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odd_buttonsThe following is an excerpt from Part III of the book Making Shapely Fiction, by Jerome Stern. The first two parts are very much worth reading as well. The book is available in paperback.
Epiphany
The epiphany is the moment when the major character comes to some sort of profound realization. It may be an insight into self, into another person, or into the nature of a relationship. It may be psychological, political, philosophical, or theological. It may have comic or tragic consequences. James Joyce, who is responsible for making epiphany a widely used concept in modern criticism, wrote about how a seemingly trivial moment can be felt as a "spiritual manifestation" that transforms a character. The sacred connotation of Epiphany, meaning God's appearance in the world, suggests the significance of the moment of insight, even when it refers, as it often does now, to personal and secular revelation. Since the epiphany is often the point upon which the whole story turns, it's crucial that readers feel it as a powerful emotional experience.
See Aha!, Crisis, Objective Correlative, Scene.
Epiphany
The epiphany is the moment when the major character comes to some sort of profound realization. It may be an insight into self, into another person, or into the nature of a relationship. It may be psychological, political, philosophical, or theological. It may have comic or tragic consequences. James Joyce, who is responsible for making epiphany a widely used concept in modern criticism, wrote about how a seemingly trivial moment can be felt as a "spiritual manifestation" that transforms a character. The sacred connotation of Epiphany, meaning God's appearance in the world, suggests the significance of the moment of insight, even when it refers, as it often does now, to personal and secular revelation. Since the epiphany is often the point upon which the whole story turns, it's crucial that readers feel it as a powerful emotional experience.
See Aha!, Crisis, Objective Correlative, Scene.