Fic... — Story And Discourse: Narrative Structure In
The "what." This is the raw material—the chronological sequence of events, the characters, and the setting. It is the abstract content that exists independently of how it is told.
A murder happens, a detective finds clues, and the killer is caught.
By separating the two, readers and writers can analyze how a specific "telling" transforms a simple "tale" into a complex emotional experience. Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fic...
The "how." This is the stylistic representation of the story. It involves the narrator’s voice, the order of events (flashbacks/flash-forwards), the pacing, and the point of view. 2. Key Elements of Discourse
), using techniques like analepsis (flashback) or prolepsis (flash-forward). The "what
The novel begins with the body, hides the murder event itself until the end, and follows the detective’s limited perspective to keep the reader in suspense.
The gap between story and discourse is where the artistry of fiction lives. For example, in a mystery novel: By separating the two, readers and writers can
This covers "who sees" (perspective/focalization) versus "who speaks" (the narrator). 3. Why It Matters