The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms - Ross Murfin 2018

Dénouement

Dénouement: From the French for “unknotting,” a term that both refers to the events following the climax of a plot and implies some ingenious resolution of the dramatic conflict and explanation of the plot’s mysteries or misunderstandings. Although dénouement may be applied to both tragedy and comedy, the term catastrophe is typically used with reference to tragedy.

EXAMPLE: The dénouement of the film Finding Forrester (2000) provides literary closure as well as a sense of poetic justice when Jamal Wallace — a poor African American student recruited by a fancy New York prep school to play basketball and then falsely accused of plagiarism — inherits the house, furniture, and books of his mentor, elderly New York writer William Forrester.