Narratology: Plot Structures

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Narratology Plot Structures
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PLOT

• Series of things that characters do, feel, think,
  or say.
• Must be important to the outcome of the story.
• A list of events or incidents alone is not a
  plot.

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INCIDENT vs. CRUCIAL ACTION

• Most stories braiding ones hair

Simple incident

• Rapunzel braiding her hair

Crucial Action!
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PLOT
PATTERN
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PLOT
of EVENTS
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PLOT
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PLOT
Events Actions Feelings Motives Thoughts Words
CONFINED to a single, enclosed, self-contained
world.
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PLOT
Conflict!
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Plot vs. Story
The king died, and then the queen died.
Narration of events
The king died, and then the queen died of grief.
Element of causality involved
http//courses.nus.edu.sg/course/ellibst/Narrative
Theory/chapt6.htm
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Significance of Plot?
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The Gustav Freytag Model
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The Freytag Model
Climax
Falling Action
Complication
Resolution
Inciting Incident
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The Allen Tilley Model
http//www.unf.edu/atilley/
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The Tilley Model
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The Tilley Model
Temporary Binding
Stability
Permanent Binding
Disruption
Failure Increased Disruption
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The Tilley Model
Reflection
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The Vladimir Propp Model (Joseph Campbells
Monomyth)
Initiation
Return
Separation
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The Vladimir Propp Model (Joseph Campbells
Monomyth)
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PLOT PACING

• Fabula vs. Narration

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ISOCHRONY

• Steady
• pace.
• Without
• speedups or
• slowdowns

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ISOCHRONY FABULA vs. NARRATION

• Pace of narration and pace of fabula are equal
  relative to each other.

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ANISOCHRONY

• Events are not equally paced.

There are speedups
and there are slowdowns.
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FABULA vs. NARRATION

• In the fabula, time always moves at the same
  pace, just as it does in real life.

In the narration, the narrator tells some things
rapidly, skipping over details, and some things
slowly, taking lots of time and telling lots of
details.
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PLOT ORDER

• Fabula vs. Narration

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ANACHRONY

• Events told out of order.

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PROLEPSIS

• The portrayal of something existing before its
  proper historical time.

1899
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ELLIPSIS
3rd Event

• Leaving an event out of the sequence of events.

2nd Event
1st Event
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ELEMENTS OF PLOT

• Events The things that happened in the
  imaginary world of the fabula.
• Narrative Events the events that the narrator
  selected to include in the story.
• Narrative Order the order in which the narrator
  chose to tell the events.

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CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
Fabula 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Narrative Events 1 2 3 4
Narrative Order 1 2 3 4
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Anachrony
Fabula 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Ellipsis Events left out.
Narrative Events 1 2 3 4 5
Narrative Order 4 1 3 2 5
Analepsis events from the past
Prolepsis events from the future
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Presentation prepared by Carolyn P.
Henly Meadowbrook High School 4901 Cogbill
Rd. Richmond, VA 23234 cphenly_at_comcast.net
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The End