In Medias Res

In Medias Res

• Definition – A literary technique where the author starts in the middle of the story. It often requires some back-tracking to explain actions that occurred before the narrative began. Also known as medias in res meaning “in the middle of things”.

Ratatouille begins looking at a house in the distance with the muffled sounds of what turn out to be shotgun blasts and then with Remy jumping through a plate glass window while carrying a

book significantly larger than himself. It quickly jumps back to explain how the incident occurred.

Examples of In Medias Res

• Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey• Shakespeare’s Hamlet and A Midsummer

Night’s Dream• Star Wars: A New Hope• The Godfather

Function of In Medias Res

• Immediately introduces action, which then can be explained more fully as a narrative process.

• Take a small part of a larger story that the audience might be familiar with, also known as the back story.

• Many writers find that it can be a fun exercise to take a well known tale and to change it to begin in the middle.

• Helps writers to learn to tell a story from a different angle.

Homework

• Write three examples of In Medias Res.• Turn them in next class.