The moment a character discovers a crucial truth about themselves, another person, or their situation that changes everything.
Anagnorisis is the Greek term for the critical moment of recognition or discovery in a narrative. Aristotle considered it one of the essential ingredients of great drama, especially when it arrives hand-in-hand with a reversal of fortune. It's the scene where the blindfold comes off and the character finally sees what the audience may have already suspected - or what nobody saw coming.
The recognition scene is often the most emotionally charged moment in your entire story. It's where your character's inner journey crystallizes into a single beat of understanding. If your story's big reveal falls flat, it's usually because the character (and the reader) hasn't been given enough to misunderstand first. The gap between what they believed and what they now know is where all the power lives.
Oedipus's discovery that he killed his own father and married his mother is the original anagnorisis - the one Aristotle literally wrote the textbook about.
Elizabeth Bennet rereads Darcy's letter and realizes she has been blind to her own prejudice: 'Till this moment I never knew myself.'
Kathy and Tommy's slow, devastating recognition that their hopes for a deferral were built on a fantasy, and that no one will save them.
Malcolm Crowe's recognition that he has been dead the entire time reframes every scene the audience has watched.
If the character figures it out quickly and painlessly, there's no drama. The struggle to avoid the truth is what makes the moment of clarity powerful.
If readers are shouting 'figure it out already!' for too long, the recognition feels late rather than revelatory. Balance dramatic irony carefully.
Anagnorisis should change everything. If the character learns a devastating truth and then carries on as before, the recognition has no weight.
Write a scene where a character discovers something they've been wrong about for years. It could be about a person they trusted, a belief they held, or a memory they relied on. Focus on the exact moment the old understanding crumbles. Show their body language, the physical sensation of the realization, and the first thought that follows.