Temporaalilohko

Temporaalilohko is a theoretical construct in narrative time studies used to describe a unit of time treated as an indivisible block within a narrative. In this framework, narrative time is not always presented as a steady clock-time flow; instead, segments of time can be collapsed, expanded, or overlapped, forming discrete blocks that structure the overall chronology.

The term combines the Finnish words temporaali (temporal) and lohko (block). A temporaalilohko may span a single moment, years, or decades, but is defined by its internal cohesion rather than its real-world duration. The boundaries between blocks are marked by thematic cues, character focus, or formal devices such as chapter breaks, scene cuts, or montage, which signal shifts in temporal perspective without prescribing a fixed timeline.

In analysis, temporaalilohko helps explain how audiences perceive time in complex narratives where multiple timelines converge or diverge. In literature, a chapter may cover an extended period while another block returns to present events; in cinema or games, a sequence may compress long intervals into a brief montage while preserving causal links.

It is related to, but distinct from, devices such as flashbacks, flash-forwards, or non-linear montage. Critics note that while the concept can illuminate time manipulation, it risks abstraction and may be difficult to apply consistently across works with ambiguous temporal markers.

See also: narrative time, non-linear narrative, temporal montage, time dilation.