Narratology

About: Narratology is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2833 publications have been published within this topic receiving 50998 citations. The topic is also known as: narrative theory.

Narratology and Ludology: Competing Paradigms or Complementary Theories in Simulation

Abstract: Technological innovations in simulation practice have increased the speed at which theories underpinning their study evolve. As researchers come forward to accept the task of developing these theories, differences between two philosophical positions – narratology and ludology – are sparking debate which may indicate a future paradigmatic shift. The article to follow compares and contrasts narratology and ludology within the range of simulation and non-pedagogical gaming, respectively. Divergences between the two holistic meanings are noted, overlap and synergies between the issues surrounding these meanings are discussed, and a fusion of the two is proposed for future theoretical and/or paradigmatic progress.

Discourse Deixis in Metafiction: The Language of Metanarration, Metalepsis and Disnarration

Abstract: This volume advances scholarly understanding of the ways in which discourse deixis underpins the workings of metafictional novels. Building on existing scholarship in the field, the book begins by mapping out key themes and techniques in metafiction and puts forward a focused and theoretically coherent account of discourse deixis—language which points to a section or aspect of the discourse context in which that language is used—in written literary discourse, highlighting its inherent significance in metafiction specifically. Macrae takes readers through an exploration of discourse deixis as used within the techniques of metanarration, metalepsis, and disnarration, drawing on a mix of both well-established and lesser-known metafictional novels from the late 1960s and early 1970s by such authors as John Barth, Brigid Brophy, Robert Coover, John Fowles, Steve Katz, and B.S. Johnson. This comprehensive account integrates and develops a new approach to understanding discourse deixis and innovative insights into metafictionality more broadly and will be of particular interest to scholars in literary studies, postmodern literature, narratology, and stylistics.

What Is Narratology? Questions and Answers regarding the Status of a Theory

Abstract: What Is Narratology? Questions and Answers regarding the Status of a Theory. Ed. Tom Kindt and Hans-Harald Miiller. Narratalogia, 1. Berlin and New York: De Gruyter, 2003. vii + 368 pp. $137.20 cloth. De Gruyter's Narratologia series is subtitled "Contributions to Narrative Theory," and it has been inaugurated by a collection devoted to the useful jobs of ground-clearing and organization. The current state of narrative studies makes these jobs unavoidable. After the large-scale attempt to theorize narrative that was the centerpiece of literary structuralism in the 1960s and 70s followed a period (in the 80s and early 90s) of syntheses and summaries but few new ideas and a general downturn in the level of activity. In the past decade, however, an outburst of new initiatives in thinking about narrative has brought with it a renewed sense that interesting work remains to be done on narrative. The problem facing the narrative theorist at the present juncture is that of getting a clear overview: has any substantive knowledge about narrative been achieved and, if so, and how can it be built upon? should future research on narrative be treated as a continuation of earlier work, or as a break from it? which of the new directions will actually lead somewhere and which will prove to be trendy dead ends? These very broad questions form the background of current discussion. The essays in this volume-which come from a 2002 conference in Hamburg sponsored by the Narratology Research Group-concern the narrower issue of the identity of narratology. The problem here is that, taken generally, the study of narrative might involve a great many things, whereas the notion of narratology implies something much more limited-but what? Since Plato and Aristotle, and especially since Henry James, the topic of narrative has been addressed by literary practitioners, belletristic and journalistic critics, scholars, and theorists in a diversity of fields ranging from philosophy to folkloristics; sometimes the object of interest has been a particular narrative work, at other times it has been various features of a corpus, while at others the universal nature of narrative has been postulated as a possible object of inquiry. The term "narratology," coined in the heyday of French structuralism and associated with work by Roland Barthes, Claude Bremond, Gerard Genette, A.-J. Greimas, and Tzvetan Todorov, designated a new specialty in academic literary research: the use of more or less formalized models to endow the study of narrative with systematic procedures and testable criteria. But now, three or four decades later, not only do the articles of structuralist methodological faith stand rejected in a resolutely postmodern era, but students of narrative are interested in a range of narrative-pertinent stuff much wider than tidy-minded structuralists could ever have envisioned, much less accommodated. Briefly, it is content and context that matter to the next generation of investigators, who uniformly disparage the very idea of narrative as primarily or essentially a matter of form. So it is possible to distinguish between two generations of narrative theorists, "classical" and "postclassical" (to adopt what has become a common usage). What is Narratology? includes fourteen essays, all by German scholars except for four (by David Herman, John Pier, Gerald Prince, and Marie-Laure Ryan); of those written by German contributors, seven appear in (usually fluent) translation. Since the goal of the conference was to survey the field ("Questions and Answers regarding the Status of a Theory"), it is understandable that many of the essays include extensive bibliographies. However, they overlap considerably, and take up a seventh of the volume (54 pages out of about 360, not counting some lengthy footnotes, such as the one summarizing the translation history of French structuralists writings into German [161-62nl 12]). A single consolidated Works Cited might have been preferable, despite the editorial trouble it would have taken to assemble. …

The Narrative Structures of Glory and Glorification in the Fourth Gospel

Abstract: This article takes part in the reopened discussion of the Johannine δόξα/δοξάζϵιν by interpreting the concept in light of the narrative structures in the Fourth Gospel. On the basis of Aristotle's definition of a whole and complete μῦθος and his distinction between πϵριπτϵια and ἀναγνώρισις it is shown that the main structure in the Johannine narrative concerns humans' recognition of Jesus' identity as son of God. As a consequence of being firmly integrated in this narrative structure, the Johannine concept δόξα/δοξάζϵιν basically denotes divine identity and recognition. Opposing a contemporary trend in Johannine studies it is finally argued that δόξα/δοξάζϵιν in the Fourth Gospel should be understood within the normal narrative sequence.

Elements of Narrative Analysis

Abstract: This article is intended to be an introduction to narrative analysis. It introduces key terms in narrative theory (e.g. story and plot), discusses various types of narratives relevant for social studies and features three selected analytical approaches to narratives: a poetic classification, a tripartite way of reading and a deconstructive analysis. The conclusion presents some reflections on narratives as ways to make sense of time. References have been selected as to guide the reader to further studies of narratives and narrative perspectives.