Narrative is an exposition of facts, a narration, a tale or a story. Newspaper news, comic books, novels, short stories and novels are, among others, ways of telling a story, that is, they are narratives.
Narratives are expressed by different languages: by word (verbal language: oral and written), by image (visual language), by representation (theatrical language) etc.
Narrative Elements
The narrative is a sequence of interconnected facts that occur over a period of time and has basic elements in its composition:
- Fact – corresponds to the action that will be narrated (what)
- Time - in which timeline did the event happen (when)
- Place - description of where the event happened (where)
- Characters - participants or observers of the action (with whom)
- Cause - reason why the event happened (why)
- Mode - how the event happened (how)
- Consequence - result of the course of action
The narrative develops around a plot, name given to the sequence of facts. From the plot one arrives at the theme, which is the central motif of the text. The plot presents situations of conflicts or actions, which are divided into four parts:
- Presentation – various elements such as characters, setting, and time are presented by the narrator, to frame the reader in relation to the facts.
- Development - here the conflict originates, with the confrontation between the characters.
- Climax - is the maximum exponent of the conflict, existing an enormous dramatic charge and where some important facts reach their greatest drama.
- Outcome – is the final part of the narrative that reveals the outcome of the climax, whether the conflict may or may not have been resolved.
The characters in a narrative can be described from a physical and psychological point of view, playing different roles:
- Protagonist – is the main character of a narrative, has the most important role in the unfolding of the action.
- Antagonist-one who opposes the protagonist, being his enemy. It is often only revealed as an antagonist during the climax.
- Secondary character - despite having a less important role than the protagonist, it is also important for the development of the action.
- Extra - has the function of helping to describe an environment or space of which it is a part. Your role has no bearing on the action.
Literary Narrative
The literary narrative can be presented in the form of prose and verse. As for content, they are grouped into three genres: narrative, lyrical and dramatic.
In every narrative, there is a storyteller, which tells what happens. It should not be confused with the author of the text. The narrator can be a character who participates in the action. In this case, it is a first-person narrator. When he does not participate in the story, but only reports what the characters do, he is a third-person narrator.
Among the forms of prose narratives, the following stand out:
- Romance – addresses a long fictional narrative, with several characters who experience different conflicts and whose fates intersect, through a plot narrated in a temporal sequence. A novel can tell different types of stories: detective novel, historical novel, adventure novel, etc. Ex.: Death on the Beach, by Agatha Christie,
- Novel – is a less comprehensive narrative than the novel, composed of a series of linked units, but articulated around a central character. Ex.: O Alienista, by Machado de Assis, Vidas Secas, by Graciliano Ramos, etc.
- Tale – is a shorter, compact narrative with few characters. It focuses around a single character, where there is only a conflict in a short period of time.
- Chronicle – has a more informal text, which reports day-to-day events, where the chronicler subtly denounces some social order problem several times.
- Fable – is a short narrative that expresses a message with a moral background. The characters in fables are generally animals representing human types. Ex.: A Cigarra ea Ant and A Lebre ea Tartaruga, by La Fontaine.
adventure narrative
The adventure narrative is one that describes actions performed by a character represented by a brave hero, who lives the most surprising situations.
The adventurer faces challenges and engages in various adventures to escape danger. Action is a main element in an adventure narrative. Ex.: Gulliver's Travels, Jonatham Sift, Odyssey and The Iliad, Homer etc.
See too:
- meaning of tale
- examples of short stories
- Narrative text
- Narrative text characteristics
- Storyteller Types
- omniscient narrator