Literary Elements: Narrative Voice, Description, and Dialogue

Narrative Voice and Point of View

Elements of Narrative

• Narrator/Storyteller: The issuer of the story.
• Characters: Individuals within the narrative.
• Setting: Characteristic time and space.

Narrative Perspectives

• First-person protagonist: The narrator recounts what happens to them.
• First-person witness: The narrator recounts what happens to another character.
• Third-person witness: The narrator recounts what happens to others.
• Omniscient: The narrator knows more than the characters.

Types of Description

Descriptive Dynamics

• Dynamic descriptions: Provide an image of a moving object or process, recording each stage of its development.
• Static descriptions: Register an object or a state of stillness, aiming to present a stable image like a picture.

Descriptive Perspective

• Objective descriptions: The narrator observes without involvement, maintaining distance. Generally uses the third person, avoiding personal assessments and stating only what is seen.
• Subjective descriptions: Convey emotional appreciation and feelings, directly expressing the narrator's thoughts and sentiments. Usually in the first person, focusing on what is felt or its cause.

Dialogue in Narrative

Every narrative story may be composed of narrative sequences, descriptions, and moments of dialogue. These three elements are crucial for organizing a story.

Dialogue Styles

• Direct Style: Words that make up a speech are reproduced without change; it is a verbatim reproduction, typically enclosed in quotation marks.
• Indirect Style: Words from a speech are reported by the narrator. Direct style marks (like quotation marks) are lost, and changes occur in verbs and pronouns, often with the addition of a conjunction (e.g., "that").

Literary Analysis: Edgar Allan Poe's Stories

Comparison: "The Black Cat" and "The Tell-Tale Heart"

• Both are told from a first-person protagonist perspective.
• Themes of terror are prominent in both.
• In both, the protagonist desires to kill another character.
• Noise originates from the narrator's consciousness in both stories.
• Both feature an eye as a dark motif.
• "The Black Cat" predominantly uses static and subjective descriptions.
• "The Tell-Tale Heart" predominantly uses dynamic and subjective descriptions.

Other Poe Stories and Narrative Styles

• "The Truth About the Case of M. Valdemar": Narrated in the first person, with static and objective descriptions dominating.
• "The Oval Portrait": Narrated in the third-person omniscient, dominated by dynamic and subjective descriptions.
• "Berenice": Narrated in the first-person protagonist perspective, dominated by descriptions.