Freytag's Pyramid: The Tragic Arc - Story Structure Explained

Everything you’ve read about Freytag’s Pyramid is WRONG!

Okay not everything, and it’s possible you have read correct information, but as I delved into this story structure I was immediately confused, because it seemed to be exactly like the Classic Roller Coaster.

Eventually, I found someone on Reddit explaining how the original work is in German and there seems to have been some mistranslation/game of telephone shenanigans going on. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to secure a copy of the original (translated) text (I tried my local library, I swear!) So, I have to base this off some assumptions and less than truly credible sources. With that in mind… let’s take a look at the similarities and differences between the Classic Roller Coaster and Freytag’s Pyramid.

(Moving forward, this blog post will make more sense if you read Classic Story Structure Explained and understand what the exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution are)

A Quick Overview

The biggest difference I found is that Freytag’s pyramid can be used to focus on a single character within the overall plot or as the plot overall. This means sometimes it needs to be used in tandem with another structure because it’s a character structure not a plot structure. The other huge difference is that it’s focused on drama, tragedy, while the overall plot doesn’t have to be a tragedy, this character's arc is. And this is made so clear by the two, of five, acts which are named The Fall and The Catastrophe.

It needs to be made clear that “The Fall” does not refer to falling action but the act of falling as if to the ground or off a cliff or down the mountain (or perhaps pyramid) you just climbed. That seems to be where a lot of the confusion, mistranslation, game of telephone has gotten it wrong. The original Reddit post says a lot of their reading turned up a translation that suggested a release of tension which certainly feels more like the falling action. The Fall actually creates more tension; it is the Catastrophe that releases it.

Okay, that’s enough about it in broad strokes… let’s check out each of the five acts in Freytag’s Pyramid and how they line up with what we learned about the Classic Roller Coaster Story Structure (which tends to be a 3 Act structure but can technically be any, that’s why we’ll look at 3 and 5 and 7!)

Introduction (or Exposition)

This section stays relatively the same. It's the set up for the story. Introduce your characters, setting, and hint at if not fully introduce the main conflict and desire. This section, when compared to the Classic Structure also includes the inciting incident. Or the catalyst for the story truly beginning; the reason the character steps out of their status quo.

Rising Movement

Picture the rising movement as the climb to the top of the mountain (or I suppose pyramid). It’s not entirely separate from the rising action of the Classic Structure, but it is not entirely similar either. Rather than reaching for the final battle, the event that completes the journey and provides context for the consequences (the falling action), we’re reaching for the high point in a character’s journey. The moment they think everything is coming together. We’re still aiming for a climax of sorts, but it serves a slightly different purpose.

Climax

The moment everything turns for the worst. The character realizes everything they’ve been working for is not going to turn out the way they thought. Their hard work? Worthless. This is the midpoint reversal or the twist. The climax in Freytag's Pyramid differs from what many refer to as the modern climax in location in the story and it line sup more with an emotional point rather than a narrative point. A tragedy's modern climax in in line with the beginning of the final act in this structure, The Catastrophe. We'll talk about that in a little bit.

The Fall 

The fall is every bad thing that happens once the character realizes they’re living a tragedy. This is not technically the falling action. The falling action slowly releases tension following the climax, The Fall is more like a fall from a great height or a fall from grace. If anything, tension continues to build for a bit before all hope is lost. At the beginning of The Fall there may still be some hope to turn things around; the character is thinking, "Sure, it may not look good right now but I've worked so hard, maybe i can fix this." Soon, it is clear the ending will be tragic…

Catastrophe (and Conclusion)

… a catastrophe if you will. The Catastrophe is when everything comes to its final crash and is quickly wrapped up in a conclusion. This event is the rock bottom for a character. It might even be the end of a character. It might be a mirror to where they began, but more likely it is lower than they began. This character got a taste of the sweet life before their hopes and dreams were dashed. Comparing this act to the Classic Structure, it technically contains the climax, falling action, and the conclusion.

In Conclusion…

Freytag’s Pyramid is a character focused structure for tragic narratives. While it has some similarities in visual depiction to the Roller Coaster, it is clear that the timeline shifts. The Pyramid is symmetrical with the climax at the center or midpoint of the story and marks the turn around while what many call the modern climax lines up much closer to the beginning of the Catastrophe which is the final act in the Pyramid.

Consider using Freytag’s Pyramid to help you outline a story or character arc that ends in tragedy, particularly one where there is a glimmer of hope in the beginning. The climb of the rising movement provides room to build tension toward the precipice of success and failure only to continue that tension as everything begins to fall apart toward catastrophe.

We’re going to keep on trekking through some more structures so keep your eyes peeled for those. If there’s one that you’d like to see explored next feel free to drop a comment!

If you’d like some guidance on your short story’s structure following this or the Classic Roller Coaster please reach out to discuss my editing services!