<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premise (narrative)</span>

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Premise (narrative)

<p>The <b>premise</b> of a text such as a <a href="/en/Book" title="Book" class="wl">book</a>, <a href="/en/Film" title="Film" class="wl">film</a>, or <a href="/en/Screenplay" title="Screenplay" class="wl">screenplay</a> is the initial state of affairs that drives the <a href="/en/Plot_(narrative)" title="Plot (narrative)" class="wl">plot</a>.</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Situational logic that drives the plot</div>
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<p>Most premises can be expressed very simply, and many films can be identified simply from a short sentence describing the premise. For example: <a href="/en/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial" title="E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" class="wl"><i>A lonely boy is befriended by an alien</i></a>; <a href="/en/Jaws_(film)" title="Jaws (film)" class="wl"><i>A small town is terrorized by a shark</i></a>; <a href="/en/The_Sixth_Sense" title="The Sixth Sense" class="wl"><i>A small boy sees dead people</i></a>.</p>



The premise of a text such as a book, film, or screenplay is the initial state of affairs that drives the plot. Most premises can be expressed very simply, and many films can be identified simply from a short sentence describing the premise. For example: A lonely boy is befriended by an alien; A small town is terrorized by a shark; A small boy sees dead people. 