Narratology

What is Narratology ?

Narratology is a term coined in French, narratologie, by Tzvetan Todorov in his book Grammaire du Décaméron. Narratology is the study of narrative, narrative structure, and how they affect our perception. It provides terms and concepts for discussing narrative and narration.

Narrative is the art, technique, or process of telling a story.

Story

A Story is an account or a recital of an event or a series of events, either true or fictitious. Story refers to the chronological sequence of events as they occurred in the narrative's time-space universe. Stories are rarely recounted in strict chronological sequence; they often begin in the middle to create dramatic effect. Narrative quite often reworks the simple chronology of its story. Context and background are added later. Literary devices add complexity and drama, shaping the plot.

Narration

Narration refers to the act of transmitting a story.

Discourse

Discourse refers to how a story is presented. It refers to all the material an author or teller adds to a story: similes, metaphors, verse or prose, etc. In film, framing, cutting, camera movement, camera angles, music, etc. can be considered.

Narrator

A narrator is a voice that tells a story. The narrator has definite attributes and limitations that shape how the reader perceives the story. The most important aspect of the narrator is the point of view from which the story is told. Point of view consists of corporal form, physical position, bias, and grammatical stance.

Diegesis

Diegesis is the telling of the story. A narrator describes events in the narrative, addressing the audience directly and describing the characters' events, state of mind, and emotions. Diegesis includes the story's entire temporal and spatial context.

Mimesis

Mimesis is the showing of a story. An omniscient incorporeal entity reveals the setting and events, but a character's inner thoughts and emotions are shown only through external actions.

Continuity

Continuity is the consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events as perceived by the reader or viewer.

Verisimilitude

Verisimilitude refers to the extent to which the characters and actions in a narrative conform to our sense of reality. A story with a high degree of verisimilitude is very realistic and believable; it is said to be "true to life."

Verisimilitude can be created by the specific forms of narration such as:

A False Document is a form of narrative that presents a story as a record in some nonexistent document. This form of narration creates a sense of authenticity beyond the reader's normal suspension of disbelief. It can also create distance between a text and its author.

Metafiction is a form of narration that deliberately denies suspension of disbelief to remind the reader that they are constantly reading a book.

Suspension of disbelief

To enter the world of the story, a reader or viewer must be willing to override the need for scientific or logical rectitude and ignore minor inconsistencies. A reader or viewer must suspend disbelief and accept a story's diegesis.

Breaking the fourth wall

The fourth wall is the imaginary invisible wall at the front of the stage in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action of the play. Although it originated in theatre, the term has been adopted by other media, such as cinema, television and literature, to refer to the boundary between the fiction and the audience. Through suspension of disbelief, an audience accepts the presence of the fourth wall, allowing them to enjoy the fiction as if they were observing real events.