The earliest events and details of a plot are generally considered to be parts of its exposition. The exposition is the subsection of a story's plot in which the characters and setting of the story are first revealed to the audience. All of the information that is necessary for the audience's understanding of and engagement with the rest of the story is provided during the exposition. This can, and generally does, include background information about events involving the characters and settings that took place before the beginning of the current story, including the nature of the relationships between each character.
The second part of a successful dramatic plot, as described by Freytag, is the rising action. The rising action deals with the introduction of conflict into a story, which in turn leads to the creation of tension and suspense. Conflict refers to the protagonist's efforts to overcome an obstacle or achieve a certain goal. Generally, there will be many scenes of the protagonist facing minor obstacles during the rising action as he attempts to overcome the major conflict at the heart of the story. The rising action depends on the exposition because without knowledge of a character's specific personality and motivational drives, his actions would not be interesting to or understood by the audience.
The climax is the point in the plot at which the protagonist makes a decision that affects the outcome of the rest of the story. During the climax, the character faces his obstacles one final time and effectively resolves the conflict of the story for better or for worse. It is often termed the "turning point" of a story and it is the point of highest tension in the plot. On Freytag's pyramid, the climax marks the peak of the pyramidal shape because every previous event should lead up to the climax and the events following are considered the falling action.
The falling action is made up of the events that take place after the resolution of the major conflict during the climax. During this part of the plot, all of the major loose ends from earlier in the novel are tied up; all or some previously hidden plot details may be revealed to the characters and audience. The dramatic tension that reaches its height at the climax begins to be relieved as the plot reaches its final phase, the denouement.
The final section of the plot is referred to as the denouement. The denouement reveals to the audience what happens to the characters at the end of the story or hints at what will eventually become of them in the future that exists beyond the end of the story. At this point, all loose ends should be tied up and all conflicts should be resolved in a way that is meaningful to the story's audience.