H. P. Lovecraft

Plots may be simple or complex, but suspense, and climactic progress from one incident to another, are essential. Every incident in a fictional work should have some bearing on the climax or denouement, and any denouement which is not the inevitable result of the preceding incidents is awkward and unliterary.

American Novelist

Nancy Kress

A brief short story may require only a few paragraphs after the climax. On the other hand, in his massive novel 'The World According to Garp,' John Irving's denouement consisted of 10 separate sections, each devoted to an individual character's fate and each almost a story in itself.

American Writer

John Howard

There will, in my view, come a time when there has to be some kind of political denouement inside China, because the newly enriched generation might put up with being told what to do by their rulers - but their children, who will take prosperity for granted, will not.

Australian Statesman

Michelle Dockery

I think the success of 'Downton' is partly because there are effectively 18 leading characters, all given equal importance, so it's enormously involving on many levels. But also, it's a new story. It's not like Dickens or Austen, where everyone knows the denouement.

English Actress

The end of a story must be stronger rather than weaker than the beginning, since it is the end which contains the denouement or culmination and which will leave the strongest impression upon the reader.

Kathryn Bigelow

There's a conventional reaction when you see a star: You anticipate he'll be a part of a particular denouement down the road, so you don't worry for that character.

American Director

John Kessel

The conventional Aristotelian plot proceeds by means of a protagonist, an antagonist, and a series of events comprising a rising action, climax and denouement.

American Author

Greg van Eekhout

More than working toward the book's climax, I work toward the denouement. As a reader and a writer, that's where I find the real satisfaction.

Writer

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

It might be useful to be able to predict war. But tension does not necessarily lead to war, but often to peace and to denouement.

Lebanese Scientist

Indicates the point where the story concludes with satisfying finality for the audience.

Narrative Closure

Often carries emotional weight, leaving the audience with a lingering sense of the narrative.

Emotional Impact

The denouement can reveal hidden truths or twist that redefines the story perspective.

Plot Revelation

In a legal context, signifies the final decision or judgement of a case.

Final Judgement

Refers to the unraveling of complex events, not always in legal situations.

Mystery Resolution

The outcome might surprise everyone involved, overturning previous expectations.

Denouement