1. Freytag’s Pyramid
This structural approach could also be referenced to Freytag’s Pyramid exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, and denouement as illustrated below.
2. Tztevan Todorov (Tripartite narrative structure):
A really good way to think about NARRATIVE STRUCTURE is to recognise that most stories can be easily broken down into a BEGINNING / MIDDLE / END. The Bulgarian structuralist theorist Tztevan Todorov presents this idea as:
- Equilibrium
- Disruption
- New equilibrium
Think about the following. Can they apply to your style model? Your summer task? Your 1-2-1 interviews?
- the stage of equilibrium
- the conflict that disrupts this initial equilibrium
- the way / ways in which the disruption looks to find new equilibrium
- the denouement and/or resolution that brings about a new equilibrium
TASK:
- Think of a book, a film, a music video, a magazine article, a picture, a painting, a radio show, a play etc etc (essentially any creative media text you like)
- and draw out the narrative arc (ie shape) of the narrative structure over time (Freytag’s Pyramid)
- and divide the narrative into three parts (Todorov)
- annotate your narrative shape to indicate which events started the equilibrium / disruption / resolution.
- Finally, annotate your narrative arc with as many of the key words that you are confident to use and apply that we looked at yesterday.
