| Instructor: Philip Holden, Associate Professor, English Language and Literature,
NUS |
Week 2 (2): Structure
Read the following texts:
Summary of and brief links to Aristotle, from the Poetics:
Todorov, "The Two Principles of Narrative"
Summary of Vladimir Propp's Functions of Narrative
Traditional Russian Folktale "The Swan Geese"
Tale THIRD DAY: Novel VI from Giovanni Boccaccio's "The Decameron" (read pages 209-216)
Reading Strategies and Preparation
We often instinctively know what a good story is, but we find it difficult to define precisely the key elements of a story or narrative. Before we explore more closely Chatman's distinction between discourse and story we need to pause and think about whether there are basic narrative structures, building blocks from which all narratives are assembled.
Various theorists have attempted to break down narrative into its smallest units. Three theorists you will be reading on this subject will be Aristotle (as adapted and summarized by Freytag), Todorov, and Propp (I've given the latter to you in summary form, but if you are interested in working on Propp for a later project you may wish to read the original). I have also provided links to the two stories which Todorov discusses, "The Swan Geese" and the tale from Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron to help you understand the point being made. It would be helpful to print these out and bring them to our class meeting.
Finally, I've added a few narratives you can work on if you wish-- a Mountain Dew advertisement entitled "Bad Cheeta", an account of a football match (apologies to Liverpool supporters!), and a series of photographs.Skim through these, even if you don't answer the questions on them below.
Preparatory Writing
Write a one or two paragraph answer (100-200 words or so) to any one of the seven questions below, and post it to the IVLE bulletin board. Remember to bring a copy of your response to the seminar meeting.
1. Is there any section or element of the essay by Todorov, or the summaries of the ideas of Aristotle (including linked pages) or Propp which you find difficult to understand? Concentrate upon one section or element, and try to provide an answer yourself. Your reply could take the form "I'm puzzled by ...." with a second paragraph beginning "I think the point he's trying to make here is that . . ."
2. Try to analyse a section of the story "The Swan-Geese" or a section of the story from the "Decameron" using Propp's notion of functions (it may be easier to look at the early part of each story). If you find you're running into problems in applying Propp's ideas, don't worrry--the fault may be with Propp, not you. If you do find yourself in difficulties, however, try, in a second paragraph, to reflect upon why such difficulties arise.
3. Analyse the advertisement "Bad Cheeta" from Adcritic.com in terms of either Todorov's five elements of narrative or Propp's functions. Note that you'll need a fast internet connection and a Quicktime movie player to view this movie. If you have trouble downloading,play around for a time, and if you're still having difficulty I'd suggest you choose one of the other questions.
4. Analyse the report "VIDUKA DESTROYS REDS" in terms of either Propp's or Todorov's terminology.
5. The photographs in the linked document represent a momentous event in the life of a USP staff member during the vacation. Unfortunately, they have been assembled in the wrong order. In your reply, indicate 1) in your opinion, a coherent narrative sequence for the photographs and 2) write out a brief summary of the narrative they constitute. Analyse this narrative using either Todorov's or Aristotle/Freytag's terminiology.
6. Todorov, Aristotle and Propp all draw on stories from European culture. Do you think stories from other cultures would follow the same broad structures they outline, or would there be key differences? Give concrete examples in your reply.
7. Todorov, Aristotle and Propp all use stories from "traditional" largely agrarian societies, in which narratives were mostly passed on orally. In an industrialised urban society we clearly have many other ways of transmitting narratives. Do the basic structures of narrative which our three theorists identify remain the same, or have they now changed? Try to give concrete examples in your reply.
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