Plot device

The narrative technique is the method of variation of elements of reality for the purpose of representation of a fictional narrative events.

Elements of reality: dates, places, facts, figures, comments, events, relationships will be processed, distorted and disguised by style, grammar and pragmatics. Special signals that program our expectation of the text class "fiction " are, for example, no factual constative language use and relativizing references, possibly ironically interrupted, subjective style.

Narrative techniques can be divided into narrative situation, time structure of narration and speech and consciousness reproduction.

Narrative situation

The narrator can be viewed as a kind of "proxy ", the advances of the actual author.

Regarding the narrative situation, a work can differ fundamentally as to whether a narrator can even " hear ", so if you get the impression someone tell Commenting and explanatory, the present story ( authorial narration ), or whether it rather has the impression that the events would be " presented " without a narrator can hear ( personal and neutral narrative and narrator instance).

The latter can be further distinguish whether the action "from the outside ", is so similar to the illustration on the recording by a camera lens, presents ( " neutral Tell " ), or whether what is presented without commentary, just the inner world of the narrative character, their thoughts, their "consciousness" is ( " personales Tell "). This latter representation is the hallmark of the modern novel.

See also

• Narrative perspective
• Typological model of narrative situations

Temporal structure of the narrative

An analysis of the narrative order of time, one can distinguish between

• Zeitdeckendem storytelling ( narrative time and narrative time agree ),
• Zeitdehnendem telling and
• Zeitraffendem telling.

A linear time structure is also interrupted by

• Reversion ( analepsis ) and
• Foreshadowing ( prolepsis )

Speech and consciousness reproduction

The persons speech can be represented as

• Direct speech
• Indirect speech

The people awareness may further be represented as

• Thought report, so basically indirect speech, which is introduced by verbs of thought, perception or feeling
• Experienced speech
• Soliloquy, or silent direct speech
• Stream of consciousness
• Interior monologue