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Have you ever been reading a novel and suddenly been transported to another story? What you experienced while reading is called a frame narrative. Have you ever heard of a Story Within a Story, a Frame Tale, or a Frame Story? Each of these terms mean the same thing, they are a frame narrative. A frame narrative occurs when an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories. Sometimes these stories are called encapsulated because they are encased within a larger story. Within a frame narrative the objective is to connect two seemingly unrelated stories. Some stories you may have read that are frame narratives are The Princess Bride, Frankenstein, Kit's Wilderness, The Great Gatsby, and the children's book Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. You can find more books that use frame narratives on the Literary Gallery tab.
A frame narrative is considered a Literary Device, which is a standardized method used to help an author convey his or her message. Frame narratives are a very popular literary device. There are many ways to use a framing device, some methods are to see a frame narrative as a nested story, an epistolary frame, epigraphic frame, found narrative, interrogative frame, Bookends or as the story as an object. These are all ways authors use to communicate their message in a story. Each of these methods can be paired with a purpose for using a frame narrative. Some purposes for writing in a frame narrative style can be to blend the meta fictional world with the fictional world or to strengthen, disprove, or redirect any of the conclusions made from the encapsulated story. Each purpose has their own label, Meta-fictional exploration and refutation, reinforcement, and redirection. On a blog by Chris Gerwel he lists the different methods of frame narratives and gives examples of books that employ the method.
A fun fact... the screen writers of The Pirates of the Caribbean were heavily against the use of Bookends. A Bookend is when an aged character recounts the story as a voice over. The writers have five rules of screen writing and the first two are NO BOOKENDS! Titanic and A League of Their Own are two movies that practice the use of bookends. Different writers have different opinions about the use of frame narratives; some enjoy being able to tell two stories, while others like the writers of Pirates of the Caribbean are against the use. You can also use a bookend as a way to show the growth of a narrator. This method rearranges the events so that the ending is at the beginning and vice versa; this type of narrative allows for an examination of how the character changes through out the story. You are able to see the end product and read of the growth, or stagnation of a character.
Sometimes it can be confusing to follow along with the different methods of frame narratives and how they are applied within a literary text. However, whether the text is confusing or not, is based on the reader. The reader's ability to follow the plot and narration, is what leads to comprehension of the text. Using knowledge of frame narratives and their purposes will better allow readers to follow the story.
A great experiment to look at, in reference to frame narratives, is the study of oral tradition. Oral Tradition is the process in which stories are written and performed. Many of the stories that use frame narratives are from story tellers, and the majority are telling their story orally. They create their own audience and bridge a gap between the oral story telling and literary genres.
A frame narrative is considered a Literary Device, which is a standardized method used to help an author convey his or her message. Frame narratives are a very popular literary device. There are many ways to use a framing device, some methods are to see a frame narrative as a nested story, an epistolary frame, epigraphic frame, found narrative, interrogative frame, Bookends or as the story as an object. These are all ways authors use to communicate their message in a story. Each of these methods can be paired with a purpose for using a frame narrative. Some purposes for writing in a frame narrative style can be to blend the meta fictional world with the fictional world or to strengthen, disprove, or redirect any of the conclusions made from the encapsulated story. Each purpose has their own label, Meta-fictional exploration and refutation, reinforcement, and redirection. On a blog by Chris Gerwel he lists the different methods of frame narratives and gives examples of books that employ the method.
A fun fact... the screen writers of The Pirates of the Caribbean were heavily against the use of Bookends. A Bookend is when an aged character recounts the story as a voice over. The writers have five rules of screen writing and the first two are NO BOOKENDS! Titanic and A League of Their Own are two movies that practice the use of bookends. Different writers have different opinions about the use of frame narratives; some enjoy being able to tell two stories, while others like the writers of Pirates of the Caribbean are against the use. You can also use a bookend as a way to show the growth of a narrator. This method rearranges the events so that the ending is at the beginning and vice versa; this type of narrative allows for an examination of how the character changes through out the story. You are able to see the end product and read of the growth, or stagnation of a character.
Sometimes it can be confusing to follow along with the different methods of frame narratives and how they are applied within a literary text. However, whether the text is confusing or not, is based on the reader. The reader's ability to follow the plot and narration, is what leads to comprehension of the text. Using knowledge of frame narratives and their purposes will better allow readers to follow the story.
A great experiment to look at, in reference to frame narratives, is the study of oral tradition. Oral Tradition is the process in which stories are written and performed. Many of the stories that use frame narratives are from story tellers, and the majority are telling their story orally. They create their own audience and bridge a gap between the oral story telling and literary genres.
Cassano, A. (n.d.). Frame narrative: Definition, lesson & quiz. Retrieved from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/frame-narrative-definition-lesson-quiz.html
Gerwel, C. (2012, Oct. 03). Thoughts on narrative framing devices. Retrieved from http://elflands2ndcousin.com/2012/10/03/thoughts-on-narrative-framing-devices/
Hull , J. (2011, June 04). Framing devices and what they mean . Retrieved from http://narrativefirst.com/articles/framing-devices-and-what-they-mean.
Irwin, B. D. (2003). Frame tales and oral tradition . Oral Tradition , 18(1), 125-126. Retrieved from http://journal.oraltradition.org/files/articles/18i/14e_irwin.pdf
Gerwel, C. (2012, Oct. 03). Thoughts on narrative framing devices. Retrieved from http://elflands2ndcousin.com/2012/10/03/thoughts-on-narrative-framing-devices/
Hull , J. (2011, June 04). Framing devices and what they mean . Retrieved from http://narrativefirst.com/articles/framing-devices-and-what-they-mean.
Irwin, B. D. (2003). Frame tales and oral tradition . Oral Tradition , 18(1), 125-126. Retrieved from http://journal.oraltradition.org/files/articles/18i/14e_irwin.pdf