What is deus ex machina? Meaning & examples from literature
The best stories take readers on a journey. They encourage them to empathise with characters and feel invested in their success.
When those characters experience conflict, readers root for them. When they beat a foe or overcome a personal challenge, readers enjoy a deep sense of satisfaction.
However, if characters solve problems too easily or unbelievably, readers can end up feeling underwhelmed. And this is why a deus ex machina moment can cause problems within your novel.
But what is deus ex machina? And why is it so problematic? Here, we look at the meaning and origins of the term. We also explore some examples of deus ex machina in literature.
What is deus ex machina?
Deus ex machina is a plot device used to solve a seemingly unsolvable problem with the help of an unexpected person, object or event. This unexpected solution appears suddenly, in an unbelievable way.
A hero coming to the rescue out of the blue. The use of a previously unmentioned magic. The revelation that the story was “all just a dream”. These are all examples of deus ex machina.
What is the origin of deus ex machina?
Deus ex machina translates as “god from the machine”. The phrase originated in ancient Greece where playwrights sometimes resolved character conflict with an act of god.
A figure like Zeus (the god) would be lowered to the stage using a crane (the machine). Then, he would get the protagonists out of whatever pickle they’d got themselves into.
Even at the time, critics felt that the use of deus ex machina was a bit of a cop out. Aristotle criticised its use in Poetics, his discussion of Greek dramatic theory:
“The unravelling of the plot, no less than the complication, must arise out of the plot itself, it must not be brought about by the Deus ex Machina — as in the Medea, or in the return of the Greeks in the Iliad.”
This phrase, coined by the Greeks, was taken and used by the ancient Romans, who translated it into the Latin version we use today.
How do you pronounce deus ex machina?
You pronounce deus ex machina like this: day-oos eks mahk-ee-nah.
And while we’re brushing up on our Latin, the plural of deus ex machina is dei ex machina.
What's the problem with deus ex machina?
The use of deus ex machina feels lazy and weak. It suggests that the author didn’t think their plot through properly. They backed their story into a corner. Then, they had no option but to create an implausible resolution to the problem facing their protagonist.
An implausible resolution is dissatisfying for readers. Over the course of a story, they become invested in its characters and their conflicts. So a deus ex machina moment feels anti-climactic.
The resolution doesn’t feel deserved. The believability of the story and its characters is undermined. And the unspoken contract between a reader and a writer is broken.
As always, if a story element doesn’t work for readers, it’s unlikely to work for agents or publishers either. The lack of a satisfying climax and resolution is one of the reasons books get rejected. So this is another big problem with using deus ex machina in a work of fiction.
Is deus ex machina always a bad thing?
Despite the problems of using deus ex machina, the technique isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, some writers deliberately use the technique for comic or literary effect.
For example, early James Bond always seemed to have a gadget perfectly suited to whichever sticky situation he was in. And — if you’ve seen Monty Python’s Life of Brian — you may recall a scene where Brian falls off a building and lands safely (and bizarrely) inside an alien spaceship.
This use of deus ex machina is in keeping with the comedic and tongue-in-cheek style of these narratives. It’s designed to prompt an amused eye roll from the audience.
Other writers use deus ex machina and get away with it, either because they’ve built up enough goodwill with their readers or because it does no major harm to the reading experience.
For example, there are lots of deus ex machina moments in the Harry Potter series. But young readers are so invested in the world and characters of Harry Potter that they don’t seem to mind.
Similarly, in Lord of the Flies, the deus ex machina ending isn’t so jarring because the themes of the novel have already been thoroughly explored in a way that is satisfying to readers.
So using deus ex machina isn’t always a bad thing. But it is always a risk. Introduce a deus ex machina moment and you stand to lose your readers — particularly if you’re writing a plot-driven story with believable characters.
What's the difference between deus ex machina and a plot twist?
The key difference between deus ex machina and a plot twist is believability. A plot twist is an unexpected turn of events that isn’t beyond the realms of believability. That’s because:
the twist makes sense in terms of plot progression and character motivation
the writer has foreshadowed the plot twist, leaving little hints throughout the story of what is to come
This means that — when readers reach the plot twist — they have an “aha” moment. They remember the writer’s hints and realise that this twist is something they could have predicted all along.
In contrast, deus ex machina is unexpected and beyond the realms of believability. It feels contrived, created purely to resolve conflict without any foreshadowing. So when readers reach a deus ex machina moment, they feel blind-sided and short-changed.
Examples of deus ex machina in literature
There are lots of examples of deus ex machina in literature. Here are a few of them.
The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz
The Alex Rider series features a teenage super spy called Alex Rider. Across 14 books and various daring missions, there are many deus ex machina examples.
In one scene, Alex is running from some gunmen. He runs to the rooftop of a building with no way down and the gunmen on the stairs. But suddenly… Alex remembers seeing (previously unmentioned) construction equipment, which he uses to slide to safety, away from his assailants.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Just at the moment when the protagonist is about to die at the hands of a rival group of boys, a naval officer and his fleet arrive on the deserted island to take the boys back to a world of law and order.
As I mentioned a little earlier, this deus ex machina moment doesn’t undermine the themes explored within the novel. In fact, it could be argued that it supports them. The seemingly neat and easy ending leads readers to think about how ordered and civil the adult world represented by the naval officer really is.
The Fatal Eggs by Mikhail Bulgakov
Another example of deus ex machina in literature can be found in The Fatal Eggs. Written by Mikhail Bulgakov and published in 1925 this is a satirical science-fiction novel.
In it, a zoologist discovers a light ray that increases the size and reproductive rate of living creatures. In the wake of a plague that wipes out all chickens, the government seizes his untested invention in a bid to rebuild the poultry industry. Disaster ensues.
At the novel’s climax, an army of giant snakes advances towards Moscow. But — in a chapter titled “A frosty deus ex machina” — they are killed off by an unexpected August frost.
How to fix a deus ex machina moment in your story
If you’ve accidentally written a deus ex machina moment into your book, you should alter your story to make your resolution feel earned and believable. Here are some tips as you approach your edit.
Don’t be afraid of an unhappy ending. Deus ex machina is often used to bring a story to a neat and happy conclusion. If this doesn’t feel believable, ask yourself whether a messy, unresolved ending might be more suited to the plot of your book.
Leave breadcrumbs. If a resolution feels contrived, try going back through your story to do some foreshadowing. Introduce clues that hint at the upcoming resolution. That way, when the solution emerges, readers don’t feel that it’s come out of nowhere.
Let characters come up with a solution. Rather than relying on external help to solve their problem, create a resolution based on the actions, decisions and growth of your protagonists. Let your characters confront the situation and contribute to its solution.
Rethink your plot. If your resolution still doesn’t feel believable, this is a sure-fire sign that you need to rethink your plot. If your characters are in a situation where only a deus ex machina can provide a solution, try cutting the scene and starting again.
Of course, oftentimes, editing your own novel is tricky. It can be hard to identify the bits of your story that work and those that don’t when you feel so close to the story you’re writing.
So if you could use a little help editing a deus ex machina moment — or finessing any other part of your story — take a look at my fiction editing services. I can provide the feedback and suggestions you need to improve your story, getting it ready for publication or submission.
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