Climax (narrative)

There are several strategies in composing effective climax. For example, a climax that subverts the expectations of the reader or audience can provide a surprising twist that can challenge the audience's preconceived notions and understanding of the narrative. There is also the climax that meets expectations, offering a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment since it is aligned with the narrative cues and expectations previously induced in the minds of readers or spectators.

Some authors also employ "false climax", which may take different forms. An example is the false climax produced by breaking off the narrative abruptly the moment the suspense of the story is terminated. There is also the variant that involves an appearance of climax only for the author to introduce further conflict or twists. This may be demonstrated in the case of the marriage of James Morland and Isabella Thorpe in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. It initially appears to be a moment of resolution but ultimately leads to further conflict and disappointment.

Aristotle says that a climax must be "inevitable and unexpected".

An anticlimax is a disappointing event after events that were full of excitement. A poor anticlimax can leave tension and drama in dissolution. On the contrary, where the tone of the work requires a more equivocal conclusion instead of a dramatic change of status quo, an effective anticlimax is as valid a literary technique as a traditional climax.

There may be bathos, a technique that transitions a tense scene into comic relief, in an anticlimax, but they are not one and the same. Some anticlimaxes employ deux ex machina, such as for the fates of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games. They originally plan to take their lives to avoid finishing the Games, yet an external force ends it for them.