The denouement is the final section of a narrative in which the complications of the plot are resolved and the outcome is made clear. The word comes from the French for “untying.”

After the climax, the denouement shows the consequences of the decisive events. Loose ends are tied up, mysteries explained, and the new state of affairs—happier, sadder, or merely different—is established. In some stories the denouement is brief; in others it occupies a substantial final movement. A clumsy denouement can undo the effect of a strong climax by introducing implausible solutions or by lingering too long after the emotional peak.

The denouement is distinct from the falling action, though the two often overlap. Falling action is the sequence of events that follow the climax; denouement emphasizes the clarification and settling of the narrative’s central questions. Readers expect a sense of completion, even if that completion is ironic or open-ended.

When the knots of the plot have been untied and the story’s world stands revealed in its final shape, the denouement has done its work.