Narratioteooria

Narratioteooria is the interdisciplinary study of narrative across media. It analyzes how stories are constructed, conveyed, and interpreted, and how narrative techniques shape meaning, effect, and audience reception. The field covers literature, film, oral storytelling, comics, and digital media, and it seeks to identify patterns that recur across genres and cultures.

Core concepts include the distinction between fabula and syuzhet (the underlying story events and their presentation), narration type (first-person, third-person, unreliable), focalization (whose perspective is known), and the manipulation of time (order, duration, frequency). Researchers examine how choices about point of view, chronology, voice, and level of information influence interpretation, suspense, and memory.

Historically, narratology draws on a range of theoretical traditions. Early influences include Russian formalism and Propp’s morphology of the tale. In modern theory, key figures include Gérard Genette, with his ideas on narrative levels and metafiction; Algirdas Greimas and his actant model; Tzvetan Todorov and the study of narrative equilibrium; Roland Barthes and semiotic approaches; and Mieke Bal, who expanded analysis to visual and digital media. More recent work explores storyworlds and transmedia narration, with scholars such as Marie-Laure Ryan contributing to the development of narrative across platforms.

Applications of narratioteooria extend to literary criticism, film and media studies, game studies, and journalism. The framework provides tools for analyzing information disclosure, narrative pace, voice, and audience engagement. While valued for clarifying how devices create meaning, critics note that excessive focus on structure can overlook cultural, historical, and performative contexts that shape storytelling.