Fellow Teachers,
I have created this site as a way for others to introduce their students to the literary device of a Frame Narrative. Through what I call my 'wonder' I answer a couple of questions:
Thank you,
G. L.
I have created this site as a way for others to introduce their students to the literary device of a Frame Narrative. Through what I call my 'wonder' I answer a couple of questions:
- What is a frame narrative?
- How are frame narratives used in literary pieces?
- Does reading a frame narrative get confusing?
Thank you,
G. L.
Additional Resources:
As teachers, we need to be able to go beyond just the original topic, with my suggested additional resources they allow for you to gain different perspectives on ways to look at frame narratives and how they were used. I suggest you look at The Middle Page, a blog site that discusses the difference between the novel and the film of The Princess Bride especially about the change in the use of the frame narrative. In the film, which is the most known version of The Princess Bride, the frame narrative is a nest story (where one character becomes a story teller) the grandfather is telling his grandson the story of buttercup and Westley. However, in the novel it is Goldman who is retelling a story that his father once told him while he was sick. In Common Core one of the Standards is being able to discuss the differences between what you see and hear in the film and what was read in the novel, as well as how much of a faithful adaptation the film is to the novel. The blog spot addresses some of these topics and also the different themes most commonly seen in The Princess Bride. The Site would be helpful in order to become more informed about what has been viewed about The Princess Bride. Another article I suggest teachers look at is a paper about Mary Shelley's The Last Man. The paper argues the idea that women used frame narratives as a way to distance themselves from their gender. As teachers, using this extension could allow for some insight into the reason why women may have been writing in the style of frame narratives. Plus the idea of reading a book from the perspective of a male, that was written by a woman, can help transcend the limitations of gender roles. The article Framing the Frame: Embedded Narratives, Enabling Texts, and Frankenstein uses the analogy of a frame narrative being a picture frame that is placed within another picture frame. The frame can be "an internal structure or shaping core that is straining outward" (O'Dea). Not only does the article give a new analogy, but it also gives incite into the different narratives of the novel Frankenstein. The article also makes the claim that the narrative and characters of Frankenstein were shaped by Milton's Paradise Lost. Each of these resources and allow for an extension on the concepts of frame narratives and how they can best be experiences in a classroom.
Beebe, D. R. (1999, May 06). Frame narrative in Mary Shelley's the last man. Retrieved from http://webclass.lakeland.cc.il.us/sphillips/shelley/frame-narrative.html
O'Dea, G. (2003). Framing the frame: Embedded narratives, enabling texts, and frankenstein.Romanticism on the net, 31, doi: 10.7202/008697ar
Orazi , K. (2013, April 13). Making sense of the frame narrative in the princess bride. Retrieved from http://themiddlepage-orazi.blogspot.com/2013/04/making-sense-of-frame-narrative-in.html
O'Dea, G. (2003). Framing the frame: Embedded narratives, enabling texts, and frankenstein.Romanticism on the net, 31, doi: 10.7202/008697ar
Orazi , K. (2013, April 13). Making sense of the frame narrative in the princess bride. Retrieved from http://themiddlepage-orazi.blogspot.com/2013/04/making-sense-of-frame-narrative-in.html