Exposition

Exposition may refer to:

See also

Exposition (music)

In musical form and analysis, exposition is the initial presentation of the thematic material of a musical composition, movement, or section. The use of the term generally implies that the material will be developed or varied.

Exposition in classical sonata form

The term is most widely used as an analytical convenience to denote a portion of a movement identified as an example of classical tonal sonata form. The exposition typically establishes the music's tonic key, and then modulates to, and ends in, the dominant. If the exposition starts in a minor key, it typically modulates to the relative major key, or less commonly, the minor dominant. There are many exceptions—for example the exposition of the first movement of Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata modulates from C major to the mediant E major. The exposition may include identifiable musical themes (whether melodic, rhythmic or chordal in character), and may develop them, but it is usually the key relationships and the sense of "arrival" at the dominant that is used by analysts in identifying the exposition. The exposition in classical symphonies is typically repeated, although there are many examples where the composer does not specify such a repeat.

Exposition (narrative)

Narrative exposition, or simply exposition, is the insertion of important background information within a story; for example, information about the setting, characters' backstories, prior plot events, historical context, etc. In a specifically literary context, exposition appears in the form of expository writing embedded within the narrative. Exposition is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as modes of discourse), along with description, argumentation, and narration, as elucidated by Alexander Bain and John Genung. Each of the rhetorical modes is present in a variety of forms, and each has its own purpose and conventions. There are several ways to accomplish exposition.

Incluing

Incluing is a technique of worldbuilding in which the reader is gradually exposed to background information about the world in which a story is set. The idea is to clue the readers into the world the author is building without them being aware of it. Incluing can be done in a number of ways: through dialogues, flashbacks, character's thoughts, background details, in-universe media, or the narrator telling a backstory. The word incluing is attributed to fantasy and science fiction author Jo Walton. She defined it as "the process of scattering information seamlessly through the text, as opposed to stopping the story to impart the information." "Information dump" is the term given for overt exposition, which writers want to avoid. In an idiot lecture, characters tell each other information they certainly are already aware of. Writers are advised to avoid writing dialogues beginning with "As you know...".