NARRATIVE ENGLISH LITERATURE

STRUCTURES 2021
 “The recounting of a series of facts or events and the
Narrative establishing of some connection between them”. (p. 150)

Simple narrative: is content to recite an event or

events and is largely chronological (newspapers).

Narrative with plot: the events are sequenced in a way that

each one affects the next one through the principle of cause-
and-effect.

Structur
“The planned framework of a piece of literature. In a
narrative, the plot itself is the structural element.” (p. 431)

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 NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
A Narrative structure consists of the traditional parts of a story and the order in which the reader encounters
them. They’re often represented visually as a triangle, these parts consist of exposition or beginning, rising action,
climax, falling action, and resolution or denouement.
SECTIONS OF THE PLOT:
Setting (or Exposition) is where the story begins. It is what sets the scene for the action to take place.
Characters, situation and the setting are introduced.

Conflict is the most important part of the story. Tension enters the story in the form of man vs. man, man vs.
nature, man vs. society, man vs. technology, man vs. himself, or man vs. God.

Rising Action is the part where the conflict is developed.

Climax is the point at which the conflict is dealt with or reversed in some way. It is a turning point of the situation.
(Ex: When Beowulf finally meets Grendel)

Resolution (or Falling Action): these are the events that lead up to the end of the story.

New Setting (or Denouement) is the situation in which the characters find themselves as a result of living
through the conflict and its climax. The conflict is finally resolved. It’s the end of the story.
TYPES OF NARRATIVE
STRUCTURE
Cyclical or circular structure: This ends
where it begins or begins at the end. This structure
hooks the reader and makes us curious about how
the characters ended up where they are.
Multiple Narration: The same action is narrated by different characters with very different
perspectives. This interests the reader because of the different voices and differing reliability of the
narrators.
Epiphany: The story is structured around one critical moment of understanding or decision and that
moment shapes the life or future of the protagonist.
Retrospective Narrative: In this structure, the older character looks back with the benefit of hindsight
on their own story or a story in which they have a role.
Narrative Framing: A framing narrative contains a second narrative or narratives to provide a context or
setting for it. Sometimes this framing narrative will begin and end the narrative as a whole, providing book
ends. At other times the framing narrative will simply be present in the beginning of the narrative. The
framing narrative sets the scene for the other story or stories, providing a context for reading and interpreting
the text.
Chronological Structure: This is the most straightforward structure. It can be useful for identifying the
key elements of the plot before you decide how to structure your story.
Inverted Pyramid:It simply means placing the most fundamental information in the lead
paragraph of the story, and then arranging the remaining details, from most important
to least important.
CCEA. "Narrative structures”. Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment. 2020,
https://ccea.org.uk/learning-resources/creative-writing/structure/narrative-structures. Accessed 27
April 2021.

Child, Peter, Fowler, Roger. The Routledge Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxon: Routledge, 2006.)

Holman, Hugh. A Handbook to Literature. Indianapolis: ITT- Bobbs-Merrill Educational Publishing

Company, Inc, 1985

McCabe, Alyssa, Peterson, Carole. Developing Narrative Structure. New Jersey: LEA, 1991.