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Types of Narrative Structures _ Pen and the Pad

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Types

Types
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Narrative
NarrativeStructures
Structures
Structures

By Toby Jones Updated April 17, 2017


Home » Language & Lit

Stories are powerful and at times even transforming in our lives. Whether
we're reading a gripping novel, listening to the yarn of a bard or seeing a
dramatic portrayal on stage or screen, the narrative is an art form with
multiple levels of meaning. But not all stories are the same. They develop
differently depending on their particular narrative structure. Knowing
something about a few of the most common forms of narrative structure
will help deepen your appreciation and understanding of the stories you
encounter.

Chronological/Linear

The most traditional and most common narrative structure is the linear or
chronological one. Such a story is organized around a series of events and
key moments that have often been labeled and ordered as follows: the
rising action or precipitating incident, the con ict, the obligatory moment,
the climax, the resolution, and the falling action. Most children's stories and
many of the classics in literature and lm move through this predictable,
archetypal structure.
The Fractured Narrative

Some writers and storytellers prefer to structure their narratives less


linearly, so they are able to jump back and forth in time. If you think about
scenes in lms where there is a ashback, you'll get a sense for how time
can be fractured or bent to alter or intensify a story. William Faulkner's "As I
Lay Dying" is a powerful example of a fractured narrative structure in that
the entire book looks at a single brief event through the eyes and voices of
a half dozen characters. To pull this off, Faulkner has to move his narrative
back through time as each character tells the tale as he experienced or
witnessed it.

Framed Narrative

Some stories are actually stories within other stories. In Joseph Conrad's
"Heart of Darkness," for example, the narrator Marlowe is on a boat out on
the Thames with a handful of other seamen when he tells them the story of
his trip into the heart of the Congo region. While engrossed in the Congo
portion of the story, the reader might even forget that the narrator is
actually nished with the Congo journey, retelling it to his fellow sailors on
that boat. "The Wizard of Oz" is a similarly framed narrative. The Oz portion
of the story is only occurring inside Dorothy's head; it is a dream sequence
embedded within Dorothy's "home" life in Kansas.

The Circular or Epic Narrative

Some tales end where they begin, with the hero or protagonist returning
home after his epic journey. Homer's "Odyssey" is a prime example of this.
Odysseus must leave his beloved island Ithaca and his soul mate Penelope
to take what amounts to a 30-year odyssey. But ultimately, the journey ends
with his return home. Joseph Campbell, one of the foremost authorities on
myths and heroes' journeys, found this circular narrative to be a prominent
narrative structure across cultures, religions, and time periods.

References
References
Penn State University: Narrative Structure, Plot Devices and Stereotypes
Narrati: Narrrative structure, plot structure

About
About the
the Author
Author

Toby Jones has been a writer since 1981. He has written sports articles
and sermons, as well as two books, "The Gospel According to Rock" and
"The Way of Jesus." Jones also teaches writing at preparatory schools and
colleges. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from DePauw University and
a Master of Divinity from Princeton University.

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