Erzählzeit

Erzählzeit is a German term that translates to "narrative time" or "storytelling time." It is a concept used in literary analysis to describe the temporal relationship between the time of the story being told and the time of the narration itself. This distinction is crucial for understanding how a narrative unfolds and how the author manipulates the reader's perception of time.

There are several key aspects to Erzählzeit. One is the difference between the story's chronological progression (what happens when) and the pace at which the narrator presents this information. A narrator might spend a great deal of time describing a brief moment, creating an effect of slowness or intensity. Conversely, a narrator could rapidly summarize years of events, creating a sense of acceleration or distance. This manipulation of pace is often achieved through techniques like scene, summary, and ellipsis. Scene, for instance, typically unfolds in real-time, with detailed descriptions and dialogue. Summary condenses events, covering longer periods in fewer words. Ellipsis goes even further, omitting time altogether.

Another important aspect of Erzählzeit is the concept of "running time" versus "reading time." Running time refers to the duration of the events within the fictional world, while reading time is how long it takes the reader to consume the text. The relationship between these two is not necessarily proportional. A novel with a running time of a few days might take weeks to read, while a story spanning decades could be read in a single sitting. Understanding Erzählzeit allows readers and critics to analyze how authors use temporal devices to shape meaning, create suspense, evoke emotions, and structure their narratives.