Learner Resource 5
The Power of Stories
Story-telling is a distinctive feature of Othello.
1. Can you list the stories told in the play?
2. Who tells these stories, when do they occur in the play, and how long are they in
relation to each other? Why?
Labov’s theory of oral narrative:
The American linguist William Labov wrote a famous study of oral story-telling, based
on evidence gathered from the African American community in South Harlem, New
York, and published in 1972. In it he defined the typical structure of oral narratives as
follows:
Abstract: indicates that a story is beginning; engages the listener’s attention;
perhaps asks permission to tell the story; gives a clue as to what the story is about.
Orientation: identifies the time, place, people involved and the main situation or
activity.
Complicating action: the main events of the story.
Resolution: the ending of the story.
Evaluation: explains the point of the story; suggests why it’s worth telling.
Coda: signals the end of the story; sometimes refers back to the beginning or returns
to the present.
These elements are listed in the order in which they typically occur, with the
exception of ‘evaluation’, which can occur at any point in the narrative.
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Using the extracts from the play that represent the four stories, decide in your groups how
each corresponds to the structure Labov proposes and annotate the stories accordingly (it
will help to colour-code the different stages). How far do they conform to this structure, and
how far do they deviate from it? Why do you think this is?
In an article written about 25 years after the publication of his original study, Labov
explained what he felt to be the purpose and value of the stories on which he based
his research:
‘They deal with the major events of life and death, including the sudden outbreak of
violence; the near approach of death and the witness of it; premonitions of the future,
often through communication with the dead; courage in the face of adversity and the
struggle against overwhelming odds; cowardice and the betrayal of trust.’
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~wlabov/sfs.html
How could you use this analysis to illuminate your understanding of the dramatic function of
these stories, both in their immediate context and in Othello as a whole?
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