The Daily Omnivore

Spoiler is any element of any summary or description of any piece of fiction that reveals any plot element which will give away the outcome of a dramatic episode within the work of fiction, or the conclusion of the entire work. It can also be used to refer to any piece of information regarding any part of a given media. Because enjoyment of fiction sometimes depends upon the dramatic tension and suspense which arises within it, the external revelation of such plot elements can ‘spoil’ the enjoyment that some consumers of the narrative would otherwise have experienced.

The term spoiler was introduced in the early days of the internet, and is often associated with specialist internet sites and in newsgroup postings. Early rules of netiquette insisted that spoilers could and should be normally avoided, but if the posting of “‘spoiling’ information was unavoidable, it be preceded by a warning (‘SPOILER!’), or the spoiler itself has to be masked so that it can not be visible to any but those keen for details and not fazed at the thought of such potentially plot-revealing information.

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Peripeteia [per-uh-pi-tee-uh] is a reversal of circumstances, or turning point. The term is primarily used with reference to works of literature. The English form of peripeteia is peripety. Peripety is a sudden reversal dependent on intellect and logic. Aristotle defines it as ‘a change by which the action veers round to its opposite, subject always to our rule of probability or necessity.’ According to Aristotle, peripeteia, along with discovery, is the most effective when it comes to drama, particularly in a tragedy. Aristotle wrote ‘The finest form of Discovery is one attended by Peripeteia, like that which goes with the Discovery in ‘Oedipus’…’

Peripeteia includes changes of character, but also more external changes. A character who becomes rich and famous from poverty and obscurity has undergone peripeteia, even if his character remains the same. When a character learns something he had been previously ignorant of, this is normally distinguished from peripeteia as ‘anagnorisis’ (‘discovery’), a distinction derived from Aristotle’s work. Aristotle considered anagnorisis, leading to peripeteia, the mark of a superior tragedy. One such play is ‘Oedipus the King,’ where the oracle’s information that Oedipus had killed his father and married his mother brought about his mother’s death and his own blindness and exile. That plot is considered complex and superior to simple plots without anagnorisis or peripeteia, such as when Medea resolves to kill her children, knowing they are her children, and does so.

A plot twist is a change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot of a work of fiction. It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation. Some ‘twists’ are foreshadowed and can thus be predicted by many viewers/readers, whereas others are a complete shock. When a plot twist happens near the end of a story, especially if it changes one’s view of the preceding events, it is known as a twist ending.

Revealing the existence of a plot twist often spoils a movie, since the majority of the movie generally builds up to the plot twist. A device used to undermine the expectations of the audience is the false protagonist. It involves presenting a character at the start of the film as the main character, but then disposing of this character, usually killing them. It is a red herring (a clue intended to mislead).

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