Freytag’s Pyramid: The Formula for Tragedy

by The Cinema Scale

Introducing Freytag’s Pyramid

Freytag’s Pyramid is a five-act dramatic story arc created by Gustav Freytag, a German 19th-century novelist, and playwright.

Rooted in Shakespearean drama and Greek tragedy, Freytag’s Pyramid uses a dramatic structure comprised of five acts:

1. Introduction
2. Rising Action
3. Climax
4. Return
5. Catastrophe

Unlike other popular story structures like Dan Harmon’s eight-step story circle, Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, or the classic three-act structure, Freytag’s pyramid typically ends in tragedy.

Let’s take a look at each element of Freytag’s Pyramid and how they fit into three of the most popular Hollywood dramas.

1. Introduction

The first act is the Introduction, also known as the Exposition. The Introduction establishes where the story takes place, reveals the protagonist, and creates an inciting incident that pushes the characters out of their ordinary world into the unknown.

• Titanic: After boarding the doomed Titanic, Rose contemplates suicide to avoid her arranged marriage with Cal Hockley, but is saved by a stranger named Jack Dawson, who she develops feelings for.
• Gladiator: Maximus leads the Roman army to victory against the barbarians. The Emperor offers Maximus the throne but is murdered by his son Commodus, who sentences Maximus and his family to death. Maximus escapes, vowing to seek revenge upon Commodus.
• Se7en: Detective Somerset is on the verge of retirement when he’s partnered with the young and cocky Detective Mills to investigate a murder case. They discover clues that lead Somerset to believe that the serial killer is choosing his victims based on the Seven Deadly Sins.

2. Rising Action

In the second act of Freytag’s Pyramid, the Rising Action, tension and conflict build as the protagonist learns the stakes. They are usually thrown into a series of obstacles that they must overcome in order to meet their goal.

• Titanic: Rose struggles to decide between Jack and her arranged marriage with Cal, who would provide financial security for her family. Ultimately, she chooses Jack and runs off with him below deck to his third class section.
• Gladiator: Maximus is purchased by a slave trader named Proximo and fights in his first Gladiator games in North Africa, then in the great Coliseum in Rome, where he becomes a crowd favorite, biding his time until he gets a chance to kill Commodus.
• Se7en: Somerset and Mills continue to investigate the case and discover evidence that leads them to the serial killer’s next victims. Mills’s wife Tracy finds out that she is pregnant and asks Somerset for advice.

3. Climax

The climax is the crisis point. It’s when the plan fails. It’s when all hell breaks loose. The main characters have reached a point of no return and must battle against impossible odds to make it through to the other side.

• Titanic: Cal finds out about Rose and Jack and has him handcuffed. The Titanic hits the iceberg and begins to sink.
• Gladiator: Commodus learns about Maximus’s plan to overthrow him with the Roman army.
• Se7en: The serial killer “John Doe” agrees to turn himself in, but will only confess if he can take both detectives to see the last two bodies.

4. Return

The Return, or the Fall, can be summed up best in one word: disaster. In the Climax, the characters had a fighting chance. But at this point in Freytag’s Pyramid, the fate of the character’s are no longer within their control. They are at the mercy of the gods. The missile has been launched. Things have gotten F.U.B.A.R.

• Titanic: There are no more lifeboats. Jack and Rose must find a way to survive as the Titanic sinks deeper and deeper beneath the ocean.
• Gladiator: Maximus tries to escape, but Commodus has him captured and his former servant Cicero killed in front of him.
• Se7en: Once they reach the desert, a van appears. The driver explains that he was paid to deliver a package and gives Detective Somerset a box. When Somerset sees what’s in the box, he recoils in horror.

5. Catastrophe

The final stage of Freytag’s Pyramid ends in Catastrophe, also known as the “Denouement.” The character’s worst fears have come true and they lose everything. Maybe they die. Or perhaps they’ve lost their family or fortune. Whatever the case may be, it’s not exactly what you’d call a happy ending.

• Titanic: The Titanic sinks, condemning those without lifeboats to their doom. Jack sacrifices himself and freezes to death so that Rose could live (and have a little extra space on the floating door).
• Gladiator: Maximus has his revenge and kills Commodus in a sword battle to the death, but dies from his wounds (and is reunited with his family in the afterlife, which one could argue isn’t a catastrophe).
• Se7en: Detective Mills discovers his wife’s head in the box. In a fit of rage, he shoots Doe, embodying the last of the seven deadly sins, Wrath.