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

Rising action

Rising action: The part of a drama that follows the inciting moment (the event that gives rise to the conflict) and precedes the climax or the crisis. During the rising action, the plot becomes more complicated and the conflict intensifies. Rising action is one of five structural elements associated with Freytag’s Pyramid, a model developed by nineteenth-century German writer Gustav Freytag for analyzing five-act plays, and tragedies in particular.