Narratives

There are a few different definitions for the term narrative. Abbot defines narrative as, "the representation of events, consisting of a story and narrative discourse, story is an event or a sequence of events (the action), and narrative discourse is those events as represented"[1]. From this definition one can state it in simpler terms that it is a representation of a story, there is no distinction whether it is a fictional or factual story or what kind of representation a narrative may include, and lastly it is not understood where this narrative discourse could occur.

Meanwhile, Gerald Prince makes his definition of a narrative is clearer than that of Abbott's. He explains that a narrative is a real event or situation (factual); he also explains that the person (or persons) telling the narrative is the narrator, and the audience to the narrative (one person or more) is the narratee[2]. This narrator/narratee relationship is reminiscent of the traditional sender/receiver form of communication.

Mostly anyone can express a narrative. Abbott explains, "As soon as we follow a subject with a verb, there is a good chance we are engaged in narrative discourse"[3]. Therefore, anyone who can read or write can participate in expressing a narrative. The means of expressing a narrative can be oral or written, pictures, movies, paintings, local news, and through conversation (to name a few mediums of expressing narratives)[4].

With the introduction of the internet to narrative, often we can see different versions of the same narrative. Perhaps each version has a different point of view, which may possibly even change the narrative because of what the different view may add to the narrative. The internet provides opportunity for the narrative to be both video and written simultaneously, one may read a background narrative based on the events leading to or surrounding the video narrative[5]. Maybe this can be considered a double narrative, or just a long and extended narrative.







[1]Abbott, H. Porter:The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative (Cambridge Introductions to Literature). Cambridge, New York:Cambridge University Press, 2002, p.16.
[2]Prince, Gerald: Dictionary of Narratology. Revised edition. Lincoln, London: University of Nebraska Press, 2007, p. 279f.
[3]Abbott, H. Porter:The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative (Cambridge Introductions to Literature). Cambridge, New York:Cambridge University Press, 2002, p.1.
[4]Barthes, Roland. An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative. Volume 6, No.2 (1975) pg. 237.
[5]Annemarie Fischer: KeyNote. Defining narrative.