Structure
The short story “Sea Story” by A. S. Byatt is structured around two conflicts, man versus nature and sea versus inland. The story begins with an exposition and continues with a rising action, but it lacks a climax. In fact, the story has an anti-climax, followed by a brief falling action and a resolution which coincides with the death of the characters.…
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Beginning
The short story begins with an exposition which includes a backstory on one of the main characters, Harold: “He was born beside the sea – almost literally, for his mother’s birth pangs began when she was walking along the shoreline under a pale sun gathering b…
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Middle
The rising action is triggered by the inciting action. Harold goes to Oxford to study poetry. While he is there, he starts to understand his connection to the sea as something special and to relate more closely to the people of his hometown. Back in Filey, he meets Laura, who is swimming near his fishing boat and whom he immediately falls in love with: “When he fell in love it was an immediate shock which was a…
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Ending
The ending includes a short falling action and resolution. In the falling action, what is left of the bottle and Harold’s message reaches Laura, who interprets it as more evidence of man’s disrespect f…
