narratival

Narratival is an adjective used primarily in scholarly contexts to describe things relating to narrative—the construction, organization, and interpretation of stories across media. In practice, narratival analysis examines how events are ordered, how characters are developed, and how meaning is produced through storytelling devices such as plot structure, point of view, and temporal framing.

Etymology: The term derives from Latin narrativus "of narration" via the English adjective suffix -al; it is a relatively rare form in English, with narrativity, narrative, and narratological widely preferred in most discussions.

Usage: The term appears in literary theory, film studies, game studies, and cognitive narratology. For example, scholars may discuss the narratival coherence of a film's timeline, or the narratival voice guiding reader response. The word is often used to emphasize the narrative aspect of a work rather than its factual content.

Relation to related concepts: Narratival is distinct from narrational and narratological terms; it is closer to "narrative" but used when the author wants to underscore structural or interpretive aspects of storytelling. Related terms include narrative theory, narratology, and narrativism.

See also: Narrative; Narratology; Narration; Narrativism; Narrational.