Narratological

Narratological is an adjective relating to narratology, the scholarly study of narrative structure and how stories are told. A narratological approach analyzes the formal features of a narrative—the organization of events, the relationship between story and discourse, and the techniques by which a narrator presents information to the reader or viewer.

The field of narratology emerged in the mid-20th century with theorists such as Gérard Genette, Tzvetan Todorov, and later scholars who explored how narratives are constructed across media. The term narratological describes methods or findings that focus on the mechanics of storytelling rather than on content alone. It is widely used in literary studies, film studies, and related disciplines to examine how form shapes meaning.

Core elements often examined include the distinction between story (the sequence of events) and discourse (the way those events are narrated), the role and reliability of narrators, and the concept of focalization, which concerns what information is accessible to the audience through a given point of view. Other key concepts involve narrative time, including order, duration, and frequency; tempo and pacing; and metafictional or self-referential strategies that draw attention to the act of storytelling.

Applications of narratology extend beyond literature to cinema, television, and interactive media, where analysts study narrative conventions, genre conventions, and the negotiation of audience attention. Critics note that the emphasis on structure can risk overlooking historical, cultural, or ideological contexts, but the narratological lens remains a foundational tool for examining how narratives are crafted and understood.