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Narratology is the theory and stud of narrative and narrative and the ways they affect our perception. In principle, the word can refer to any systematic study of narrative, though in practice the use of the term is rather more restricted (see below). It is an anglicisation of the French word narratologie, coined by Tzvetan Todorov in his Grammaire du Décaméron (1969), and has been retrospectively applied to many studies that were described otherwise by their authors. Although a lineage stretching back to Aristotle's Poetics may be traced, modern narratology is most typically said to begin with the Russian Formalists, and in particular with Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale (1928).
Due to the origins of the term, it has a strong association with the structuralist quest for a system of formal description that can usefully be applied to any narrative (the analogy being with the grammars by reference to which sentences are parsed in some forms of linguistics). This aim has not, however, characterised all work that is today described as narratological, Percy Lubbock's groundbreaking work on point of view, The Craft of Fiction (1921), is a case in point. Jonathan Culler argues that the many strands of (what he regards as) narratology are all united by a recognition "that the theory of narrative requires a distinction between... 'story' - a sequence of actions or events, conceived as independent of their manifestation in discourse - and... 'discourse', the discursive presentation or narration of events", but admits that this is only implicit in the work of many of the authors he is grouping together in this way. The distinction was originally proposed by the Russian Formalists, who used the terms fabula and sjuzhet, but a succession of other pairs has preserved what is essentially the same dichotomy (e.g., histoire/discours, histoire/récit, story/plot).
To a certain extent, the designation of work as narratological or otherwise may have more to do with the university department in which it takes place than with any specific theoretical position. Although a narratological approach can be taken to any narrative at all, and the classic studies (for example, Propp's) were often of non-literary narratives, the term "narratology" is most likely to be encountered within the disciplines of literary theory and literary criticism: examples of systematic narrative study that would not typically be described as narratological would include sociolinguistic studies of oral storytelling, such as those of William Labov, and studies in conversation analysis or discourse analysis that deal with narratives arising in the course of spontaneous verbal interaction. However, constituent analyses of the type where narremes are considered to be the basic units of narrative structure could be included either in linguistics, in semiotics, or in literary theory.
The basic theory of learning with stories...
The theory behind learning and encouraging behavioral change with stories is complex and, as with all matters regarding the working of the human brain, there is still much research to be carried out before it is fully explored, understood and explained. In brief, stories are taken in and understood at the first attention level. This first attention level occurs when the brain is in Beta state. The diagram link below shows the four basic brain states.
When a person listens to a story, both sides of the brain are working. The left brain is processing the words while the right brain is actively filling in the gaps. This is the reason why it is so important to read to children, to allow their brains to imagine the story rather than using television and films for all their learning. Good story writers carefully choose visual, auditory, kinesthetic and olfactory words to give the story depth and to stimulate the right brain to enrich the meaning of the story and store it in the memory for easy recall.
The information in the story can also be captured at the second attention level as the brain searches for a deeper meaning. At this level, the right brain is often favored as relationships and patterns are developed. Processing can be in either the Beta or Alpha state but it is an unconscious process - that is, we are not aware that we are doing it. The second attention level is where the story is reformulated to have personal relevance. Sometimes the story stays at this level and causes unconscious behavioral change, or it can rise into the first attention level through an "A-ha!" reaction.
It is vital that the story, myth, legend or whatever is chosen, is selected carefully. Ideally the story should be easily understood at the first attention level but stimulate a search for a deeper meaning at some time in the future.
The following extract from Nelson Mandela's book, Long Walk to Freedom (Mandela, 1995) illustrates exactly how this process works.
"The audience became more and more quiet as Chief Maligqili spoke and, I think, I became more and more angry. No one wanted to hear the words that he spoke that day. I know that I myself did not want to hear them. I was cross rather than aroused by the chief's remarks, dismissing his words as the abusive comments of an ignorant man who was unable to appreciate the value of an education and the benefits that the white man had brought to our country. At that time, I looked on the white man not as an oppressor but as a benefactor, and I thought the chief was enormously ungrateful. This upstart chief was ruining my day, spoiling the proud feeling with wrong-headed remarks.
But without exactly understanding why, his words soon began to work on me. He had sown a seed, and though I had let that seed lie dormant for a long season, it eventually began to grow. Later I realised that the ignorant man that day was not the chief but myself".
The Chief's speech stayed with Mandela for years before the search for personal meaning began which eventually burst into his consciousness.
If you would like to delve further on this topic then How to Influence Others at Work contains a whole chapter on this theory.
Perhaps, you would prefer to go straight to some stories which have been carefully crafted with this theory in mind? Aesop's Management Fablesis full of stories of all genres to use on training workshops. The examples range from managing change to delegation.
Characterization is often listed as one of the fundamental elements of fiction. A character is a participant in the story, and is usually a person, but may be any persona, identity, or entity whose existence originates from a fictional work or performance.
Characters may be of several types:
Plot, or storyline, is often listed as one of the fundamental elements of fiction. It is the rendering and ordering of the events and actions of a story. On a micro level, plot consists of action and reaction, also referred to as stimulus and response. On a macro level, plot has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Plot is often depicted as an arc with a zig-zag line to represent the rise and fall of action. Plot also has a mid-level structure: scene and sequel. A scene is a unit of drama—where the action occurs. Then, after a transition of some sort, comes the sequel—an emotional reaction and regrouping, an aftermath. (Bickham 1993, pp. 23-62)
Setting, the locale and time of a story, is often listed as one of the fundamental elements of fiction. Sometimes setting is referred to as milieu, to include a context (such as society) beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. In some cases, setting becomes a character itself and can set the tone of a story. (Rozelle 2005, p. 2)
Theme, a conceptual distillation of the story, is often listed as one of the fundamental elements of fiction. It is the central idea or insight serving as a unifying element, creating cohesion and is an answer to the question, 'What did you learn from the piece of fiction?' In some cases a story's theme is a prominent element and somewhat unmistakable. (Morrell 2006, p. 263)
Style is not so much what is written, but how it is written and interpreted. Style in fiction refers to language conventions used to construct the story or article. A fiction writer may manipulate diction, sentence structure, phrasing, dialogue, and other aspects of language to create style or mood. The communicative effect created by the author's style is sometimes referred to as the story's voice. Every writer has his or her own unique style, or voice (Provost 1988, p. 8). Style is sometimes listed as one of the fundamental elements of fiction.
Types of prose fiction:
History museum expert Barbara Franco describes how good storytelling techniques can improve a museum exhibit. She illustrates the point when she says "good labels raise questions and get people thinking." The voice telling the story makes a great difference. First-person encourages the reader, audience, or visitor to the museum to listen and relate to a person, the speaker, not just to the recitation of facts.
An example of a first-person story is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. There is also a "third person" perspective in which the main character is seen from the outside and the inside at the same time, heightening the reader's involvement in the story.
Mixes of viewpoints and voices assist in telling extremely complex stories. Franco says it this way: "Audience research has shown that visitors are more willing to deal with difficult topics in exhibitions if they are given multiple viewpoints and are able to hear different sides."
"Addressing the unfamiliar is one way to foster critical engagement," says Joshua Brown, filmmaker and historian. A good storyteller gives the listener or reader a sense of making order out of chaos. So the good storyteller must give the reader a good dose of feeling the chaos, and there has to follow enough order made out of the chaos to give the reader the satisfaction of a good story.
Ever seen something like this in the playground?
A pupil a (let’s call him Bob) is playing football. He’s just lost the ball, and is really annoyed with himself. He chases after the ball, and in the process barges through a classmate, Sally. Sally, naturally enough, begins crying.
Sally runs to the teacher, and tells her that “Bob hit me!”. The teacher calls Bob across. Bob is furious, shouting that ‘I didn’t do nuffink!”
The truth is that they’re both right! From Sally’s point-of-view, a naughty boy ran across for no reason and hurt her. But Bob was so busy thinking about the ball that he didn’t even notice he’d bashed Sally!
Let’s study an example in detail, for a story The Burglar.
There are two characters in this story, the burglar and the old lady. If they were telling a friend what had happened, they would have very different recollections of this event. The burglar would probably feel embarrassed by the way he was caught; the old lady might be frightened.
| We could tell this story in the thirdperson, like this: |  | Alternatively, we could tell the story in the firstperson: |  |
With ‘one story, two perspectives’, you could tell the story in the first person from two different points-of-view. The first half could tell the story from the burglar’s point of view; the second half is the landlady’s version.
As with non-linear stories, you have the chance to develop irony. In ‘The Burglar’, what the burglar says is amusing once you know the old lady’s version.
Short story collections to watch out for
Gerard Woodward's new book, Caravan Thieves, is out now, published by Chatto & Windus.
Dream Lover (Bloomsbury) is a selection of William Boyd's short fiction from across his career.
Peter Hobbs's collection I Could Ride All Day in My Cool Blue Train has just been published as a cheaper paperback by Faber. Don't miss these extraordianry stories.
Caroline Oulton's Unsafe Attachments explores the relationships of a loosely interlinked group of Londoners (Hutchinson, May).
August sees the publication of Gerard Donovan's Country of the Grand and the Collected Stories of Lorrie Moore (both Faber).
In October 2008, Jonathan Cape will publish Direct Red by Jessie Corfield, a collection of 12 stories about what it is like to be a surgeon.
In November 2008, Canongate will publish a collection of short stories about the Vietnamese boat people by Vietnamese writer Nam Le. The book's title will be The Boat.
