fabula

Fabula, in narratology, denotes the chronological sequence of events in a story world, as they would occur in time. The term comes from the Latin fabula, meaning story or tale. In narrative theory, fabula is contrasted with syuzhet, the arrangement, organization, and presentation of those events within a specific work.

The fabula encompasses all events that constitute the narrative, including those not directly depicted but implied or referred to by the text. It is the story in its natural, time-ordered form; the syuzhet is the way those events are presented by the author, including the order of scenes, duration, repetition, and emphasis. In short, fabula is the what and when of the events, while syuzhet is the how of their presentation.

The distinction serves as a methodological tool for analyzing how narratives manipulate time and causality. By separating fabula from syuzhet, scholars can examine how non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, foreshadowing, or selective omitting shape meaning, suspense, and interpretation. The concept is widely used in literary studies, film studies, and folklore, with English-language usage often equating fabula with "story" or "plot," and with similar distinctions appearing under different terms in other traditions.

While helpful, the distinction is not always clear-cut, as readers and viewers often reconstruct the underlying fabula from the presented syuzhet. Nonetheless, the fabula–syuzhet framework remains a foundational tool for analyzing narrative structure and temporal organization.