INTR

OD

UCIN

GNARRATIVE

WHAT IS NARRATIVE?

• Narrative is the storytelling of the connected events within a text which give it an overall meaning.

•It is how the story unfolds and how the plot is revealed to the audience.

•Simply put: a story.

Then, WHAT IS NARRATIVE STRUCTURE?• the framework that supports the order and methods in which a story/narrative is presented to an audience.

• Simply put: how a story is organized.

You might recognize this narrative structure diagram…

But not all stories are so neat…

Parts of a Narrative Structure: Macro Level

• Exposition• Inciting Moment• Rising Action• Climax• Falling Action• Resolution/Denoument

Exposition

• Sets the scene & mood• Introduces us to the characters• Provides background for the narrative• Includes the inciting moment, the event that causes the main conflict in the story

Rising Action

• Series of events and conflicts that lead to the turning point of the story (the climax)

Climax

• The turning point in the story • A pivotal event that leads the story towards the conclusion

Falling Action

• Events that happen as a result of the climax, leading the characters towards a solution to the conflict

Resolution

• The part of the story in which the conflict is resolved

Denoument

• A French term for “ending”• All loose ends get wrapped up here

Parts of a Narrative Structure: Micro Level

Plot Devices• Flashbacks/Foreshadowing• Parallel plots• Plot twists• Linear v. nonlinear• Cliff hangers• Poetic justice (fate intervenes)• Dues ex machina (improbable solution)• Red herring (a diversion)• MacGuffin (Zazu from The Lion King)

Teach Me!• In your groups, read the definition

for your plot device. Then, –Paraphrase that definition so that it will make sense to your peers.–Draw a picture that helps us remember what it means–Come up with at least one example of a text that uses this device (book, movie, etc.)

Mood

•What the reader feels as a result of reading a text• Influenced by setting, tone, and word choice • Identified using adjectives

Tone

• the speaker's or narrator's attitude towards the subject

Narrative pace/ Pacing

• The speed at which a story moves• Depends on description and sentence structure• Showing v. telling• Controlled by edicating space to the right events