🌍 A situation 🎭 Scene setting

catastasis

9.9

The part of a play that shows the situation and builds the conflict before the climax

noun
/kəˈtæstəsɪs/

Archaic

: catástasis

Literary scholars analyze the catastasis to see how tension is built before the climax.

Examples

The director emphasized the catastasis to help the audience understand the characters' motivations.
In classical plays, the catastasis often reveals the main conflict before the story reaches its peak.
The catastasis was intense.
This is a crucial catastasis.
In classical plays, the catastasis often reveals the main conflict before the story reaches its peak.
The director emphasized the catastasis to help the audience understand the characters' motivations.
Literary scholars analyze the catastasis to see how tension is built before the climax.

Synonyms

protasis

vscatastasis

Literature

9.9

Beginning part of a play, story, or speech that sets the scene

develops the situation further to build conflict before the climax

narratio

vscatastasis

Formal

9.9

The part of a speech that gives the facts of a case

focuses more on developing dramatic conflict rather than only stating facts

How Exciting

climax

38 3.7

subclimax

Literature

8.2

buildup

64 3.1

catastasis

Archaic

9.9

Surface Forms

catastasis singular

catastases plural

Morphology

catastasis = stasis (opaque) = cata + stasis

The dramatic sense is specialized and the Greek combining forms are not likely to be productive knowledge for an average learner.

Etymology

Catastasis comes from Greek parts kata- 'down' and stasis 'standing', as in 'stand'. In drama it came to mean the 'standing' of the story before the climax, so it refers to the part that sets the scene and builds the conflict before the peak.