[0:09]Today I want to talk about the importance of stories. Personally, I love all stories. They can educate and entertain and tell us a lot about who we are and where we come from.
[0:25]After all, people have always told stories. Every culture in the world has its own tradition of storytelling. And from the moment we are born, stories are an important part of our everyday lives. But did you know that many of these stories from all over the world share the same basic story? In fact, some experts say there are only seven main plots. They say that all stories from century old folk tales to modern blockbusters fit into one of these categories.
[1:05]There's the monster plot where an enemy threatens a community until it is defeated by a local hero.
[1:17]Examples of this include Dracula and Jaws.
[1:28]In the rags to riches story, a poor character gets something and loses something, and learns a life lesson as a result. Cinderella is one of the most famous rags to riches stories. But there are many more, like Aladdin and Harry Potter. Tragedies are like rags to riches in reverse. The villain starts with everything but loses it all, usually because of their greed. Greek tragedies are particularly famous, as are many Shakespearean plays such as Macbeth. These villains usually die at the end. But some of these stories end differently.
[2:32]Instead, the villain changes, and by the end of the story, they are a hero. This plot is called the rebirth plot. A lot of old sagas follow the plot of the quest. Here, the main character goes on a journey in order to find something or get somewhere. On the way, they face many obstacles, but they usually get there in the end. The voyage and return is similar to the quest, but the hero often returns with nothing but experience. The Wizard of Oz is a fantastic example of that. Another category is comedy, but these comedies don't always make you laugh. As a plot, the comedy is really a love story. Two characters are in love, but an obstacle keeps them apart. In the end, they overcome the obstacle and live happily ever after. So, there you go. These are the seven main categories of story. But of course, there are millions of stories, and while they follow these basic plots, or indeed a variety of these basic plots, they're all different. If they weren't, we wouldn't find them so fascinating.
