In medias res

A narrative work beginning ''in medias res'' (, "into the middle of things") opens in the midst of the plot (cf. ''ab ovo'', ''ab initio''). Often, exposition is bypassed and filled in gradually, through dialogue, flashbacks or description of past events. For example, ''Hamlet'' begins after the death of Hamlet's father. Characters make reference to King Hamlet's death without the plot's first establishment of said fact. Since the play is about Hamlet and the revenge more so than the motivation, Shakespeare uses ''in medias res'' to bypass superfluous exposition.

Works that employ ''in medias res'' often later use flashback and nonlinear narrative for exposition to fill in the backstory. In Homer's ''Odyssey'', the reader first learns about Odysseus's journey when he is held captive on Calypso's island. The reader then finds out, in Books IX through XII, that the greater part of Odysseus's journey precedes that moment in the narrative. In Homer's ''Iliad'' there are fewer flashbacks, although it opens in the thick of the Trojan War.

First use of the phrase

The Roman lyric poet and satirist Horace (65–8 BC) first used the terms ''ab ōvō'' ("from the egg") and ''in mediās rēs'' ("into the middle of things") in his '' Ars Poetica'' ("Poetic Arts", c. 13 BC), wherein lines 147–149 describe the ideal epic poet:

The "egg" reference is to the mythological origin of the Trojan War in the birth of Helen and Clytemnestra from the double egg laid by Leda following her seduction by Zeus in the guise of a swan. Compare the ''Iliad'', which begins nine years after the start of the Trojan War, rather than at its beginning.

Literary history

With likely origins in oral tradition, the narrative technique of beginning a story ''in medias res'' is a stylistic convention of epic poetry, the exemplars in Western literature being the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'' (both 7th century BC), by Homer.Murray, Christopher John (2004). ''Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850''. Taylor & Francis. p. 319. Likewise, the ''Mahābhārata'' (c. 8th century BC – c. 4th century AD) opens ''in medias res''.

The classical-era poet Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro, 70–19 BC) continued this literary narrative technique in the ''Aeneid'', which is part of the Roman literary tradition of imitating Homer. Later works starting ''in medias res'' include the story "The Three Apples" from the ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (c. 9th century), the Italian ''Divine Comedy'' (1320) by Dante Alighieri, the German ''Nibelungenlied'' (12th century), the Spanish '' Cantar de Mio Cid'' (c. 14th century), the Portuguese '' The Lusiads'' (1572) by Luís de Camões, ''Jerusalem Delivered'' (1581) by Torquato Tasso, ''Paradise Lost'' (1667) by John Milton, and generally in Modernist literature.

Modern novelists using ''in medias res'' with flashbacks include William Faulkner and Toni Morrison.

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" is written in medias res.

Cinematic history

It is typical for film noir to begin ''in medias res''; for example, a private detective will enter the plot already in progress. ''Crossfire'' (1947) opens with the murder of Joseph Samuels. As the police investigate the crime, the story behind the murder is told via flashbacks.
''Dead Reckoning'' (1947) opens with Humphrey Bogart as Rip Murdock on the run and attempting to hide in a Catholic church. Inside, the backstory is told in flashback as Murdock explains his situation to a priest.

The technique has been used across genres, including dramas such as '' Through a Glass Darkly'' (1961), '' 8½'' (1963), ''Raging Bull'' (1980), and '' City of God'' (2002); crime thrillers such as '' No Way Out'' (1987), ''Grievous Bodily Harm'' (1988), ''The Usual Suspects'' (1995), and '' Kill Bill Volume 2'' (2004); horror films such as '' Firestarter'' (1984); action films such as many in the James Bond franchise; and comedies such as ''Dr. Strangelove'' (1964). Some have argued that ''Star Wars'' takes advantage of this technique because its first-released film, ''A New Hope'', is the fourth episode of a nine-part epic. Regardless, though, ''A New Hope'' starts ''in medias res'' due to the movie beginning after the Death Star plans were stolen.

Superhero films with a satirical edge such as ''Deadpool'' (2016) and ''Birds of Prey'' (2020) have utilized ''in medias res'' to frame their stories.

Animated films such as ''The Emperor's New Groove'' (2000), ''Hoodwinked!'' (2005), ''Happily N'Ever After'' (2006), ''Megamind'' (2010), and '' The Mitchells vs. the Machines'' (2021) got their opening scenes ''in medias res'', with a brief but significant scene that foreshadows the events that occurred earlier. This scene is then seen again afterwards (although in a different way than how it was shown at the beginning).

Many war films, such as '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), also begin ''in medias res'', with the protagonists already actively in combat and no prior domestic scenes leading up to the film's events.

Occasionally, adaptations of source material employ ''in medias res'' when the original version did not. For example, the film adaptation of the stage musical ''Camelot'' employed ''in medias res'' while the original Broadway version did not (although revivals of the musical have). Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film adaptation of ''Lolita'' begins ''in medias res'' although the novel does not. Herman Wouk's stage adaptation of his own novel ''The Caine Mutiny'' begins ''in medias res'' as it opens with the court-martial that occupies the final section of the novel, telling the earlier part of the story through flashbacks in court-room testimony.

See also

*Reverse chronology
*Flashforward

References

External links

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{{italic title
Latin literary phrases
Literary concepts
Narratology
Narrative techniques
Horace