NARRATIVE TEXTS
GENETTE
DEFINITION
• NARRATIVE TEXT INCLUDES ANY TYPE OF WRITING THAT RELATES A SERIES OF EVENTS AND
INCLUDES BOTH FICTION (NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, POEMS) AND NONFICTION (MEMOIRS,
BIOGRAPHIES, NEWS STORIES). BOTH FORMS TELL STORIES THAT USE IMAGINATIVE LANGUAGE
AND EXPRESS EMOTION, OFTEN THROUGH THE USE OF IMAGERY, METAPHORS, AND SYMBOLS.
GENETTE’S NARRATOLOGY THEORY
NARRATIVE MOOD
NARRATIVE TEXTS ARE NOT THE WAY AN AUTHOR WILL IMITATE REALITY, WHETHER REAL OR
FICTIVE, BUT THE MEANS OF RECOUNTING A STORY USING THE LANGUAGE. THROUGH
DISTANCING AND OTHER EFFECTS, THE AUTOR CREATES A MOOD THAT WILL GOVERN THE
REGULATION OF NARRATIVE INFORMATION. FOR GENETTE, THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS
MIMESIS (SHOWING). IN FACT, HE JUST CLAIMS THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL LEVELS OF
DIEGESIS (TELLING).
IN THIS ANALYSIS, THE MOOD WILL BE PRODUCED BY THE DISTANCE AND THE FUNCTION OF
THE NARRATOR (WHO WILL NEVER BE ABSENT, ACCORDING TO GENETTE)
DISTANCE
• IT IS FUNDAMENTAL TO ASSESS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE AUTOR AND THE READER TO
DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF ACCURACY AND PRECISION OF THE WORDS WRITTEN. THERE ARE FOUR
TYPES OF DISCOURSE DEPENDING ON THE DISTANCE TAKEN BY THE NARRATOR FROM THE TEXT:
• - NARRATIZED SPEECH: THE CHARACTER’S WORDS ARE SO INTEGRATED INTO THE TEXT THAT THEY
ARE TREATED LIKE ANY OTHER EVENT: AND THEN HE TURNED TO HIS WIFE IN TEARS REVEALING HIS
LACK OF HAPPINESS.
• - TRANSPOSED SPEECH (INDIRECT STYLE): THE AUTHOR TREATS BOTH ACTIONS LIKING THEM WITH
A SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION: AND THEN HE TURNED TO HIS WIFE IN TEARS AND REVEALED
THAT HE HAD NEVER BEEN HAPPY.
• - TRANSPOSED SPEECH (DIRECT STYLE): THE NARRATOR REPORTS THE IDEA BY REMOVING THE
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION: AND THEN HE TURNED TO HIS WIFE IN TEARS WITH A
REVELATION: HE HAD NEVER BEEN HAPPY.
• - REPORTED SPEECH: THE CARACTER’S WORDS ARE CITED VERBATIM BY THE AUTHOR: AND THEN HE
TURNED TO HIS WIFE IN TEARS: “HONEY, I HAVE NEVER BEEN HAPPY”.
GOING THROUGH THESE
OPOSICIONES DOES NOT MAKE
US ANY HAPPY EITHER 
SO WE COULD SAY:
I WALLOW IN MISERY TELLING OTHERS ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY OF THIS
I WALLOW IN MISERY AND CLAIM THAT THIS IS VERY DIFFICULT
I WALLOW IN MISERY: THE PROCESS IS VERY DIFFICULT
I WALLOW IN MISERY: WORLD! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE ME HATE
THIS LIFE SO MUCH!
FUNCTIONS OF THE NARRATOR
Ideological
Narrative
Testimonial
Directing
Communication
NARRATIVE INSTANCE
THE NARRATIVE INSTANCE IS SAID TO BE THE CONJUNCTION BETWEEN THE
NARRATIVE VOICE (WHO IS SPEAKING), THE TIME OF THE NARRATION (WHEN
DOES IT OCCUR) AND THE NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE (THROUGH WHOM ARE WE
PERCEIVING?)
NARRATIVE VOICE
Heterodiegetic
Homodiegetic
Autodiegetic
TIME OF THE NARRATION
Interpolated
Subsequent
Prior
Simultaneous
NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE
• ZERO FOCALIZATION: THE TRADITIONAL OMNISCIENT NARRATOR. THIS NARRATOR KNOWS
MORE THAN THE CHARACTERS OF THE STORY, AND IS EVEN AWARE OF THEIR THOUGHTS AND
GESTURES.
• INTERNAL FOCALIZATION: THIS NARRATOR KNOWS AS MUCH AS THE FOCAL CHARACTER.
• EXTERNAL FOCALIZATION: THIS NARRATOR KNOWS LESS THAN THE CHARACTERS. HE ACTS
AS A MERE CAMERA LENS.
Extradiegetic
LEVELS IN EMBEDDED
NARRATIVES
Intradiegetic
Metadiegetic
NARRATIVE TIME
ANALEPSIS
NARRATIVE
ORDER
PROLEPSIS
NARRATIVE SPEED
PAUSE
• The narration stops to make room for
narratorial discourse, as in descriptions.
SCENE
• Narrative corresponds to the story time,
as in dialogues.
SUMMARY
ELLIPSIS
• Some part of the narrative is
summarized.
• The narration says absolutely nothing of
some part of the story.
frequency
Singulative
One out of one
Repeating
Many out of one
Iterative
One out of many
THE END!