narative

Narative is a term most often encountered as a misspelling of narrative. In standard usage, narrative refers to the representation of a sequence of events—real, fictional, or a blend—and to the organized form in which those events are told. When "narative" appears, it is typically an orthographic error rather than a distinct concept.

Narrative is derived from the Latin narrare, "to tell." The term covers both content (what happens) and form (how it is conveyed), including structure, perspective, and voice.

Core components include plot, characters, setting, point of view, time and pace, and theme. The narrative arc may involve exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution, though many works experiment with structure.

Narratives appear across genres and media, including novels, short stories, films, oral histories, journalism, and digital media. They can be fictional or factual, autobiographical or documentary, and may use first-person or third-person narration.

In scholarship, narrative theory analyzes how stories are constructed, how readers interpret them, and how cultural values are conveyed. Because "narative" is commonly a misspelling, most writing uses the standard spelling "narrative" to ensure clarity.