Denouement is a part of a story's structure where most plot lines usually end, and events are explained. It often comes after the climax. The word comes from the French term dénouement, which means "to untie a knot." This idea is based on the Latin word nodus, meaning "knot."

In classical drama, the final resolution is often called catastrophe. Different writers describe story structures in various ways. It is common to include a part called "falling action" between the climax and the denouement. A denouement may be followed by a conclusion and an epilogue, which can explain the story's message or show what happens next, such as "they lived happily ever after." Some writers, like Henry Albert Philips (1912), include the denouement in the "conclusion."

Short stories, which use few words, often do not need a detailed denouement. Usually, a denouement is at the end of a story, but it can sometimes appear at the beginning, acting as a teaser. A denouement usually follows the events logically, but in some cases, it may happen without clear reasons, a situation called "deus ex machina," seen in ancient Greek tragedies by writers like Sophocles or Euripides.

A common type of denouement is a happy ending.