Glossary of narratology

A

anachrony

Anachrony are the temporal reordering of elements of the story and their eventual presentation. It is considered a serious discrepancy between how the story is ordered and how it is presented.^[1] It is defined by Genette as a "temporal reordering of elements of the plot on the § discourse level in relation to their chronological order on the § story level".^[2] Anachronies can be based in the past e.g. § retrospection, § analepsis and § flashback or can be in the future e.g. § anticipation, § prolepsis, § flashforward. Examples of novels that use the technique include The Voice in Cocteau's La Machine infernale. More extreme cases of this narration technique can be found in La vie imaginaire de l'éboueur Auguste G. by Armand Gatti.^[1]

anticipation

Defined by Prince as a § prolepsis, a § flash forward, an § anachrony going forward into the future of the narrative with respect to the present.^[3] The chronological narrative flow of events is interrupted to make space for the anticipation.^[3] In Madame Bovary prolepsis is used between chapters to elicitate anticipation.^[4]

analepsis

In essence a flashback in the narrative, i.e. the insertion of a previous scene into the current story.^[2] Defined by Genette as an § anachrony in the past that is told in the present,^[3] it is often used to introduce new characters or protagonists whose contextual existence must be told.^[5] Contemporary novels written in a modernist or a postmodernist style use this technique to reorder the chronological or teleological narrative structure.^[2] Examples of this technique include Emma in Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary.^[5] Flaubert lets the reader know that while Emma feels nostalgic about her farming life, it is revealed to the reader through flashback that she was an incompetent farmer and wished to escape her life through marriage.^[5]

autodiegesis

See § autodiegetic narrative

autodiegetic narrative

A first-person narrative, where the narrator is the protagonist or the hero.^[6] Defined by Genette in 1980, is a form of § homodiegetic narraration where the protagonist or hero tells their own story.^[7] An example of a novel that uses this technique is Jane's narration in Jane Eyre.^[7] Other novels that use this technique include Great Expectations, Kiss Me Deadly and The Stranger.^[6]

D

diegesis

Diegesis, the oppositional term of § mimesis, is a style of fiction storytelling in which a narrator offers an on-site, often interior, view of the scene to the reader, viewer, or listener by subjectively describing the actions and, in some cases, thoughts, of one or more characters. Defined by Genette as "Telling" (diegesis) as opposed to "Showing" (mimesis).^[8] Diegesis is firmly rooted in genre studies and was defined by Plato and Aristotle.^[9] In narratology, Plato defined two poetic modes.^[10] In the Republic Book III, he describes the narrator of the verses of Homer as speaking with his own voice (diegesis) while the characters speak (mimesis).^[11] Mimesis in Ancient Greek meaning imitation describes the poet delivering a speech as though he was some other character.^[10] Aristotle in his Poetics defines all literature as mimesis.^[11]

discourse

See § narrative discourse

deixis

dramatic mode

E

editorial omniscience

extradiagetic

external point of view

F

figure of speech

First-person narrative

focalisation

Focalisation^[12] is the perspective through which events in a narrative are perceived and presented to the reader.^[13] Genette used it to replace the vaguer notion of "point of view" by separating the question of who sees (the focaliser) from who speaks (the narrator).^[14] Genette distinguished three types: zero focalisation (an omniscient narrator whose knowledge exceeds that of any character), internal focalisation (the narrative is filtered through a character's consciousness), and external focalisation (the narrator reports only what is externally observable, knowing less than the characters).^[15] Examples of novels that use zero focalisation include Vanity Fair and Adam Bede.^[16] Examples of movels that use internal focalisation include The Ambassadors, The Age of Reason, The Ring and the Book^[16] and For Whom the Bell Tolls.^[17] Examples of external focalisation used in novels include The Killers.^[17]

flashback

focus of narration

form

frame

A frame is an abstract term borrowed from the domain of cognitive science to represent a type of scenario.^[14] It defines the mental data that represents various aspects of reality that is needed to enable human perception of those aspects.^[18] Narratology can be considered a frame that enables the understanding of reality.^[18] For example, imagining a house (the frame). Further elements within this frame can include the door or the windows.^[14]

frame narrative

A frame narrative (also known as a "frame story", "frame tale", "framing device'","sandwich narrative", or "intercalation") is a literary technique that serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, where an introductory or main narrative sets the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories.^[18][19] The frame story leads readers from a first story into one or more other stories within it. The frame story may also be used to inform readers about aspects of the secondary narrative(s) that may otherwise be hard to understand. This should not be confused with narrative structure.^[20] Novels that use this technique included 1001 Nights and The Decameron.

H

heterodiegetic narration

The narration is heterodiegetic if the narrator is not the protagonist^[21] and is outside the fictional universe. In the language of narratology, the narrator is not part of the § diegesis.^[22] Typically, but not always associated with the third-person narration.^[21] It can be used with you, they and one narratives.^[21] Examples of novels that use these techniques include the Iliad and Eugénie Grandet,^[22] and Pride and Prejudice.^[7]

homodiegetic narration

The narration is homodiegetic if the narrator is a character in the events or situations in the story.^[7] Defined by literary theorist Gérard Genette,^[23] the narrator is the same person in the § diegesis.^[22] It is equivalent to First-person narration.^[21] If that person is the main protagonist, then Genette calls this § autodiegesis. We narratives, where the story-teller is part of the group, but has their own narration are considered partially autodiegetic.^[21] This applies to couples narrating the story within the group.^[24] Examples of novels where the narrators are part of the story include Mr Lockwood in Wuthering Heights.^[7] Other examples include Gil Blas, All the King's Men and The Great Gatsby and Kiss Me, Deadly.^[22]

hypodiegetic narrative

A "hypodiegetic narrative" is a narrative embedded in another narrative.^[22] Examples of novels that use the hypodiegetic narrative technique include Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"^[25] and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien.^[26]

I

"I" as protagonist

"I" as witness

internal point of view

M

metalepsis

Defined by Genette as a paradoxical transgression of the boundaries between narrative levels or logically distinct worlds is also called metalepsis.^[27] Defined by Herman as a confusion in narrative levels or when characters migrate between story levels.^[28] Two types are defined in narratology. The most common example of metalepsis in narrative occurs when a narrator intrudes upon another world being narrated, which is defined as ontological metalepsis.^[29] In the second type, known as discursive or rhetorical metelepsis, the narrator imagines himself to be present in the world of the characters or imagines the characters in his world, without impacting the plot.^[29] Example of bodies of work that use this technique are Flann O'Brien's novel At Swim-Two-Birds^[28] and the play Endgame by Samuel Beckett. In At Swim-Two-Birds, the characters in the novel jump a narrative level to attack the novelist who wrote them.^[28] In Endgame, Clov observes the audience with his telescope or breaks the fourth wall by telling the audience he is "exiting" the play.^[30]

metaphor

metonymy

A metonymy is a § figure of speech in which a concept A is referred to by the name of something B associated with that thing or concept.^[10] Metonymy focuses on a single concept to represent the whole. For example sail can represent a boat. A further example is the well known expression, "The pen is mightier than the sword", contains two metonymies, the pen and the sword. Metonymy is closely related to § metaphor.^[31] § synecdoche and § metalepsis are considered specific types of metonymy.^[32][33]

mimesis

multiple internal point of view

multiple selective omniscience

N

narrator

narrated

narratee

narrating

narrative discourse

Defines a visual shorthand that is interpreted and used to construct and evoke a story world.^[34] Defined by Prince as one of two planes of semiotics, the § expression plane that corresponds to narrative, to the § content plane, the corresponds to the story.^[35] In essence, it is the how of the narration, to what is the story.^[35] Defined by Genette, discourse has a § substance, a § form, an § order, a § point of view and a § speed.^[35] It is also defined by linguist Émile Benveniste as the discourse level (discours - speech) has its counterpart in the § story (histoire - story).^[34] In this definition, Discours has an § enuciation that forms a § sender and § receiver relationship.^[35] More generally, is the product of both the result of the process of narration with both the § focalisation and chronological aspects of the § story and the § plot.^[36] Concrete examples: In a film or a play, the narrative discourse is made up of the sound and images that are produced.^[36]

neutral omniscience

O

omniscient author

order

omniscient narrator

omniscient point of view

P

perspective

panorama

point of view

A synonym for § perspective that was defined by Percy Lubbock^[37] as a term primarily used in English-speaking countries.^[38] In the modern era, most often seen as another aspect of § focalisation.^[39] Genette defines those who sees as a form of focalisation and those who speaks as narration.^[39] Prince defines point of view as a form of focalisation, perspective, § viewpoint.^[37] An § omniscient narrator is unlocatable and not subject to or restricted to a particular concept. Example novels include Vanity Fair or Adam Bede.^[37] An § internal point of view is where the characters knowledge, perceptions and feelings define the narrative. It may be one character, i.e. fixed, an example novel is What Maisie Knew or several characters, variable, who define the narrative in a sequence of events, The Golden Bowl or The Age of Reason.^[37] Or it may be multiple, where the same events are repeated in a narrative from different perspectives, for example in The Moonstone or the The Ring and the Book.^[37] Lastly, in an § external point of view, it may be a focal point in the § diegesis where instead of feeling, knowledge and perceptions, the narrative is defined only by the characters words and actions within a particular setting. A example short story is Hills Like White Elephants..^[37] Genette defined it "one who sees" (this is the point of view) as opposed to "one who speaks".^[37] Lubbock defines point of view as involving both concepts and perception but also the narrators overtness, the type of rendering, i.e. § drama or § panorama and the different § types of discourse. In the general case, point of view is defined by Susan Sniader Lanser as the relationship between the § narrator and § narrating and narrator and § narrated and between the narrator and § narratee.^[37] Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren define the term § focus of narration that has four distinctions to a particular point of view.^[37] These are 1) An § autodiegetic narrative i.e. first-person 2) first-person observer, the narrator in first-person tells a story they have observed. "The Great Gatsby" uses this technique. 3) § author-observer - The author speaking in a purely objective sense as observer, without examing character or commenting. "Hills Like White Elephants" 4) § omniscient author - The author is able to determine what happens in the story, what the character are thinking and provides their own comments. An example of a novel that uses this distinction is Tess of the d'Urbervilles.^[37] Joseph Evans Grimes also defined four distinctions 1) Omniscient viewpoint which is similar to Brooks and Warrens omniscient author. 2) § homodiegetic narration with an internal point of view 3) § heterodiegetic narration with an internal point of view and 4) third-person objective viewpoint. In essence an § external point of view.^[40] Jean Pouillon 1993 defines the term § vision (which is similar to Todorov's 1981 term § aspect has three classifications. "vision from behind" which is similar to § zero focalisation. Novels that use it include "Tess of the d'Urbervilles.". The second classification is "vision with".Novels that use it include "The Ambassadors" and "The Age of Reason". The third classification is "vision from without" which is similar to § external point of view.^[41] Norman Friedman 1955b defines point of view with eight classifications in a hierarchy of importance. 1) § editorial omniscience. An intrusive narrator, external to the story, i.e. heterodiegetic. Novels that use this are "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" and War and Peace. 2) § neutral omniscience. An narrator, external to the story, i.e. heterodiegetic, essentially third-person narration. Example novels include Point Counter Point, Lord of the Flies and The Maltese Falcon. 3) § "I" as witness First-person narration of a secondary character where their point of view is limited but only as an eye witness. Example novels include The Good Soldier, "The Great Gatsby". 4) § "I" as protagonist where the protagonist narrates the entires story, through their § perspective. Example novels include The Catcher in the Rye, Great Expectations and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 5) § multiple selective omniscience A heterodiegetic narrator with different internal points of views. Generally a § third-person narrative, the narrator may be a character, who is not external to the story but is difficult to determine whether the thoughts come from the narrator or a specific character(s). Translates and analyses the characters thoughts. § scene is particularly important in this classification. Example novels include "The Age of Reason", To the Lighthouse.^[41] 6) § selective omniscience is a heterodiegetic narrator with a fixed internal point of view. Essentially § stream of conciousness, i.e. a direct representation of the characters thoughts. Example novels that use it are "The Ambassadors" and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. 7) § dramatic mode is a heterodiegetic narrator with an external point of view. As the narrator and author are absent, only the characters words and actions define the textual narrative. Essentially made up of the characters dialogue. An example novel that uses this technique is The Awkward Age.^[41] The last classification by Friedman is the § camera where the flow of events naturally occur and are recorded and transmitted, i.e. as snapshots of reality, so has an associated § selection. Example novels include Goodbye to Berlin.^[41]

plot

prolepsis

A prolepsis is an § anachrony going forward into the future of the narrative with respect to the present, i.e. it is the instantiation of one or more events in the narrative that will occur after the present as though they already exist.^[42] Defined by Genette as an account of events that haven't taken place, prolepsis leads to a disruption in the temporal flow of the narrative.^[38] Colloquially defined as Flashforward, it is a scene that temporarily takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature.^[43][5] An example of a poem that uses this technique is John Keats’s poem Isabella, or the Pot of Basil (1818).^[44] Examples of novels that use this technique include Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol^[45] and Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.^[46]

R

retrospection

S

selective omniscience

sender

scene

speed

story

stream of conciousness

Stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator.^[47] It is usually in the form of an interior monologue which is disjointed or has irregular punctuation.^[48] Fludernick defines it as the formalisation of mental processes as the written word that represents consciousness using § psychonarration, § free indirect thought and interior monologue.^[2] Example novels that use this technique include Mrs Dalloway and Ulysses.

substance

synecdoche

Synecdoche is a type of § metonymy; it is a § figure of speech that uses a term for a part of something to refer to the whole (pars pro toto), or vice versa (totum pro parte).^[49][50] The term comes from Greek Syn, meaning "with" or "along with" (as in synonym) and ekdoche, meaning sense or interpretation; thus literally, "interpret along with". Common English synecdoches include suits for businessmen, wheels for automobile, and boots for soldiers.

T

third-person narrative

types of discourse

V

viewpoint

Z

zero focalisation