The Seven Basic Plots

Have you ever been reading a book and had that strange feeling of déjâ vu wash over you? Where you could almost exactly predict the ending and recognise some of the characters, having never read it before? That may be because there are a specific number of plot types that, supposedly, every book follows. 

According to Christopher Booker's 2004 book The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories, story-telling can be roughly summarised and categorised into seven specific structures. Each also follows common narrative patterns (such as the rule of 3) with a meta-plot to match. Of course, as with any rule there will always be exceptions, but while this theory has been criticised for being a little reductive, surely there is truth in the words that Booker took 34 years to craft and publish?

The Seven Basic Plots - Explained

Overcoming the Monster

The protagonist* aims to defeat an evil force which threatens them or their homeland

- James Bond            - Beowulf

- Star Wars               - The War of the Worlds

Rags to Riches

The poor protagonist gains power, wealth and/or a romantic partner, loses it all and then grows as a person when they finally gain it all back

- Cinderella               - Jayne Eyre

- Aladdin                   - Great Expectations

The Quest

Along with a number of companions, the protagonist leaves to find an important object or a wonderous new land, facing many temptations and obstacles along the way

- Watership Down       - Monty Python and the Holy Grail

- The Odyssey            - The Lord of the Rings

Voyage and Return

The protagonist travels to a strange land, where they overcome obstacles and learn important things unique to that location. They then return to their homeland having gained valuable and enlightening experience

- The Hobbit               - Alice in Wonderland

- Back to the Future    - Gone with the Wind

Comedy

The story features light and humorous characters who meet a happy ending, having overcome obstacles along the way. Booker stresses that comedy is more than just humour alone. It refers to a pattern of increasingly confusing events that finally become clear after one single, clarifying experience or event

- Twelfth Night            - A Midsummer Night's Dream

- Music and Lyrics        - Bridget Jones' Diary

Tragedy

The direct opposite of comedy, the hero protagonist succumbs to a great personal flaw or mistake which becomes their doom. The audience pities the fall of the fundamentally good character

- Citizen Kane            - The Picture of Dorian Gray

- Macbeth                  - Bonnie and Clyde

Rebirth

The main character is forced to reinvent themselves and change their ways because of a ground-breaking event in their life

- The Secret Garden    - Beauty and the Beast

- Groundhog Day        - Pride and Prejudice

"However many characters may appear in a story, its real concern is with just one: its hero. It is the one whose fate we identify with, as we see them gradually developing towards that state of self-realization which marks the end of the story. Ultimately it is in relation to this central figure that all other characters in a story take on their significance. What each of the other characters represents is really only some aspect of the inner state of the hero himself"

- Christopher Booker

*Protagonist [n.]

The leading character or one of the major characters in a play, film, novel etc