Narrative Theory Quick Recap
Linear, Chronological, Sequential, Circular, Narrative arc, foreshadowing,
Propp:
- Stock characters
- Narratemes
- Characters and their roles (hero, villain, helper, princess, false hero, father)
Freytag:
- Freytag’s Pyramid
- Beginning, Middle, End
- Exposition, Climax, Denouement
- Rising action, falling action
Todorov:
- Equilibrium, Disruption, New Equilibrium
- Frame stories (stories within stories)
- Single character transformations: The idea that characters follow a journey that leads to a realisation, changed personality. Linking to Ancient Greek narrative structures:
Peripeteia = The reversal of fortune
Anagnorisis = Recognition or discovery of fate
Catharsis = Emotional response from audience
Strauss:
- Binary Oppositions
- Narrative is a structure of themes that relays a dominant message
Chatman:
- Kernels = Key moments
- Satellites = Developments or ‘fluff’
Barthes:
- Semiotics
- Hermeneutic code = Dialogue, character, reflection
- Proairetic code = Action and movement
- Enigmas = Puzzles, keeping the audience guessing