in medias res

American  

[in me-di-ahs res, in mee-dee-uhs reez, in mey-dee-ahs reys] / ɪn ˈmɛ dɪˌɑs ˈrɛs, ɪn ˈmi diˌəs ˈriz, ɪn ˈmeɪ diˌɑs ˈreɪs /

adverb

Latin.

1. in the middle of things.

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in medias res British  

/ ɪn ˈmiːdɪˌæs ˈreɪs /

1. in or into the middle of events or a narrative

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in medias res Cultural  

1. In the middle of the action. Epics often begin in medias res. For example, the Odyssey, which tells the story of the wanderings of the hero Odysseus, begins almost at the end of his wanderings, just before his arrival home. In medias res is a Latin phrase used by the poet Horace; it means “in the middle of things.”

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Etymology

Origin of in medias res

literally: into the midst of things, taken from a passage in Horace's Ars Poetica

Example Sentences

We begin in medias res as the unnamed author frets about his choice to begin at chapter 13 rather than the more traditional chapter 1.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Carolina Ebeid’s spring-ish poem is filled with mysteries, starting with the title and first line that launch us in medias res, making us feel as if we’re eavesdropping.

From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2022

It's quite the in medias res opener in a hospital emergency room with nearly the entire cast picking up straight where the season 1 finale left off.

From Salon • Feb. 9, 2022

We have sailed through a mystical membrane between present and past and been deposited in the ancient world of Pericles in medias res.

From Washington Post • Jun. 10, 2019

In the very first part of the poem, also, we find Mr. Southey pursuing the Horatian precept, "prorumpere in medias res;" for he commences with the return of Madoc to his native country.

From Early Reviews of English Poets by Haney, John Louis