[[quoteright:148:[[Webcomic/RoomiesItsWalkyJoyceAndWalky https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/walky-exposition.gif]]]]

%% Please don't leave character attribution in a script-style quote blank.
%%
%% If you know which characters said these lines, please fill this quote in!
->'''Unknown #1:''' I can't believe we've lost a bet and have to spend the night in this old haunted house!\\
'''Unknown #2:''' That's an oddly complete summary of our predicament.
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken''

Exposition is a literary tool that is used to give information to the audience through {{dialogue}}, description, {{flashback}}, or [[NarratorTropes narrative]].

In {{nonfiction}}, exposition is commonly found in essays, directions such as recipes and instructions, encyclopedias, and {{biograph|y}}ies. Exposition in nonfiction is usually achieved through description.

In {{fiction}}, exposition can be given in multiple ways. Sometimes it's as simple as a character observing a headline on a newspaper and sometimes as complex as the narrator giving an overview of the full history of the fictional world.

Exposition is a two-edged sword. While it is extremely useful for establishing setting, plot, and characterization, too much exposition at once can bog down a story and slow the pace to a crawl. An exposition that is overly long or wordy is known as an Information Dump (or {{Infodump}} for short) and is very difficult to do well.

See InformationDesk (where ''characters'' learn things), MeaningfulAppearance (using the way characters look as a form of exposition).
----
!!Tropes:

[floatboxright:
See also:
+ {{Dialogue}}
+ NarratorTropes
]

[[index]]
* AndAnotherThing
* AndThenISaid
* AsideComment
* AsYouKnow
* BeforeTheDarkTimes
* TheBigBoard
* CaptainObvious: A character who has the tendency to point out the obvious.
* CaptainsLog
* CassetteCraze
* CliqueTour
* CoincidentalBroadcast
* CombatCommentator
* ConnectTheDeaths
* ConstantlyCurious: A character who won't stop asking questions.
* CreationMyth
* DescriptionInTheMirror
* DoNotAdjustYourSet
* TheEchoer: Someone can only speak by copying another person's words.
* EncyclopediaExposita
* EnRouteSumUp: Sensitive orders are relayed during mobilization.
* ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy
* ExpoLabel
* ExpositingTheMasquerade
* ExpositionAlreadyCovered
* ExpositionBeam
* ExpositionBreak
* ExpositionCut
* ExpositionDiagram
* ExpositionFairy
* ExpositionIntuition
* ExpositionOfImmortality
* ExpositionParty
* ExpositoryGameplayLimitation
* Expositron9000
* {{Expospeak}}
* ExpospeakGag
* {{Flashback}}: A scene taking place in the past that serves to explain how things came to be and why certain characters are the way they are.
* FictionalDocument
* FictionalMedia
* FlavorText
* HappyFlashback
* HauntedHouseHistorian
* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits: Video game characters inform the player how the controls work.
* HowDadMetMom
* {{Infodump}}
* InfoDrop
* InformedAttribute: A character is said to have some kind of skill or quality that the story never really has them demonstrate.
* InnerMonologue
* InnerMonologueConversation
* {{Introdump}}
* JustBetweenYouAndMe
* LaserGuidedBroadcast
* LethallyExpensive: The importance of information is underscored by the fact that at least one person had to die in order for spreading the information to be possible.
* LectureAsExposition
* LetMeGetThisStraight
* LittleJimmy: A naive child in an educational film or PSA who exists only to be educated about the film's subject.
* LondonEnglandSyndrome
* LoreCodex: An encyclopedic list of things and events encountered in game provided for the player's reference.
* LuckilyMyPowersWillProtectMe
* MissionBriefing
* MotiveRant: The villain provides exposition for their motives behind why they are a villain.
* MrExposition: A character whose purpose is to explain what's going on to the other characters.
* MusicalExposition
* MythPrologue: The work starts with exposition about a myth that is important to the plot.
* NaiveNewcomer
* NarratingTheObvious: The narrator points out what should already be obvious to the audience.
* {{Narrator}}: A character who describes the events of the story as they happen.
* NewspaperBackstory
* NewspaperDating: A time-traveler checks a newspaper's date to determine what year they've arrived in.
* ObstacleExposition
* OminousMultipleScreens
* OpeningMonologue
* OpeningNarration
* OpeningScroll
* OrMyNameIsnt
* ParrotExposition
* ParrotExpowhat
* {{Pilot}}: A test episode made with the intent of being picked up for a full-fledged television series, which is likely to feature a lot of exposition about the intended show's plot to attract the interest of the audience and network executives.
* RamblingOldManMonologue
* RecapByAudit: The aftermath of an event reveals or sums up what happened.
* RecapEpisode: An episode devoted to recapping what has happened in the series so far, usually for the benefit of viewers who haven't seen the earlier episodes or may have forgotten certain developments due to a gap between the airing or viewing of episodes.
* RepeatingSoTheAudienceCanHear
* SealedOrders: Sensitive orders aren't relayed until the last moment to prevent intel leaks.
* {{Sexposition}}
* SlowPacedBeginning
* SoundingItOut
* SoundsOfScience
* SpeakingInPanels
* SpreadingDisasterMapGraphic
* StoryboardingTheApocalypse
* StoryBreadcrumbs
* StringTheory
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: In fiction, characters who are in danger somehow have the time to say anything before they get out of harm's way or fall victim to the whatever imminent danger they are in.
* TellMeAgain
* TextualCelebrityResemblance
* ThinkingOutLoud
* ThirdPersonFlashback
* TroubledBackstoryFlashback
* TVTelephoneEtiquette
* TwoScenesOneDialogue
* UnreliableExpositor
* WarWasBeginning
* TheWatson
* WhatIsGoingOn
* WhatYearIsThis
* WelcomedToTheMasquerade
* YouKnowWhatThatMeans
[[/index]]

----