Are you struggling to find a tangible path to your story’s ending? Maybe you’ve got strong characters and a conflict, but you’ve lost the way—unsure where it’s going? It’s time to consider the Problem of the World.
The key to finding a satisfying ending is to go back to the beginning. Assess the problem at the start of the story and make sure it drives the action all the way to a conclusion.
This article explores the Problem of the World (POTW), how it sets up conflict, and how it helps writers in all disciplines find a satisfying resolution.
Ready? Let’s dive in.
What is the Problem of the World?
Compelling stories often begin with an imbalance. Something in the protagonist’s world that’s incomplete, broken, or unsustainable.
We see them struggle and cope with it, but the pressure threatens to doom them to a life of inertia.
The Problem of the World (POTW) is the root of the central conflict—the reason the protagonist is primed for change (and why they resist it), and the reason the story needs to happen now.
Why do we need a Problem of the World?
A clear POTW gives your protagonist a reason to act, a reason to want something, and a reason to believe that their objective will fix everything.
It shapes the tensions at the story’s opening, although they might be dealing with a symptom of the POTW—the true reality might not rear its head until the Falling Action.
The POTW drives the rising and falling action, and ultimately defines the transformational arc of Act 3.
Ultimately, your story has movement but no meaning without a clear central problem for the protagonist to address.
How the Problem of the World Affects the Protagonist
The Problem of the World is the condition preventing the protagonist from actualising at the opening of your story. It prevents them from becoming the person they wish they could be.
It might be:
- A lie they’re forced to protect
- A social structure that limits them
- A relationship dynamic that traps them
- A fear that stifles them and shapes their choices
- A belief that keeps them small
- A wound they refuse to acknowledge
If you understand the state of the world in which your story opens, you’ll enjoy greater clarity over the force that is preventing your character from living their perfect existence.
The Problem of the World for a happy ending
If you’re planning a happy ending, show us the protagonist coping with the tyranny of the POTW.
Show us how the central conflict diminishes them; how it prevents them from achieving their potential.
Make your character work hard to achieve an objective, obstructed in some way by the forces that represent the POTW.
Come again?
Your protagonist might wake up to find a final demand letter on their doormat. Maybe they open it, stare at it, and stuff it in their pocket when they hear their partner enter the room.
This could build the opening tension, but is it enough to sustain the story?
Paying the bill will save them from having to reveal the secret to their partner. But will it solve the problem of the world?
The POTW here is the source of the debt, and that may not fully emerge until the Falling Action, after they’ve achieved their initial objective.
Maybe they discover that they’re being held in perpetual debt by a system that keeps them poor? Perhaps they can’t pay the bill because something else is wrong—they’re being blackmailed/co-erced/bullied/subjugated.
In this case, the final demand letter is the symptom of the POTW, but what is the source? Understanding the ” why” provides a richer tapestry and a channel into a more complete story. Overcoming the thing holding them back is the path to the ending.
The Problem of the World in tragedy
We typically see the world of comfort in the opening scene(s) of a tragedy. This way, we see what they lose, making us feel the loss more deeply when we watch them meet their fate at the end.
The POTW is there at the beginning, but it’s hidden—it’s a secret, something that went silent a long time ago.
In tragedy, the POTW ultimately destroys the protagonist. They fail to escape its grasp.
All My Sons
Consider the opening of All My Sons by Arthur Miller—a great example of a tragedy.
The opening scene is one of comfort and ease, a domestic scene that shows how the Kellers are viewed in the local community—respectable, retired business owners, well-liked. However, a tree in Joe’s front garden has been uprooted overnight.
Today, his son’s ex-girlfriend, Ann, comes to visit with a revelation of her own—an incident that will disrupt the Kellers’ comfortable existence. Her appearance prompts uncomfortable questions no one wants to consider. And, more importantly, the central lie that has been buried for years is about to be unearthed—just like the fallen tree—a memorial to Joe’s son, who disappeared in action, feared dead.
So, we see a brief period of comfort that’s promptly disrupted, forcing Joe to face the truth once and for all.
Watch All My Sons (requires National Theatre At Home subscription.
The Problem of the World is the Source of the Conflict
You can have conflict without a clear POTW, but having clarity of the central problem provides a clear path of escalation.
The audience sees the imbalance, the tension, the thing that cannot continue, sometimes before the protagonist does.
And it’s this dramatic inevitability that demands that the story must unfold, setting the tone of the conflict.
Why the Problem of the World Matters
A strong POTW does three essential things:
1. It forces the protagonist into action in Act 1
The protagonist acts because the POTW becomes unbearable. We discover them at the start of the story as we present it in the midst of the crisis—a shadow of somebody they once wished they might be.
Act 1 shows us how the problem is insurmountable, inevitably pushing them toward a big decision they believe will overcome it: the inciting incident.
The inciting incident occurs at the end of Act 1 and solidifies the protagonist’s resolve to finally confront the forces holding them back.
And with a new objective in hand, they set off on the adventure of Act 2.
2. It shapes the protagonist’s objective throughout the Rising/Falling Action
The protagonist believes they will solve the POTW by achieving the objective crystallised by the inciting incident.
But while the objective drives them to the climax of the Rising Action of Act 2—a brief moment of triumph—it doesn’t solve the problem.
They soon realise that they misunderstood or underestimated the POTW altogether. And it looms larger than ever, driving them into the doomed Falling Action of Act 2, where they plummet to their low-point where it feels that all is lost.
3. It defines the emotional arc of the story
The protagonist realises that their journey wasn’t about achieving the objective.
It was about confronting the truth beneath the POTW.
Act 3 is the moment they finally face what has been tormenting them, leading to a happy ending or plunging us into tragedy.
How the Problem of the World Works Across the Three‑Act Structure
Act 1: Coping with the World
Act 1 shows us the protagonist living with the POTW. They’re functioning, but incompletely; coping, but not thriving; avoiding something essential.
This is where you establish:
- The protagonist’s coping mechanisms
- The routines that keep them safe
- The relationships shaped by avoidance
- The cracks in the world that only the audience can see
The protagonist is not ready to change. But the world is.
The Inciting Incident: Born of the POTW
The inciting incident is not random. It emerges directly from the POTW—the moment the world pushes back; when the protagonist’s coping strategies fail.
The protagonist responds by forming an objective — a clear, actionable want. They believe that achieving this objective will fix the POTW.
They’re wrong. But they must try.
The Rising Action of Act 2: Pursuing the Wrong Solution
The first half of Act 2 is the Rising Action, and the protagonist pursues their objective with refreshed vigour and intensity. They believe they’re solving the POTW.
But they’re not.
This is where the protagonist thinks they’re fixing the world.
But they’re not.
The Falling Action of Act 2: Avoiding the Truth
When the objective fails to diminish the problem, the protagonist’s coping mechanisms collapse. And the truth they’ve been running from all along becomes unavoidable. But they avoid it nonetheless (because humans resist emotional change).
We often say that the character pursues their want throughout the Rising Action and avoids their emotional need during the Falling Action, where the protagonist suffers the emotional cost of their avoidance.
By the end of Act 2, it appears the POTW has beaten them.
Act 3: Facing the Truth
Act 3 is the moment of reckoning. The protagonist must confront the truth beneath the POTW—the thing they weren’t ready to face.
If the story is a comedy or a drama with a hopeful ending, they overcome the POTW. If it’s a tragedy, the POTW crushes them.
Either way, the world at the end of the story is different. The POTW is no longer a challenge — either because it has been resolved or because it has consumed the protagonist entirely.
Classic Examples: How the Problem of the World Drives the Story
Here are some examples from classic plays that illustrate how the POTW shapes the protagonist’s journey from beginning to end.
1. Hamlet — Shakespeare
The POTW
The world is morally diseased. Denmark is “out of joint.””” Hamlet senses corruption but cannot name it. His POTW is existential paralysis: he cannot act in a world where truth is unstable.
Act 1: Coping
We see Denmark in a state of moral decay. Hamlet copes through melancholy, wit, and avoidance. He intellectualises everything. The audience sees the imbalance: a prince who cannot act in a world that demands action.
Inciting Incident
The Ghost reveals the truth: Claudius murdered Hamlet’s father. This sharpens the POTW — the world is corrupt — and gives Hamlet an objective: avenge the murder.
Act 2: Pursuing the Wrong Solution
Hamlet believes that killing Claudius will fix the POTW. But his real problem is paralysis. He pursues the objective intellectually: staging the play, testing Claudius, delaying action.
The rising action is Hamlet trying to solve a moral crisis with analysis.
Act 3: The Climax/Turning Point
Hamlet kills Polonius — the wrong man — proving that his paralysis is not caution but fear. But rather than the feeling of completion and retribution he hopes for, the POTW overwhelms him. This marks his point of no return.
Act 4: Facing the Truth
Hamlet, exiled, realises he can’t out-think fate. Hamlet finally accepts that action is necessary.
Act 5: Resolution
He fulfils his vengeance by finally killing Claudius — but it’s too late; the delay costs him his life and kingdom. The POTW consumes the world. The tragedy is complete.
Watch Hamlet. (Requires National Theatre At Home subscription).
2. A Doll’s House — Henrik Ibsen
The POTW
Nora lives in a patriarchal world that infantilises her and denies her legal or financial autonomy. She senses the oppression, but rationalises it.
Her POTW is existential infantilisation: she can’t exist as a self-determined human being; the world views her as a prized, dependent possession: a ” doll”.
And she believes she must perform happiness to be loved.
Act 1: Coping
Nora copes through charm, secrecy, and self‑sacrifice, playing the “doll” to cope.
She maintains the illusion of a perfect home while secretly indulging in hidden rebellions, such as eating macaroons, which she denies when challenged.
Inciting Incident
Krogstad threatens to reveal her forgery—a forged signature on the illegal loan she took out to save her husband Torvald’s security.
This sharpens the POTW: Nora’s world is built on a lie. Her objective becomes protecting her family and preserving her marriage.
Act 2: Pursuing the Wrong Solution
Nora believes that keeping the secret will fix the POTW. She tries to manipulate events, charm Torvald, and control the fallout. But Krogstad, Torvald’s former colleague, knows Nora’s secret and exposes her.
But all the time, the real problem is not the forgery — it’s the marriage itself.
Reverse Climax
Torvald discovers the truth and reacts with cruelty, refusing to acknowledge that Nora acted to save his skin.
And when all is saved, Nora sees that her marriage is a performance, not a partnership.
Act 3: Facing the Truth
Nora confronts the POTW directly: she leaves. The world changes. The POTW is no longer a challenge because she refuses to live within it.
Watch A Doll’s House below.
3. Death of a Salesman — Arthur Miller
The POTW
Willy Loman lives in a world defined by capitalist mythmaking. His POTW is the belief that being ” well‑liked” guarantees success.
Act 1: Coping
Willy copes through nostalgia, denial, and fantasy. The audience sees the imbalance: his worldview is collapsing as he struggles to maintain his fantasy of success.
Inciting Incident
Biff returns home, triggering Willy’s fear that his son has failed. Willy’s objective becomes restoring Biff to the myth of success—the mould of the American Dream.
Act 2: Pursuing the Wrong Solution
Willy pushes Biff toward business, asking Oliver for a loan, while trying to salvage his own job, believing this will fix the POTW. But the real problem is Willy’s worldview, not Biff’s choices.
Reverse Climax
Biff confronts Willy with the truth, breaking down and crying, revealing he loves his father as an ordinary man: “We’re a dime a dozen.””” Willy cannot accept it.
Willy misinterprets Biff’s tears as frustration, proof of his potential for greatness. Instead of facing reality, Willy doubles down on the myth, choosing the tragic path: he kills himself, believing the insurance money will validate his myth. The POTW consumes him.
The tragedy is complete at Willy’s funeral, where Biff rejects Willy’s dream while brother Happy vows to continue it, demonstrating how the capitalist myth continues to consume the following generation.
Watch A Death of a Salesman below.
How to Build a Strong Problem of the World in Your Own Work
Here are practical ways to craft a compelling POTW:
1. Identify the protagonist’s coping strategy
What do they do to survive the world?
This reveals what they’re avoiding.
2. Make the POTW emotional, not logistical
It’s not “the rent is due.”
It’s “I believe I’m worthless unless I succeed.”
3. Ensure the inciting incident emerges from the POTW
It must sharpen the existing imbalance, not introduce a new one.
4. Give the protagonist the wrong objective
They must believe it will fix the POTW.
It won’t.
5. Make the reverse climax a collapse of coping
This is the moment the POTW overwhelms them.
6. Make Act 3 a confrontation with truth
This is the emotional heart of the story.
Why the Problem of the World Is the Spine of the Story
The POTW is the story’s gravitational centre. It shapes:
- The protagonist’s want
- The antagonist’s pressure
- The world’s rules
- The emotional arc
- The thematic spine
- The final transformation
A story without a clear POTW is a story without inevitability. The audience may enjoy the journey, but they won’t feel the necessity of it.
A story with a strong POTW feels inevitable, alive, and dramatically clean. The protagonist’s journey becomes meaningful because it is rooted in a truth they must face.
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