narratologya guide to the theory of narrative.docx

1、narratology a guide to the theory of narrativeNarratology: A Guide to the Theory of NarrativeManfred JahnFull reference: Jahn, Manfred. 2003. Narratology: A Guide to the Theory of Narrative. Part III of Poems, Plays, and Prose: A Guide to the Theory of Literary Genres. English Department, University

2、 of Cologne.Version: 1.7.Date: 28 July 2003This page: http:/www.uni-koeln.de/ame02/pppn.htmProject introductory page: http:/www.uni-koeln.de/ame02/ppp.htmEmail: Manfred.JahnUni-Koeln.de. (Comments and questions of common interest will be published on this projects questions and answer page pppq.htm.

3、)Homepage: http:/www.uni-koeln.de/ame02/To facilitate global indexing, all paragraphs in this section are labeled N for narratology. If you quote from this document, use paragraph references (e.g., N5.4) rather than page numbers.ContentsN1. Getting startedN2. The narratological framework N2.1 Backgr

4、ound and basics N2.2. Narrative genres N2.3. Narrative communication N2.4. Narrative LevelsN3. Narration, Focalization, and Narrative Situations N3.1. Narration (voice) N3.2. Focalization (mood) N3.3. Narrative situationN4. Action, story analysis, tellabilityN5. Tense, Time, and Narrative Modes N5.1

5、. Narrative Tenses N5.2. Time Analysis N5.3. Narrative ModesN6. Setting and fictional spaceN7. Characters and CharacterizationN8. Discourses: representations of speech, thought and consciousnessN9. A Case Study: Alan Sillitoes The Fishing Boat PictureN10. References.N1. Getting startedThis chapter b

6、uilds a toolbox of basic narratological concepts and shows how to put it to work in the analysis of fiction. The definitions are based on a number of classical introductions - specifically, Genette (1980 1972; 1988 1983, key terms: voice, homo- and heterodiegetic, focalization); Chatman (1978, key t

7、erms: overtness, covertness), Lanser (1981; key terms: voice, human limitation, omniscience); Stanzel (1984, key terms: narrative situation, authorial, figural, reflector), and Bal (1985, key term: focalizer). In the later chapters of this script, the toolbox will serve as an organizational framewor

8、k for contextualizing a large number of more specific terms and concepts.N1.1. Normally, the literature department of a bookshop is subdivided into sections that reflect the traditional genres - Poetry, Drama, and Fiction. The texts that one finds in the Fiction department are novels and short stori

9、es (short stories are usually published in an anthology or a collection). In order to facilitate comparison, all passages quoted in the following are taken from the first chapters of novels. Thus, as a side effect, this section will also be a survey of representative incipits (beginnings). Hey, that

10、s one technical term out of the way already.The foregoing decision to generalize from a single text type is motivated by purely practical reasons. There is nothing logical or necessary about it; indeed, many theorists prefer to kick off with more basic types of narratives, real-world narratives such

11、 as anecdotes, news reports, etc., and then work their way up to fiction. Here, however, I suggest doing it the other way round. Novels are an extremely rich and varied medium: everything you can find in other types of narrative you find in the novel; most of what you find in the novel you can find

12、in other types of narrative, whether in nonfiction, natural narrative, drama, film, etc. So, lets go to the bookshelf, get out a few novels, open them on page 1, and see what we can do to get an analytical grip on them.N1.2. First we must define narrative itself. What are the main ingredients of a n

13、arrative? What must a narrative have for it to count as narrative? For a simple answer let us say that all narratives have a story. But let us immediately add two additional requirements: (1) any kind of story is not enough; let us stipulate that a story must have an action which involves characters

14、; and (2) let us also assume that all stories come with a story-teller. Actually, our preferred term for a story-teller will be narrator. A narrative has a story based on an action caused and experienced by characters, and a narrator who tells it. Indeed, this getting started section will mainly foc

15、us on narrators and characters.N1.3. In a real-life face-to-face narrative situation, we have a narrator who is a flesh-and-blood person, somebody who sees us, somebody whom we can see and hear. But what do we know of a textual narrator when all we get is lines of print? Can such a narrator have a v

16、oice, and if so, how can it become manifest in a text? Consider our first excerpt, from the beginning of J.D. Salingers Catcher in the Rye (first published 1951).Chapter OneIf you really want to hear about it, the first thing youll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and