Hacker News Reader

I think my preference is Northrop Frye’s analysis in “Anatomy of Criticism”, his categories of “mythic”, “romantic”, “high mimetic”, “low mimetic”, “ironic” are particularly useful for analyzing the history of literature from mythic legends and epic poetry up to modern literature and fantasy.

Although this analysis isn’t so much for general plot structure as much as for looking at characters and particularly the main protagonist and their relationship to other characters and the environment of the novel.

Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces[0] posits the protagonist's journey from "the ordinary world", through numerous adventures and challenges, to eventual redemption or victory, as a universal story template.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces

Don't forget Harvet Ismuth's 42 Essential 3rd Act Twists: https://dresdencodak.com/2009/05/11/42-essential-3rd-act-twi...