Lit Narration + Structure

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Narration

The act of telling a story and how it’s told

Narrative Pace

The speed at which a story is told

Narrator

The one who tells the story

Point of view

The position from which the story is told

First-Person POV

From character’s perspective; immediacy, directness, firsthand experience

Third-Person Omniscient POV

Narrator who knows each character’s inner thoughts, motives, & feelings

Third-Person Limited POV

Narrator describes all events w/ understanding of only one or a few characters

Objective Narrator

Third-person narrator who is only implied and usually forgotten

Intrusive Narrator

Omniscient narrator providing philosophical/moral commentary on characters & actions

Unreliable Narrator

Deliberately or unintentionally deceptive/misguided, with questionable credibility

Stream-of-Consciousness

Extreme form of narration w/ unfiltered, disjointed thought processes of a character

Structure

Basic framework, principles, & patterns of a literary work

Prose

Ordinary speaking and writing language used (anti-shakespeare propaganda)

Nonfiction

Narrative about actual happenings

Fiction

Narrative about invented characters and events

Short Story

Shorter than a novel w/ less characters, simpler plot, and only ONE major conflict

Novella

Longer than short story, shorter than novel and of mid-complexity

Novel

A story with greater length & scope, higher complexity, more involved plots, setting, and character traits

Bildungsroman

Coming of age novel reflecting maturity

Historical Novel

Set in a specific historical time period w/ appropriate societal norms

Epistolary Novel

Comprised of letters between characters

Epic

Long, narrative poem about heroic deeds of a legend

Plot

Selection & ordering of a story’s actions/events

Subplot

Secondary story that parallels/contrasts the main action

Frame Story

A second narrative that frames the main story (Frankenstein telling Walton the whole story)

In Media Res

Beginning a narration in the middle of something (not chronological)

Flashback

A scene set earlier than the present in a story

Epigraph

A short quote at the beginning of a book/chapter that has thematic relevance

Exposition

Background info of a story occurring at a narrative’s beginning, establishes characters & setting

Narrative Climax

Turning point where plot changes direction

Dramatic Climax

Moment of greatest suspense usually towards end of story

Resolution

End of story where problems are resolved