Folklore: In media res

Subject: Folklore: In media res
From: Kent Davis
Date: 31 Jul 07 - 01:26 AM

What do you call those elements of a work of art which give evidence for events that occured in the mind of the creator, but not in the actual creation? For example, in "Barbra Allen", what do you call Barbra's accusations about Johnny Green's behavior at the tavern? The song starts in media res, in the middle of things, with poor Johnny already on his deathbed. Johnny's toast to the ladies does not occur in the actual song. The song contains "evidence" of the toast having "occurred", but it occurred only in the mind of the creator.   
I'm looking for a general term that would describe the bloodstains in "Edward", the wounds on the sculpted "Dying Gaul", the wet hair of the fleeing boys in Norman Rockwell's "No Swimming", and the "do do do so la ti do ti la so" of Mendelssohn's "Reformation Symphony". All of these elements are evidences of events which occurred in the minds of those creators, but which did not occur in the physical manifestation, the actual work of art. Surely there is a name for such "evidences". Thanks for your help!
Kent

Subject: RE: Folklore: In media res
From: ClaireBear
Date: 31 Jul 07 - 03:12 PM

"Exposition

"In drama, the presentation of essential information regarding what has occurred prior to the beginning of the play. In the exposition to William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet,' two servants of the house of Capulet discuss the feud between their master and the house of Montague, thereby letting the audience know that such a feud exists and that it will play an important role in influencing the plot.

"In the exposition to the film 'Star Wars,' Luke Skywalker sees a 3D holograph projection of the Princess Lea warning that she is a prisoner of Darth Vader and begging for help."

From this dictionary of literary terms.

Not sure if it would have a different name in a musical context.

Subject: RE: Folklore: In media res
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 31 Jul 07 - 03:24 PM

Flashbacks? I could imagine the term "memory echoes".

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Folklore: In media res
From: curmudgeon
Date: 31 Jul 07 - 03:31 PM

Asides ?

Subject: RE: Folklore: In media res
From: Jack Campin
Date: 31 Jul 07 - 04:14 PM

There is a term in literary theory which means the implied factual background to a narrative. But I can't remember what the heck it is - "dia-" something? Might be in Wayne C. Booth's "The Rhetoric of Fiction".

Subject: RE: Folklore: In media res
From: ClaireBear
Date: 31 Jul 07 - 04:22 PM

I had dismissed flashback as too vague, but it might be correct. From the same site as the prior term whose definition I posted:

"Flashback

"A reference to an event which took place prior to the beginning of a story or play. In Ernest Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilamanjaro," the protagonist, Harry Street, has been injured on a hunt in Africa. Dying, his mind becomes preoccupied with incidents in his past. In a flashback Street remembers one of his wartime comrades dying painfully on barbed wire on a battlefield in Spain."

A problem with this term, though, is that the "flashback" episode in question is not defined as having relevanv=ce to the plot.

Shall keep searching.

Subject: RE: Folklore: In media res
From: Darowyn
Date: 01 Aug 07 - 03:43 AM

Actors tend to call the history of their characters prior to the action of the play, "back story".
Of course, you would have to translate that into Greek to make it the proper term- nothing is a reputable academic term unless it is in Greek or Latin.
"Exposition" is a fine example- just means outside (the main work).

Subject: RE: Folklore: In media res
From: Darowyn
Date: 01 Aug 07 - 03:48 AM

To paraphrase the thread title "Ex medio rerum" or "outside the middle of things" would do the job.
Cheers
Dave

Subject: RE: Folklore: In media res
From: Kent Davis
Date: 01 Aug 07 - 08:57 PM

Thank you for the replies. They have gotten me closer to what I'm looking for.
In the ballad "Edward", Edward's mother did not love his father. The evidence for this is that she expresses no sadness when told of her husband's death. She had subtly encouraged Edward to kill his father. The evidence for this is that she expresses no surprise when told of the killing, and also that Edward curses her in response to her question about what he leaves to her.
"Exposition" and "aside" refer, as I understand the terms, to revelations about the back story made "deliberately" by a character within the work. If that is so, then there are no asides and there is no exposition in "Edward". Is there a more general term that would describe asides and exposition and also more subtle evidence of the backstory?
Kent