<P> A narrative work beginning in medias res (Classical Latin: (ɪn mɛdiaːs reːs), lit . "into the middle things") opens in the midst of action (cf . ab ovo, ab initio). Often, exposition is bypassed and filled in gradually, either through dialogue, flashbacks or description of past events . For example, Hamlet begins after the death of Hamlet's father . Characters make reference to King Hamlet's death without the plot's first establishment of said fact . Since the play focuses on Hamlet and the revenge itself more so than the motivation, Shakespeare utilizes in medias res to bypass superfluous exposition . </P> <P> Works that employ in medias res often, though not always, will subsequently use flashback and nonlinear narrative for exposition of earlier events in order to fill in the backstory . For example, in Homer's Odyssey, we first learn about Odysseus's journey when he is held captive on Calypso's island . We then find out, in Books IX through XII, that the greater part of Odysseus's journey precedes that moment in the narrative . On the other hand, Homer's Iliad has relatively few flashbacks, although it opens in the thick of the Trojan War . </P> <P> The Roman lyric poet and satirist Horace (65--8 BC) first used the terms ab ōvō ("from the egg") and in mediās rēs ("into the middle of things") in his Ars poetica ("Poetic Arts", c. 13 BC), wherein lines 147--149 describe the ideal epic poet: </P>

Example of in medias res in the odyssey