Subplot

A subplot is a secondary line of the development of events in a literary work that unfolds parallel to the main plot, complementing, setting off, or deepening it. Subplots are connected with the fates of secondary characters and, interweaving with the main action, enrich the content of the work, broaden its fictional world, and create a voluminous picture of life. They may contrast with the main line or develop the same theme in parallel, reinforcing the ideational resonance. The skillful combination of the main and secondary plot lines is a mark of a complex, multi-layered composition characteristic of the large epic genres — the novel and the epic novel. For example, in Panas Myrny's social-psychological novel Do the Oxen Low When Mangers Are Full? the main line of Chipka's fate is combined with the subplots of other characters and families, which together reproduce a broad panorama of the post-reform Ukrainian village and its social contradictions.