Lecture 10. Types of Narration

6. Compositional forms a) Narrative proper

• NARRATIVE PROPER, which is a dynamic unfolding of the plot.
• Narration relates to a series of events (real, biographical, imaginary);
• The events may be real (historical), or imaginary (short stories, novels);
• The action plays a central role in any narrative.

• Any narrative has the following categories:
• The event
• Personages
• Time
• Place
• The narrator
• Any narrative develops according to the narrative scheme:
• Introduction
• Setting
• Rising action
• Climax
• Falling action
• Catastrophe
• Summary

• “ In a very few minutes an ambulance came, the team was told all the nothing that was known about the child & he was driven away, the ambulance bell ringing, unnecessarily.” (W.Gl.) (NARRATION)
• “VENI, VIDI, VICI”- CEASAR’S narration.
• “For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn”. (E. Hemingway)

b) Description

• Description creates word pictures of objects, persons, scenes, events or situations. It is static.
• DESCRIPTION usually takes one of the three forms:
• external,
• analytical/technical
• evocative.

• The external description enables the reader to visualize & recognize the object described. The external description commonly focuses on shape & color of objects & on their arrangement in space.
• Ex.: “Baby turtles in a turtle bowl are a puzzle in geometry. They are as decorative as pansy petals, but they are also self- directed building blocks, propping themselves on one another in different arrangement, before upending the tower….”

• The technical description enables the reader to understand the structure of an object:
• E.g.:“The panda’s “thumb” is not, anatomically, a finger at all. It is constructed from a bone called the radical sesamoid, normally a small component of the wrist.”(St. Jay GOULD, The Panda’s Thumb).

• The evocative description re-creates the impression made by an object, it appeals to the eye & other senses:
• E.g.:“The heat of summer was mellow & produced sweet scents which lay in the air so damp & rich you could almost taste them. Mornings smelled of purple wisteria, afternoons of the wild roses which tumbled over stone fences, & evenings of honeysuckle…”