Rahmenerzählung

Rahmenerzählung, a German term, translates to "frame narrative" or "story within a story." It is a literary technique where a primary story serves as a frame for one or more secondary stories. The main narrative introduces and concludes the embedded tales, often providing context or motivation for their telling.

This structure can be found in various forms of storytelling, from ancient oral traditions to modern novels and films. A classic example is "One Thousand and One Nights," where Scheherazade tells stories to the Sultan to save her life. The framing device of her impending execution drives the narrative of the individual tales.

The purpose of a frame narrative can be multifaceted. It can create a sense of realism, lending credibility to the embedded stories by presenting them as accounts told by characters within the main plot. It can also offer thematic resonance, with the frame story and the inner stories reflecting or commenting on each other. Additionally, it allows for a diverse collection of tales to be presented cohesively, creating a layered and complex narrative experience for the audience. The frame can also serve to distance the narrator from the events of the inner story, allowing for different perspectives or interpretations.