Have all of the stories already been told?
By MOLLY THOMPSON – mmtthompson@ucdavis.edu
On the surface, our modern media landscape might seem like it’s full of new ideas and fresh stories. But in reality, we’re essentially rehashing the same classic themes time and time again, with the occasional twist.
There’s a theory in the world of literature initially coined by Melanie Anne Philips and Chris Huntley, which posits that there are only seven basic plots all stories can be traced back to. Essentially, every story is based on the same set of frameworks. Whether or not it’s actually true is arguable; In a way, these frameworks are sort of analogous to horoscopes or personality tests — if you look hard enough, you can probably find what you’re looking for. But, for the sake of the theory, here are the basic plots.
The first is titled “Overcoming the Monster,” where the hero must brave the lair of an anti-hero that’s threatening them and their community, defeat it and return victorious. Examples include everything from the classic “Beowulf” (the story of a hero who vanquishes the monster Grendle) to “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (in which Harry overcomes the malicious Lord Voldemort).
The second, “Rags to Riches,” entails a down-on-their-luck protagonist overcoming the odds and reaching their full potential of greatness, in one way or another. The obvious example of this is the ever-present “Cinderella” (which tells the story of a downtrodden maiden who rises to fame and fortune when she falls in love and marries a prince), but it can also be found in many other stories. This one is especially common in fairy tales — “The Frog Prince” (in which a prince is cursed to remain as a frog until a good princess truly accepts him) is another good example and extends to the Disney movie based on the tale, “The Princess and the Frog,” as well.
Next on the list, “The Quest” tells of a hero who sets out on an obstacle-ridden journey to reach a great prize. Classically, “The Odyssey” (Odysseus’ journey home after the Trojan War) is the poster child of this trope. However, modern examples can even include “Finding Nemo” (a fish’s journey to bring his captured son home).
Fourth is “The Voyage and the Return,” where a hero enters an unfamiliar and often enchanting new world that becomes threatening, to the point that the hero must escape and return to the safety of their home. “Alice in Wonderland” (the story of a young girl who falls into a magical realm that she must figure out how to escape from) showcases this, as does “The Wizard of Oz” (also the story of a young girl who falls into a magical realm that she must figure out how to escape from).
The next trope is “Comedy,” which describes the tale of a community divided by the lack of self-awareness and selfishness, who eventually become united by love and the discovery of common ground. Shakespeare’s popular play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (the story of four Athenians running away to the forest and falling into a love triangle and other shenanigans) is a comedy, as is the 2001 film “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (the story of a girl whose life upends when she becomes the center of a love triangle).
Fittingly, “Tragedy” is the subsequent plot framework. In a tragedy, the protagonist commits a fatal error and ends up falling from grace. Romeo and Juliet (two star-crossed lovers who end up dying as a result of their inability to live without each other, along with plenty of miscommunication) is a quintessential example of the tragedy trope. The play “A Streetcar Named Desire” (about a woman who loses her grip on reality as she’s unable to get what she most desires) is also a good example.
Finally, the seventh plot is “Rebirth.” In one of these stories, the anti-hero holds the hero hostage until they can be freed by the living act of another character. The ancient Greek story of Eros and Psyche (in which the goddess Aphrodite curses Psyche to fall in love with an unworthy man, but she ends up falling for Eros, who’s invisible the whole time) is exemplary of this trope. The classic tale of “Beauty and the Beast” (in which Belle is trapped by the Beast, until she eventually falls in love with him and breaks his curse, allowing him to return to his human form) also follows the rebirth pattern.
Naturally, these tropes build on each other over time. “Cinderella” might be an example of the “Rags to Riches” trope, but it also provides its own base for future stories. Many films (ie. “Ella Enchanted” or “A Cinderella Story”) are spin-offs of “Cinderella” which is itself a spin-off of the “Rags to Riches” story. Books like Marissa Meyer’s “Cinder” also retell the classic story with a modern twist, but at its core, it uses the same basic framework.
These stories prevail for a reason; They’re widely applicable and broad enough to encompass a variety of situations that carry mass appeal but are still human enough to be timeless. The same set of core structures, while they have their similarities, are still decorated in different ways so that they don’t become tired. That’s the beauty of it; it’s a cycle of inspiration and innovation.
There’s more to the story though. Even the original authors of the theory point out two more plots that they don’t emphasize because of how rare they are, though they do exist. The retelling of common themes permeates deep into our canons of ancient and modern literature and, as time goes on and art develops the throughlines, they become ever more intrinsic. Every story owes its weight to those that came before it, not just to its creator. In this way, the whole world of literature is as ancient as humanity itself — quite literally a tale as old as time.
Written by: Molly Thompson — mmtthompson@ucdavis.edu
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