denouement

Denouement is a narrative term describing the final portion of a plot in which the strands of action are drawn together and the outcomes for characters are revealed. Coming after the climax and falling action, the denouement provides explanation for unresolved mysteries, resolves subplots, and often signals the story’s ultimate state of equilibrium or its new normal. The word derives from the French dénouer, “to untie” or “to un-knot.”

In traditional dramatic and narrative theory, the plot follows a sequence: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. The denouement may be brief, consisting of a single scene that shows characters’ fates, or it may be more extended, tying together themes and revisiting motifs. It is distinct from the climax (the moment of greatest tension) and from the resolution (the overall settlement of the story’s concerns). Some works end with a relatively open denouement, leaving questions unanswered or offering an ironic twist; others provide a clear, definitive closure.

In practice, denouement commonly occurs in mystery and detective fiction, where the culprit is revealed and the solution is explained, but it also appears in tragedies and comedies to show reconciliation, punishment, reward, or the restoration of social order. Across genres, the denouement serves to stabilize the narrative world after conflict and to clarify the story’s moral or thematic arc.