resources: aspects of narrative – terms and definitions ... · pdf fileresources:...

14 © English and Media Centre, 2009Studying Narrative

resources: aspects of narrative – terms and definitions

951

1062

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Narrative_FINAL12.12.08.indd 14 12/12/08 12:31:59

15© English and Media Centre, 2009 Studying Narrative


159

2610

3711

4812

techniques used to draw

the narrative together. may

be achieved through events, characters or language. related to the structure of the novel.

the typical features and characteristics of a particular text type or genre.

literally the ‘unknotting’, in w

hich events are explained. a particularly im

portant feature of genres such as the detective novel.

constructed conversation in w

ritten texts.

some texts address the reader directly.

this can have the effect of drawing

us into the text, making us feel w

e know

the narrator and are being told the story personally. it can also have the effect of positioning the reader alongside the narrator and his or her values – a position w

e may w

ant to question or challenge.

speech that is given in the w

ords of the speaker, rather than reported indirectly in the narrative voice, for exam

ple she said, ‘i’m

sleepy.’

this is the reading which seem

s most

obvious – it is the comm

onsense reading encouraged by the text. it m

ay rely on the real reader adopting a particular position (for exam

ple chick lit novels construct a reader w

ho is young, fem

ale, looking for love). as readers w

e may decide to resist or challenge

this dominant reading and the values it

assumes. (see also resistant readings.)

stories contained within the m

ain narrative. these could include a story told orally by a character, a diary or letter, a com

plete narrative.

the closing of the narrative in w

hich all the loose ends are tied up and questions answ

ered. some

modern, experim

ental narratives seek to deny the reader closure – or the expected closure. som

e narratives look ahead to a sequel.

the order in which events take

place, with one thing follow

ing another. narrative tim

e may follow

chronological tim

e. an author m

ay choose to manipulate tim

e by telling the story in a different order from

which the events

happened, using flashbacks, com

pressing or leaping time.

the techniques a writer uses to

construct a fictional character, for exam

ple, what they say,

how they speak, w

hat they do, attitudes they express, description by the narrator or in the voices of other characters (appearance, personality, attitudes, behaviour).

a protagonist characterised by his or her w

eaknesses or failings rather than adm

irable qualities. som

etimes used to refer

to a protagonist who, despite

behaving in ways w

hich should appal us, engages our sym

pathy.




211713

221814

231915

242016

Imp

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .




131721

141822

151923

162024

the character from w

hose point of view

the action is seen.

flat characters play a more m

inor role in the narrative, are less developed (perhaps even stereotyped and clichéd), behaving in predictable w

ays. they m

ay be used by the writer to

fulfil a particular function in the novel, for exam

ple: illustrate a theme, m

ove the plot forw

ard. (see also round characters.)

anticipating events yet to occur. this m

ay be done explicitly where

the narrator suggests ‘if only they’d know

n’ for example, or

may be very subtle through the

word choices, im

agery and so on.

surrounds and accounts for the m

ain narrative, for example the

finding of a narrative or how the

narrator came to learn the story.

reference to an event that occurred at an earlier point in the story.

any language that goes beyond the literal, including sim

ile, m

etaphor, symbol.

a novel written in letters.

reminds the reader that w

hat they are reading is fiction, dispelling any illusion that the characters are real people etc.

speech given in the words of the

character but without attributing

speech tags (such as ‘he said’ or ‘she w

ept’), for example:

– good day.– good day to you too.

third person narration in which a

character’s thoughts and feelings seem

to be directly expressed, freely taking on the view

s and often the language of that character. narratives often slide betw

een conventional third person narration and this style, m

oving from a m

ore detached voice to one that is m

ore intimately connected

to one character or another.

Kind or type of literary text. used both to refer to overarching genres such as poem

, novel, dram

a and to sub-genres such as detective story, rom

ance, thriller.

the implied reader is related to but is

not the same as the real reader of a

text. the implied reader is constructed

or anticipated by the text to respond in a particular w

ay, for example to agree

that only in marriage are w

omen

fulfilled. the real reader is encouraged to adopt this role but m

ay choose to question or challenge it.




332925

343026

353127

363228 mo

tif

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no

log

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tor

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ager

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met

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exp

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oic

esn

arra

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nar

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ve g

aps

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .




252933

263034

273135

283236a substantial stretch of scripted speech by a single speaker.

more than one narrative voice

used in a single text. can be first or third person or a m

ixture of the tw

o.

the way in w

hich a series of events – the story – is m

ediated and told (w

hich may not be in

the same order as the events took

place).

things that are left out of the narrative. these gaps m

ay be filled by the reader.

repeated imagery. (see also

motif.)

vocabulary or word choices. the

narrative voice may use one kind

of lexis while characters m

ay use another (both in dialogue and in interior m

onologue).

a metanarrative draw

s attention to its fictional and constructed status, preventing the reader from

suspending disbelief and entering the fictional w

orld.

a recurring word, phrase, im

age, object or idea running throughout the text. m

otifs, each of which

stands for a complex range of

feelings, associations and values, are part of the structure of the novel, providing continuity and coherence.

a narrator, who is telling the story

in the third person, intervenes in the narrative, w

ith a comm

ent in the first person.

first person, as though the narrator is verbalising their thoughts as they occur.

a narrator who doesn’t seem

to understand as m

uch about what’s

happening as the reader.

use of a word, phrase or

paragraph turned from its usual

meaning to a contradictory or

opposing one, usually for satiric effect.




454137

464238

474339

484440om

nis

cien

t n

arra

tor

no

n-fi

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n

nar

rati

ven

arra

tor

nar

rati

ve v

oic

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Pro

se s

tyle

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tPa

tter

ns

and

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nar

rati

ves

Pro

tag

on

ist

Rea

lism

Rep

ort

ed s

pee

chR

esis

tan

t re

adin

gs

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .




374145

384246

394347

404448the m

ain character. a less value-laden term

than ‘hero’.

a narrative which attem

pts to create a realistic w

orld, operating by the sam

e rules as the reader’s w

orld. although just as constructed as an experim

ental novel, a realist novel does not draw

attention to its fictional status.

speech that is incorporated into the narrative voice and reported indirectly for exam

ple she said that she w

as feeling sleepy. (also called ‘indirect speech’.)

a resistant reading refuses or challenges the dom

inant reading assumed by the

text. to read in a resistant way, the

reader will often be looking at issues

of class, race, gender, exploring which

characters are marginalised, w

hat assum

ptions the text makes and the

values the reader is expected to share in order to m

ake sense of the text. (see also dom

inant reading.)

narratives in a single text separated by tim

e. the stories may be linked

by a place, a character or an object. m

ichael cunningham’s the hours is

made up of 3 parallel narratives w

hile david m

itchell’s cloud atlas includes 6 separate narrative strands. part of the reading pleasure is in discovering how

the parallel narratives relate to, or illum

inate each other.

anything from a repeated w

ord or im

age to a repeated event, used to draw

attention to an aspect of the narrative and give it additional significance.

the story told so that cause and effect is clear – the causal chain that connects characters and events.

the special qualities of the w

riter’s prose, such as sentence length, choice of lexis, characteristic sentence structures.

a narrator who is assum

ed to know

everything connected with

the story narrated.

a true story told using the techniques associated w

ith fictional narratives. a popular approach to biography, popular science and so on.

the narrator is a creation of the author used to tell the story. the narrator m

ay directly address the reader/narratee; be a participant in the story; be a detached observer; be ‘transparent’, appearing to speak w

ith the voice of the author.

the voice in which the narrative is

told. may be first or third person.




575349

585450

595551

605652sett

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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495357

505458

515559

525660m

ost narratives are told in the past tense, although w

riters may

make use of present and future

tense to create particular effects.

an idea, concept or issue – it is w

hat we, as readers, interpret the

story as being about. one of the w

ays in which a novelist m

ight explore and draw

attention to a them

e is through the use of a recurring im

age or motif.

a narrator who is assum

ed to know

everything connected with

the story narrated. refers to the characters as ‘he’ or ‘she’. often popularly assum

ed to be the author.

a narrator who cannot be trusted

to give a version of events that is to be believed, or is perhaps self-deceiving.

the events in the order in which

they occurred, without any

indication of cause and effect.

a narrative style that imitates the

qualities of thoughts and feelings, m

aking the reader feel as if they’re inside som

eone’s head. the gramm

ar and structure suggest the random

and fragm

entary nature of thought. in the third person it’s an extrem

e version of free indirect style. in the first person it’s an extrem

e version of interior m

onologue.

the overall shape of the novel and the w

ay the author has put together the story he or she is telling. involves decisions about openings and endings: the division of story into chapters or sections, handling of tim

e, use of fram

e stories.

an image or object that stands for

a bigger abstract idea, belief or feeling. unlike a m

otif, a symbol

can be used on a single occasion and never m

entioned again.

where the events of the narrative

take place. may be im

bued with

additional symbolic significance

(which m

ay be generic – the haunted house, for exam

ple).

a narrative voice that directly addresses the reader as ‘you’. it’s rare for a w

hole text to do this, as it’s very hard to m

aintain.

‘round’ characters are those w

ho are most significant to the

narrative and have therefore been developed m

ost fully by the w

riter, showing the potential to

change or behave unpredictably. round characters often feel m

ore believable to the reader. (see also flat characters.)

sometim

es called a ‘bildungsrom

an’ – a novel about grow

ing up. Jane eyre, catcher in the rye and the curious incident of the dog in the night-tim

e m

ight all be read as rites of passage novels.


© English and Media Centre, 2009 Studying Narrative

Introducing Narrative

2424

INTRODUCING NARRATIVETelling a story (page 24)1. Use the boxes to record your story of the painting as a series of ‘And then’ statements.

(Don’t feel you have to use all the boxes.)

What happened?

What happened next?

And then?

And then?

And then?

And then?

And then?

And then?

And then?

And then?

© English and Media Centre, 2009 Studying Narrative


2525

From story to narrative (page 25)4. Turn your group story of the painting into a short narrative (or the opening paragraphs

of a narrative), making decisions about the way in which you will tell this story.

Painting: ’Death of Chatterton’ 1856WALLIS, Henry: 1830-1916 Courtesy of The Art Archive/Tate Gallery London/Eileen Tweed

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