Narrative Structure Notes

Notes on Narrative Structure:
Difference between plot and narrative structure:

 Plot – the arrangement of events in a story

Types of Narrative Structure:
 Narrative Structure has two basic categories:   linear structure and complex narrative structure



 1. Linear Narrative:   Framework that runs like a line – from point A to point B, chronological unfolding of the story.



 Ex.   Old Hollywood films – classic structure

 Shakespearean drama – Acts I- V follow the typical plot chart



 2. Complex Narrative Structure:   Skeletal framework of a story that has been altered from the linear for a purpose or effect.

 * I then show them three – four film clips that utilize the complex structure. I ask them to write down what they notice about the frame – the method of unfolding the story. I show all clips then go back and have students describe each one. Once they describe their observations, I place a label on the type of narrative structure illustrated.



 Clip 1:   Opening scene from Across the Universe:

 Metafictive Narrative Structure:   When the illusion of fiction or narrative has been deliberately broken for effect – either the director of author has shattered the barrier – preventing audience/reader from falling into the narrative – forces him to be conscious of the construct from the beginning.

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<p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; mso-list:none;tab-stops:46.0pt"> Jude violates the barrier separating audience from actors – deliberately and conspicuously for a reason – why? Scene then rolls into chaos with a montage of layered symbols, colors, and scenes that we will encounter later in the story. This flash forward provides a mirror into what is to come.

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<p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; mso-list:none;tab-stops:46.0pt"> Clip 2:   Opening scene from Season 1 of LOST.

<p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; mso-list:none;tab-stops:46.0pt"> Nested Narrative – story within a story. Nested narrative can run multiple plot strands, utilize multiple narrators. While this one episode focuses on Jack’s awakening in the jungle, other episodes trace other characters from the beginning.

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<p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="mso-list:none;tab-stops:46.0pt">        Clip 3: Opening scene from Inception

<p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:0in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">        Fragmented or Disjointed Narrative:   Story that operates in a cyclical fashion but one that holds no    consistent pattern. Moves back in time, space, memory and then propels readers/audiences into future without warning or assistance.

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<p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:0in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> Other Devices or Tools used in Narratives:

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<p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:0in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> Flashback 

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<p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:0in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> Frame device  – tool used by author/director to separate time and narrative strands. Ex. Phantom of the Opera – (Titanic) – At the Paris Opera House Auction, once the chandelier is the subject of the bidding, the structure moves back into place – as it moves closer to the ceiling, the black and white frame explodes into color, placing the story back in the past at the height of the building’s popularity.

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<p class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:0in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> In Medias Res  – in the middle of things

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