Kehyskertomaa

Kehyskertomaa is a literary device known as a frame narrative. It describes a main story or frame that provides the context for a series of shorter stories or episodes. The frame often centers on a host, setting, or overarching purpose, while the embedded tales develop their own plots and characters.

In a kehyskertomaa, the frame establishes time, place, and the narrator. The embedded tales are conveyed within the frame by characters or a storyteller, and they may share themes such as morality, adventure, or social critique. This structure allows a diversity of voices and viewpoints while maintaining overall cohesion and a unifying purpose for the collection.

Historically, frame narratives appear across many cultures and periods. Classic examples include The Arabian Nights, where Scheherazade tells stories to delay the king’s execution, and The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, in which a group of travelers recounts stories along their journey. Another well-known instance is Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, in which a group of companions narrates tales during a plague. These works illustrate how a frame can organize multiple stories into a coherent whole and explore a range of perspectives within a single framework.

In practice, kehyskertomaa can appear in novels, short story cycles, films, and digital media. Variations include nested frames, where frames themselves contain subframes, and meta-narrative frames, in which the act of storytelling becomes part of the plot. The device remains a versatile tool for thematic exploration and narrative variety.