noun
- a secondary or subordinate plot in a literary work that runs alongside the main plot
Usage: literary
Examples
- The novel’s underplot involving the servant’s romance added depth to the story.
- Shakespeare often used an underplot to provide comic relief in his tragedies.
- The detective story had an underplot about the inspector’s personal life.
- Critics praised how the underplot complemented the main narrative.
- The underplot revealed important background information about the characters.
- Many readers found the underplot more interesting than the primary storyline.