Narratology

The study and analysis of narrative

 Topics for today
• What are the basic requirements of a
narrative?
• What is the structure of the “ideal” narrative?
• Introduce: What forms of narration are there
and what difference does it make?
• “narratology The theory of the structures of
narrative. To investigate a structure, or to
present a 'structural description', the
narratologist dissects the narrative
phenomena into their component parts and
then attempts to determine functions and
relationships.”
• (Jahn)
 What is a narrative?
• “Anything that tells or presents a story, be it by
text, picture, performance, or a combination of
these. Hence novels, plays, films, comic strips,
etc., are narratives.”
• A story is a “sequence of events involving
characters. 'Events' include both natural and
nonnatural happenings (such as floods and car
accidents). Characters get involved by being
agents (causing an event), victims (patients), or
beneficiaries (being affected by an event).” (Jahn)
 Basic requirements of narrative
• “a narrative is a form of communication which
presents a sequence of events caused and
experienced by characters”
• Characters
• Events
• Structured chronologically
– Causality (one thing leads to another)
• Communication
 Musical examples
• Marc Cohn/Walking in Memphis
• John Hiatt/Have a Little Faith in Me
• Bruce Springsteen/The Rising
 Marc Cohn
Walking in Memphis
 John Hiatt
Have a Little Faith in Me
Bruce Springsteen
The Rising
Narrative levels in literature

Source: Jahn, Narratology

 Metalepsis
• “Transgression of levels: metalepsis--Normally, the
levels of action, fictional mediation, and nonfictional
communication (as shown in the graphic above, . . . are
hermetically sealed domains indicating crucial
thresholds of control and awareness. Any agent
situated on a higher-level dominates and frames all
lower-level agents, while lower-level agents are
unaware of the existence of the higher-level agents.
• For instance, the characters at the level of action do
not know that they are characters in some narrator's
story, and they cannot complain if their acts or motives
are misrepresented by this narrator.” (Jahn)
 So:
• “a narrative is a form of communication which
presents a sequence of events caused and
experienced by characters”
• Three narrative levels exist:
– level of nonfictional communication
– level of fictional mediation
– level of action
 Narration
• “We will say that all novels project a narrative
voice, some more distinct, some less, some to
a greater, some to a lesser degree.” (Jahn)
• All stories must be told from some position—
even when it is not obvious that there is a
storyteller.
• The position from which a story is told affects
its emotional and cognitive impact.
Narration in film
 Typical narrative structure
• A wide variety of narratives can be said to
follow a basic structure, as outlined by Freitag
Freitag’s Pyramid/Triangle
 Exposition
• At the outset, the audience member is
provided with information necessary to make
sense of the narrative
– The amount of information provided varies widely
• Backstory
– The means by which it is provided varies widely
 Conditions at the outset
• The conditions at the outset of a narrative
usually depict some form of equilibrium or
continuing conditions
– The situation is disturbed by
• An act of a character
• An event outside the control of any character
• Recognition of a “lack” by a character (usually a main
charcter)
– The disturbance sets up some form of conflict that
drives the story forward
 Conflict
• Conflict of some sort drives the plot forward
– Human (or humanlike character) v. human
– Human v. nature
– Human v. society
– Human v. technology
– Human v. internal demons
 Rising action
• Though the illustration represents a smoothly
and constantly rising intensity of action, a
story normally presents a series of conflicts
that become more intense as the story
progresses
– There may be rises and falls in intensity, but the
overall trend is upward
– The individual events usually are linked to the
main storyline in some way
Rising action often includes individual
subplots/conflicts

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 Climax
• Some major confrontation, conflict or turning
point marks the climax
– Good guy battles bad guy to the death
– Wife finds out that husband has been having an
affair and confronts him with it
– Kid takes math test
– Lawyers finish making their cases and the jury
decides
 Falling action
• The intensity of conflict often falls off fairly
quickly after the climax but rarely is the climax
the very end of the narrative
• There are sometimes continuing conflicts of
one sort or another
 Resolution/denouement
• Any remaining questions are answered
– The detective tells the former suspect why the
real criminal committed the crime
• The situation has changed and a new
equilibrium is in place
 You can think of characters traveling a
road from the beginning to some end
• It takes time
• It happens in some place
• Things that happen early in the journey
influence those that happen later
• The actions of the characters reflect their
personalities
• They reach their destination, usually changed
in some manner by the experience
 Plots
• Plots are the events and actions, related
causally, that move the story forward
• Plots range from very simple to extremely
complex
• Many narratives have a number of subplots
tied to the main plot
– Conclusion of a subplot may move the
character(s) forward in the overarching main plot
 Characters
• Main (or single) protagonist
• Main (or single) antagonist
• Helper characters/allies
• Love interest(s)
• Wise mentors
• Comic relief
• Authority
 Setting

• Historical
• Geographic
• Fixed v. changing
• Single v. multiple
How classic narratives usually work
• We start in some time and place, with the world
unproblematic—in ‘equilibrium.’ That is, things
are normal and seem to be okay, with people
adjusted to the conditions they are in. That may
not mean that all are happy, but usually the
portrayal is of a fairly satisfactory situation.
• Often ‘exposition’ occurs during this stage—the
audience is made aware of important ‘backstory,’
that provides information about the setting, the
plot, characters, etc.
 Then something happens
• The equilibrium is disturbed. Although good
fortune may be the cause of the disturbance,
usually some negative act or event is the
source. Often it is the result of actions taken
by an antagonist—a character that will be in
conflict with the protagonist. Because of the
disturbance, someone (usually the
protagonist) is called upon to take action to
restore the equilibrium or bring back the
conditions that were satisfactory.
 The call
• The protagonist (often the hero character) is
called upon to set things right. He (or she)
often must be convinced to take on the task,
either because his past has led him to avoid
this sort of thing or he doesn’t consider
himself capable or worthy of the task.
• Sometimes protagonists simply recognize that
they lack something and set out in search of it.
 Rising action
• The protagonist must overcome obstacles to
her success, often proving herself worthy as a
result. The trials become progressively more
difficult and often include direct or indirect
confrontation with the antagonist.
• Sometimes a helper character is involved,
providing advice, giving the protagonist some
type of device that aids her, or fighting
alongside the hero.
 The climax
• Increasing tension and conflict lead eventually
to a decisive confrontation between the
protagonist and the antagonist, usually
resulting in victory for the protagonist and loss
and/or punishment for the antagonist.
 Denouement
• As the intensity of the action and tension fall
quickly, the implications of the protagonist’s
success are presented.
• Equilibrium is re-established though perhaps
with significantly changed conditions.
 Variations
• In episodic television, etc. there may be a
number of minor narratives that reach
conclusion within a major one that does not
– Lost
• Characters may not represent classic ‘types’
– Anti-heros (Sopranos, Grand Theft Auto, Dirty
Harry)
• Lack of resolution
• Lack of coherence/No causal chain
 Examples
• NCIS
• The Simpsons
• Presidential inauguration
 Embedded narratives
• A first-degree narrative is a narrative that is
not embedded in any other narrative; a
second-degree narrative is a narrative that is
embedded in a first-degree narrative; a third-
degree narrative is one that is embedded in a
second-degree narrative, etc.
 Functions of embedded narratives
• actional integration: the “hyponarrative” serves as an important
element in the plot of the “matrix” narrative.
• exposition: the hyponarrative provides information about events
that lie outside the primary action line of the matrix narrative
(specifically, events that occurred in the past).
• distraction: "So tell us a story while we're waiting for the rain to
stop"
• obstruction/retardation: the hyponarrative momentarily suspends
the continuation of the matrix narrative, often creating an effect of
heightened suspense.
• analogy: the hyponarrative corroborates or contradicts a story line
of the matrix narrative ("You are not the only person ever deceived
by a faithless lover; let me tell you about [...]")
• (Jahn)