Narrative Genre: Elements, Structure, and Subgenres

Narrative Genre

The narrative genre is a literary genre that represents real or fictional characters in a specific place and time.

Structure of a Narrative

• Exposition: Beginning of the story, presentation of the characters, and the time-space situation.
• Rising Action/Knot: The conflict unfolds.
• Climax: The most intense moment of the conflict.
• Falling Action/Dénouement: Resolution of the conflict.
• Resolution: End of the story.

Narrative Perspective

• First-person narrator: The narrator is one of the characters in the story, often the protagonist, and uses the first person ("I," "we").
• Third-person narrator:
  • Omniscient: The narrator knows everything about all the characters and events.
  • Limited: The narrator is a witness, telling what happens without revealing the inner thoughts and feelings of all characters.

Atmosphere

• Setting/Space: Where the action takes place.
  • Real place: Exists in a physical context.
  • Unreal place: A product of the imagination, a perfect, fantastic, or nonexistent place.
• Time: The temporal space in which the action develops.
  • Era: The time in which the action takes place.
  • Narrated time: Progress reported as information; logical chronological time.
  • Prolepsis: Advances and anticipates future events.
  • Analepsis: Flashback; a retrospection into the past.

Characters

Characters are fictitious beings, sometimes inspired by real people.

Character Types by Development

• Flat/Static: Do not evolve throughout the story; they maintain the same traits.
• Round/Dynamic: Evolve throughout the story.

Character Types by Role

• Main: Bear the brunt of the conflict; can be a protagonist or antagonist.
• Secondary: Help the main characters but are not essential.

Narrative Subgenres

In Verse

• Epic: A composition for oral delivery, usually from classical antiquity, that recounts heroic deeds of war and aristocratic figures.
• Chanson de geste: A medieval composition of oral and popular character, in which a minstrel sings the exploits of a historical or legendary hero.
• Romance: A medieval composition in octosyllabic verse about a particular historical or legendary hero; it arises from the *chanson de geste*.

In Prose

• Short Story: A short narrative piece that presents events, settings, and characters with a simple plot.
• Novel: A lengthy narrative in which all elements are developed in depth; themes include chivalry, Moorish influence, fiction, adventure, and more.