What is the name of Tolkien’s literary term for a sudden joyous turn in a story?

Tolkien’s literary term for a sudden joyous turn in a story is eucatastrophe.

Tolkien coined “eucatastrophe” in his 1947 essay “On Fairy-Stories.” He formed the word from the Greek prefix eu-, meaning “good,” and catastrophe, referring to a decisive reversal or outcome. He defined it as a sudden turn in a narrative that brings unexpected joy rather than mere pleasantness.

For Tolkien, eucatastrophe was a central feature of the fairy-story. It does not mean that suffering or loss never occurred; instead, it describes a final or near-final reversal that gives hope. He called the Resurrection the greatest example of this pattern in Christian history.

The term is often confused with a happy ending in general. Tolkien’s idea is narrower: the joy must arrive as a surprising turn after serious danger or despair. “Anagnorisis” means recognition, while “peripeteia” means reversal, and neither carries Tolkien’s specifically hopeful meaning.