What is an exposition?

An exposition is a rhetorical discourse that provides information about or an explanation of difficult material. An analytical one interprets subtle meanings, imagery, allegories, or other symbolism in a literary or artistic work. To expose to the sun in this meaning means to make something known. In a play, for instance, the transfer of information occurs from playwright to actor to audience through information being conveyed. In recent years exposition has become a dirty word and the reason for this is that people generally use very clumsy exposition in their work. This is the case even in major motion pictures such as the dire Day After Tomorrow, when the zoo keepers say 'The Wolves have escaped!', they might as well say 'There are wolves later in this film, just in case you wonder where they have come from'.