! Continuation battle path our contemporary, thrown into the absolute hell of 1942. A new task for a saboteur from...

CLIMAX

- (from Latin culmen - peak) - a structural element of the plot: the peak of the conflict, the moment of the highest tension of action, the utmost aggravation of contradictions. K. reveals the main problem of the work and the characters of the characters most fully, after which the action usually weakens. Precedes the denouement (see denouement). In works with many plot lines, it is possible to have not one, but several Ks.

Dictionary literary terms. 2012

See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what CULMINATION is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

• CLIMAX in the Dictionary of Musical Terms:
  the moment of highest tension in a musical structure, a section of a musical work, the whole...
• CLIMAX in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  (from lat. culmen gen. p. culminis - top), 1) the point of highest tension, rise, development of something. 2) In astronomy - the passage of luminaries through ...
• CLIMAX in big Soviet encyclopedia, TSB:
  (from Latin culmen, gen. case culminis - peak), point, period of the highest rise, maximum tension in the development of something. In art (literature,...
• CLIMAX V Encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Euphron:
  the passage of a celestial body through the meridian of the place when the celestial body reaches its greatest or smallest height above the horizon. There are upper and lower K. ...
• CLIMAX in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  (from Latin culmen, genitive case culminis - top), 1) the point of highest tension, rise, development of something. 2) In astronomy - the passage ...
• CLIMAX
  [from Latin culmen (culminis) peak] 1) the passage of a celestial body through the meridian, that is, the highest (upper culmination) or lowest (lower culmination) ...
• CLIMAX in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  and, f. 1. astr. The moment a star passes through the celestial meridian, when it has the highest or lowest position relative to ...
• CLIMAX in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  , -i, w. 1. The passage of a luminary through the celestial meridian (special). 2. Point of highest tension" rise, development of something. (book) K. events. ...
• CLIMAX in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  CLIMAX (from Latin culmen, gen. culminis - peak), the point of highest tension, rise, development of something. In astronomy - the passage of luminaries...
• CLIMAX in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia:
  ? the passage of a celestial body through the meridian of the place when the celestial body reaches its greatest or smallest height above the horizon. There are upper and lower...
• CLIMAX in the Complete Accented Paradigm according to Zaliznyak:
  climax, climax, climax, climax, climax, climax, climax, climax, climax, climax, climax, climax, ...
• CLIMAX in the Popular Explanatory Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  -i, f. 1) astr. The passage of luminaries through the celestial meridian. The upper (lower) culmination of the luminary. 2) transfer , book The point, the moment of the highest...
• CLIMAX in the Thesaurus of Russian Business Vocabulary:
  ‘the highest degree of something’ Syn: top (arr.), top (arr.), crown (book, raised, arr.), apogee (book), zenith ...
• CLIMAX in the New Dictionary of Foreign Words:
  (lat. oilmen (culminis) top) 1) astr. the passage of the luminary through the celestial meridian, i.e. the highest (upper k.) or lowest (lower ...
• CLIMAX in the Dictionary of Foreign Expressions:
  [ 1. aster, the passage of a luminary through the celestial meridian, i.e. the highest (upper k.) or lowest (lower k.) position of the luminary relative to ...
• CLIMAX in the Russian Language Thesaurus:
  ‘the highest degree of something’ Syn: top (arr.), top (arr.), crown (book, raised, arr.), ...
• CLIMAX in the Russian Synonyms dictionary:
  the highest degree of something Syn: top (arr.), top (arr.), crown (book) raised. arr.), apogee (book), zenith...
• CLIMAX in the New Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by Efremova:
  1. g. The passage of luminaries through the celestial meridian (in astronomy). 2. g. 1) The period of the highest rise, development, tension of something. 2) Moment...
• CLIMAX in Lopatin’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  climax...
• CLIMAX in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  climax...
• CLIMAX in the Spelling Dictionary:
  climax...
• CLIMAX in Ozhegov’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  passage of a luminary through the celestial meridian Spec culmination point of highest tension, rise, development of something Lib K. ...
• CLIMAX in Dahl's Dictionary:
  luminaries, astrakh. the transition and the moment of passage of the luminary through the noon of the place; reaching the greatest height. Climax, roll through...

The climax is one of the plot elements in the development of the collision 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 of implementation. creative concept. 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 hero’s life, the result of which is the maximum disclosure of his character. inner world, essences of character directly related to main problem works. In large works with several storylines (« Quiet Don", 1928-40, M.A. Sholokhova) each has its own culmination point. 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 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 unusual shape. 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.