Rubric
This term refers to how stories help connect people across time, cultures, and communities.
storytelling
This refers to the main sequence of events that make up a narrative.
plot
This term refers to whose eyes we see through in a narrative.
point of view
This narrative type features a protagonist facing danger, often against a powerful villain, like in Jaws or Coraline.
“overcoming the monster”
This common narrative structure follows a beginning, middle, and end in chronological order.
linear structure
In this module, students analyse how these individuals' values and contexts shape narratives.
composers and responders
These familiar patterns or symbols, like “the hero’s journey” or “the wise mentor,” are known as this.
archetypes or master plots
According to Catherine Brady, this narrative device allows us to infer attitudes and can invite empathy or disagreement.
point of view
Marxism, Christianity, and Enlightenment ideals are all examples of this kind of overarching, explanatory narrative.
metanarrative (or grand narrative)
This narrative technique gives hints about what will happen later in the story.
foreshadowing
These three narrative conventions are used to build perspective and emotion: one controls the lens, one controls tone, and one controls who speaks.
point of view, voice, and characterisation
This narrative element combines when and where a story takes place.
setting (temporal and spatial)
This type of narrator can provide insight into many characters’ thoughts and the world of the text.
omniscient third person point of view
Langston Hughes’ Let America Be America Again tells this type of narrative by referencing national identity, racism, and the American Dream.
a macro narrative
This narrative structure involves telling a story within a story, often using a narrator who recounts past events.
framed narrative
This process involves reworking a narrative to suit a modern audience, often changing form or perspective.
appropriation or reconceptualisation
This is the combination of who is telling the story and how it's being told, shaping how we interpret events.
point of view and narrative voice
This term refers to the lens or filter through which events are experienced, which can limit the reader’s understanding.
focalisation
Holden Caulfield’s casual, opinionated retelling of his school life and family is an example of this type of highly personal narrative.
micro narrative
This type of story uses characters and events to symbolise broader moral or political meanings, like in The Crucible.
allegory
This term describes the belief that narratives can challenge cultural norms and inspire societal change, not just entertain.
the transformative power of narrative
This element considers the political, social, and historical influences that shape both the composition and reception of a text.
context
When a narrative shifts between the minds of different characters, it is using this narrative structure.
multiple focalisation or multiple points of view
Jean-François Lyotard argued that postmodernism is marked by skepticism toward this kind of universal truth or story.
Metanarrative
These culturally significant stories originate in early times and influence later literature and worldviews.
myth