Narrative Texts/ Prose Flashcards
What is the fundamental distinction in Genette’s theory?
The distinction is between story (fabula) and discourse (suzel)
Story refers to what is told, while discourse refers to how it is told.
What are the three aspects of time in relation to narrative?
- Order of events
- Duration or speed of narration
- Frequency
What does the term ‘order of events’ refer to in narrative time?
It refers to how the events are arranged in the story.
What is chronological order in narrative?
Events are arranged in the sequence they occur: event A - event B - event C.
Define ‘anachronic’ order in narrative.
Chronology is interrupted by flashbacks or flashforwards.
What is a flashback in narrative?
Analepsis: an event is narrated that occurred before the current narrative point.
What is a flashforward in narrative?
Prolepsis: an event is narrated that will occur after the current narrative point.
What is the second aspect of time in narrative?
Duration or speed of narration.
What does ‘duration’ refer to in narrative?
The relationship between the time taken for narration and the time of events.
What are the different types of duration in narrative?
- Scene: narration time is longer than story time
- Summary: narration time is shorter than story time
- Ellipsis: narration skips over a portion of story time
- Pause: narration temporarily halts
What is the third aspect of time in narrative?
Frequency.
Define ‘singulative narration’.
Narrating once what has happened.
Define ‘repeating narration’.
Narrating several times what has happened.
Define ‘iterative narration’.
Narrating once what has happened several times.
What are the three aspects of narrative discourse according to Genette?
- Orden
- Duration
- Frequency
These aspects help analyze the structure and timing of narrative storytelling.
What does ‘Mood/Mode’ in narrative discourse refer to?
- Distance
- Perspective and Focalization
Mood and mode influence how a story is perceived and experienced by the reader.
What distinguishes an overt narrator from a covert narrator?
Overtness and covertness are relative terms, meaning narrators can be more or less overt or covert
This distinction affects how much the narrator’s presence is felt in the narrative.
Define ‘homodiegetic’ narrator.
A narrator who also features as a character in their (own) story
This type of narration provides a personal perspective on the events being recounted.
Define ‘autodiegetic’ narrator.
A narrator who features as the main character in their (own) story
This form of narration often leads to a deeply subjective experience.
Define ‘heterodiegetic’ narrator.
A narrator who does not feature as a character in their (own) story
This type allows for a more detached and objective storytelling approach.
List the levels of voice in narrative discourse.
- Extradiegetic
- Homodiegetic (or Autodiegetic)
- Heterodiegetic
- Intradiegetic
These levels help categorize the relationship between the narrator and the narrative.
What are some markers of unreliability in fiction?
- Explicit contradictions within the narrator’s comments
- Narration of contrasting versions of the same event
- Attempts to manipulate the reader
- Insistence on the credibility (or incredibility) of their own interpretation
- Paratextual signals (e.g. title, chapter headings)
These markers indicate that the narrator may not be a trustworthy source.
True or False: An extradiegetic narrator is one who exists within the story they are telling.
False
An extradiegetic narrator is not part of the story’s world.
Fill in the blank: A __________ narrator is one who provides a subjective perspective on the events of the story.
homodiegetic
This type of narrator allows for personal insights and biases to color the narrative.
