Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost.
The opening lines of Hell (Canto I), the beginning of Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy”, begin with Dante finding himself in an unknown place. But why does he begin in such obscurity, not telling us who he is or where he comes from? As Dante gets lost in the woods and begins his journey to Hell, the story expands and becomes a more detailed narrative, but it is as if we are invited into the middle of the events.
Your friend has recommended a book or series and you are curious. You finally take a break and start reading, but what happens, the story starts right away and you don’t understand what’s going on! You close the book and look for the missing pages, and when you can’t find them, you wonder if you bought the second book in the series. You return to the main screen to look for the previous episodes in the series, but when you open the first episode, you see the same opening again. There is no mistake, you are certain. What the “Hell” is going on?
Although we usually encounter it in detective novels or thriller series, this narrative form, which also has examples in history, is called “in medias res”. It means “in the middle of something” in Latin, which makes it a little clearer what it is. I am sure you have come across this type of work, even if you have not paid attention to it before. Let’s analyse where and why this form might be used.
In media res it is also referred to by the Latin words “ab ovo” (from the egg) or “ab initio” (from the beginning).
First of all, you may have noticed that we were drawn directly into the work without the need for a beginning or an introduction. Without being able to focus on the events, characters, setting and theme, we found ourselves following a criminal on a chase, or being a guest in the mind of a warrior wielding a sword in the midst of battle.
This undoubtedly arouses curiosity. It makes us ask, “Where am I?” and manages to draw us in. As our interest tries to adapt to this sudden movement, we realise that time has passed and that we are already involved in the process.
Because we are in the middle of a mysterious, dramatic or exciting event, artists who know how to reach the extremes of our emotions have trapped us in their works. Or perhaps, on the contrary, they plan to continue the main narrative, preferring to make a quick transition to hide the inadequate background of the story or to bypass the superfluous exposition. As in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, we learn of the king’s death from the characters, but we do not see it. We are informed.
In the end, the truth is that no matter what happens, we are caught in their web.
Photo by Jeevan Jose on Unsplash
Let’s look at it this way, maybe it’ll be easier to understand. A friend of ours has called us and told us to drop everything and meet him as soon as possible. As this is not the usual kind of message, we will naturally feel anxious and worried at first. In an instant we will take on the emotional state we think he is experiencing. We will have to make an instantaneous transition, just as the in medias res form does.
In other words, the artist wants to recreate a state of haste that enables us to empathise. Of course, the quality of the narrative is also important in achieving this impulse.
As well as the poetry of Dante Alighieri, it can be found in Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” or Homer’s “Odyssey”. This narrative, which can also be found in Jerome David Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”, is in fact a style that can be found in every period, every genre and plenty of literary genre, which means that it is a common style and has been adopted by most writers.
Photo by Tbel Abuseridze on Unsplash
Sometimes the narrative can take on a complex role. In other words, there are works where we cannot revisit what was mentioned at the beginning and we have to take all the clues from there. Sometimes they can also cause time jumps and confusion, which adds to the complexity of using in medias res.
Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” as a film, Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse 5” andJoseph Heller’s “Catch-22” as books, both told from the point of view of a single character and different characters, move in an anachronistic (irregular time jumps) and non-linear (with sub-levels) order that confuses with unexpected time jumps.
At this point, there is another technique with which I am sure you are familiar, which supports the in medias res style, and which is found in works that use this style (especially the more visually competent works). I am talking about flashbacks.
Especially in a dynamic work, the use of flashbacks can seem boring because it can cause the narrative to stagnate. However, because it adds new details to the usual flow, it is crucial to the completion of the story. It is often used to enrich character development or storytelling, and gives us the opportunity to better understand the characters’ pasts.
The best way to do this is to recall the details that you cannot remember at the beginning — and perhaps the relevant topics that are not mentioned in the whole work — compare them with the current narrative and fill in the missing pieces.
Hopefully these two complementary methods will catch your attention the next time you see or read about them.
Since “In media res” and “Flashback” are “plot” method of narrative techniques (or literary devices/literary techniques), other methods in these articles might interest you:
Chekhov’s Gun and Foreshadowing, as “plot” method of the literary techniques:
Verisimilitude, as “setting” method of the literary techniques:
The Fourth Wall, as “perspective” method of the literary techniques:
Rhetorics, as “style” method of the literary techniques:
Add Some Spice to Improve Your Stories and Narratives with Rhetorics
Red Herring, as “plot” method of the literary techniques:
Monomyth, as “plot” method of the literary techniques:
Hyperbaton, as “style” method of the literary techniques:
Eucatastrophe and Deus ex machina, as “plot” method of the literary techniques:
Symbolism, as “theme” method of the literary techniques:
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