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1. An EVENT is caused by an AGENT. A syn. for ACT. Also sometimes called INCIDENT.
2. The sequence of events in a STORY or NARRATIVE DISCOURSE. |
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An ENTITY or EXISTENT that performs ACTIONS.
Synonym for AGENT and CHARACTER. |
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| Concerned w/ beauty or art or the appreciation thereof. |
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| The capacity of an ENTITY / EXISTENT to cause EVENTS, specifically to perform ACTS / ACTIONS. AGENCY is the capacity to act w/ intent. |
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| A human or human-like ENTITY or EXISTENT characterized by a quality of AGENCY. Can include animals, robots, extraterrestrials, or animate objects. AGENTS perform ACTIONS. Syn. for ACTOR / ACTANT and CHARACTER. |
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| In NARRATIVE, the character who opposes the PROTAGONIST. The principal opponent. |
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| The action of causing; production of effect. The relationship between cause and effect. |
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| A human or human-like ENTITY or EXISTENT that exhibits AGENCY. Characters perform ACTIONS. Syn for AGENT and ACTOR / ACTANT. |
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| The one (or more) turning point(s) in the narrative when the action reaches a peak of intensity, things change for better or for worse, and the conflict is resolved. |
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When a NARRATIVE resolves CONFLICT, it achieves CLOSURE.
Closure typically comes at the end of a narrative, but it shouldn't be confused w/ the end or the DENOUEMENT. When a narrative ends in such a way as to satisfy the EXPECTATIONS and answer the QUESTIONS it has raised, it is said to have achieved closure. |
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| A process whereby an initial state of equilibrium in a STORYWORLD is upset by a more or less disruptive EVENT or chain of events. A clash between the beliefs, desires, and intentions of two or more characters in a narrative, or between dissonant aspects of a single character. Greek syn: agon. (Remember protAGONist and antAGONist) |
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| Constituent events / Kernels |
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| Events that are essential to the forward movement of the STORY. Constituent events/kernels are essential to the chain of events that make up the STORY. To remove one would be to break this chain. |
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| Creates smthg else or forms an essential element of smthg else (e.g., "language is constitutive of thought.") |
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| The part of a narrative, following the CLIMAX, during which equilibrium is attained and some (possibly new) state of normalcy is reached. |
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| A set of communications, typically written or spoken; a verbal interchange of ideas; a conversation. |
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| A story-within-a-story; a narrative nestled in a FRAMING NARRATIVE. |
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| Smthg that exists in a story. Syn for EXISTENT. An ENTITY can either be an AGENT or a SETTING. |
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| Essentially contested concept |
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| A concept for which dispute over its meaning seems to be part of its nature. |
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The fundamental unit of ACTION in a STORY.
A change of state that creates an alteration in the world of the story. Sometimes called incident. An event can either be a HAPPENING or an ACT. (ACTION). |
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| Objects contained in the world of a story. Syn for ENTITY. An EXISTENT can be either an AGENT or a SETTING. |
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The kinds of ACTIONS or EVENTS that the NARRATIVE has led us to expect.
The degree to which these expectations are satisfied helps to determine the level of CLOSURE. |
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| The presentation of the circumstances, CHARACTERS, EVENTS, and other info that is necessary for understanding the action of the narrative. |
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Not actually fabulous.
"The set of events tied together which are communicated to us in the course of the NARRATIVE DISCOURSE."
A story. |
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A narrative that contains another narrative.
An embedded narrative is inside this. |
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A type of event that is not caused by an AGENT.
Ex: a rainstorm. |
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Latin (literally "into the middle of things").
In the middle (or conclusion) of a story.
What this means is that the narrative starts "in the middle of things". |
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| The EVENT that introduces the main conflict or problem. |
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| In Chatman: The material substance through which the story is expressed. Syn for MEDIA or MEDIUM. Examples include drawing, painting, written or spoken language, theatre, film, etc. |
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Recurrent skeletal stories, belonging to cultures and individuals that play a powerful role in questions of identity, values, and the understanding of life. Masterplots can also exert an influence on the way we may take in new information, causing us to (often unconsciously) interpret this new info in way that conforms with a masterplot.
Examples: rags to riches, the underdog, etc. |
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| (pl. media) the means by which smthg is communicated or expressed. Syn for Chatman's MANIFESTATION. |
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| The study of the form and structure of things. (e.g. animals, plants, words, language, etc.) |
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The representation of an event or series of events.
(whether they are unfortunate or not.) |
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| Narrative (according to the rhetorical approach) |
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| Narrative is a /purposive/ communicative act. Narrative is an EVENT in which someone is /doing something/ with a REPRESENTATION of an EVENT or series of EVENTS. |
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| (sometimes simply DISCOURSE): the means by which a story is communicated; the story as represented. |
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| The narrator is the one who produces the narrative or tells the story. The narrator is NOT the same as the author. The narrator is a kind of imaginary character or tool created by the author to narrate the story. |
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| The power of narrative form, and particularly of MASTERPLOTS, to convey a sense of reality or truth. |
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| Concerning elements and conditions outside an aesthetic object or event (the artwork, the film, the performance, etc.) that frame it and serve to shape and influence the audience's response. |
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The term plot is used in several distinct ways.
1. In common usage: a syn for STORY.
2. The combination and sequencing of events of EVENTS in a NARRATIVE DISCOURSE. Often, this usage is meant to emphasize in the way in which the DISCOURSE departs from the chronological order of EVENTS in the STORY.
3. A type of STORY framework that can be repeated and retold in seemingly endless variety (revenge plot, marriage plot, etc.) |
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| The point in the story at which the NARRATIVE DISCOURSE begins. |
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| The leading or principal character in a narrative. Sometimes called the HERO. |
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| The questions raised over the course of the narrative. The degree to which the narrative provides answers to these questions helps to determine the level of CLOSURE. |
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| Smthg (esp signs-- e.g. written or spoken language, images, etc.) that stands in for or takes the place of smthg else. |
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The art of using language or other modes of communication and representation so as to persuade or influence others.
Think propaganda. |
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| Refers to the series of events that increase the intensity of the conflict. The PROTAGONIST(S) (main character) attempts to realize her or his main goal(s) in the face of complications and obstacles. |
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| An existent in the story that does not possess AGENCY. Those elements that serve as the background for the story. Chatman sometimes calls this "items of setting" to indicate that SETTING is not merely a location, but all the elements contained in the world of the story that are not AGENTS. |
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| "How the reader becomes aware of what has happened," or "the order of the appearance [of events] in the work itself." Similar to PLOT. |
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| Distinct from "physical reality" or "brute facts" (like the height of Mt. Everest), social reality is the reality that is established and maintained by the consensus of a group. |
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| A TYPE character created w/ little to no imagination; the stereotype adheres too closely to the abstract TYPE, thus seeming lifeless and formulaic. |
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| A chronological sequence of events involving entities. (Abbott) |
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| A syn for NARRATIVE DISCOURSE minus the |
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| MANIFESTATION or MEDIUM of expression. |
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| Supplementary events/satellites |
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| Events that are not necessary to the story. They are extra and are not necessary for moving the story forward. |
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| Transcending cultural boundaries. True, existing, or present in all cultures. |
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| Transcending historical boundaries. Eterna. Always true, existing, or present during all points in history. |
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| A kind of character that recurs across a range of narratives. |
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| Present, appearing, or found everywhere. Omnipresent. |
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| A narrator who cannot be taken at his or her word, thus compelling the reader or audience to "read between the lines" in order to discern the "truth" about events, characters, and/or the world of the story. |
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