A Theory of Narrative

By: Rick Altman

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Paperback | 3 July 2008 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

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392 Pages

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22+

Dimensions(cm)
23.22 x 16.54 x 2.1

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Narrative is a powerful element of human culture, storing and sharing the cherished parts of our personal memories and giving structure to our laws, entertainment, and history. We experience narrative in words, pictures, and film, yet regardless of how the tale is told, story remains independent from the media that makes it concrete. Narrative follows humans wherever they travel and adapts readily to new forms of communication. Constantly evolving and always up-to-date, narrative is a necessary strategy of human expression and a fundamental component of human identity.

In order to understand human interaction, award-winning scholar Rick Altman launches a close study of narrative's nature, its variation in different contexts, and the method through which it makes meaning. Altman's approach breaks away from traditional forms of analysis, identifying three basic strategies: single-focus, dual-focus, and multiple-focus. Unpacking an intentionally diverse selection of texts, Altman demonstrates how these strategies function in context and illustrates their theoretical and practical applications in terms of textual analysis, literary and film history, social organization, religion, and politics. He employs inventive terminology and precise analytical methods throughout his groundbreaking work, making this volume ideal for teaching literary and film theory and for exploring the anatomy of narrative on a more general level.

Industry Reviews

This is a large, ambitious study that proposes an original, comprehensive theory of narrative. Rick Altman draws on examples ranging from the Bible to Hollywood films, from classical epic and pastoral to medieval heroic poetry, and from saints' lives to nineteenth- and twentieth-century French, British, and American novels, all analyzed within an impressively parsimonious scheme. -- Peter Garrett, University of Illinois An elegant and pertinent theory. -- Matt Campora Media/Culture Reviews

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Language & Linguistics Linguistics Semantics & Discourse Analysis Literature, Poetry & Plays History & Criticism of Literature Literary Theory Arts & Entertainment History of Art & Design Styles Film, TV & Radio Specific Films Reference, Dictionaries & Guides

Education

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Note	p. xi
What Is Narrative?	p. 1
The Traditional Understanding of Narrative	p. 2
The Nature of Narrative Revisited	p. 9
A New Approach to Narrative Analysis	p. 21
The Song ... of Roland?	p. 28
The Following-Pattern	p. 29
Symmetry	p. 38
Integration	p. 42
Polarity Adjustment	p. 48
Dual-Focus Narrative	p. 55
Beginnings	p. 57
Principles of Opposition	p. 67
Replacement Operations and Polarity Adjustment	p. 78
Endings	p. 84
The Dual-Focus System	p. 90
Hester's Speculation	p. 99
The Centrality of the Margins	p. 100
Speculation	p. 106
The Triumph of Individual Conscience	p. 110
Single-Focus Narrative	p. 119
The Birth of Desire	p. 120
Models and Motives	p. 134
Twice-Told Tales	p. 154
Modes of Identification	p. 170
The Single-Focus System	p. 188
Pieter Bruegel, or the Space of Multiplicity	p. 191
The Hole in the Center	p. 199
Thematic Resolution	p. 221
The Tilted Plane	p. 230
Multiple-Focus Narrative	p. 241
Illegitimate Narration	p. 243
Carnivalization	p. 247
Multiplicity as Critique	p. 254
How Did We Get Here from There?	p. 262
Hem-Naming	p. 266
Intentional Accidents	p. 276
The Reader as Alchemist	p. 284
The Multiple-Focus System	p. 288
Theoretical Conclusion	p. 291
Mapping	p. 291
Narrative Transformations	p. 297
The Transformational Matrix	p. 305
The Typological Matrix	p. 311
Practical Conclusion	p. 315
Textual Analysis	p. 315
Literary and Film History	p. 320
Social Organization	p. 327
Religion	p. 334
Political Life	p. 337
Imaging the World	p. 338
References	p. 341
Index	p. 357
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

A Theory of Narrative

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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