Narrative Essay Plan

Discuss one of your productions in relation to Narrative theory

Introduction:

 What is narrative and narrative theory? Add some context (past) to do with how narratives have been used by society since humans began communicating with one another. Explain that you thought about your narrative and narrative structure in the planning and research stages of your production work- especially beginnings, development and ending of your piece.

Development:

 What theorists/theories have been applied to the topic of narrative- try to include a modern approach to narrative theory in this section. Have the ways that we tell stories changed over time or have they essentially remained unchanged? Do we still tend to follow a universal structure?

On the other hand, does your piece have a fragmented narrative? Does it end with an enigma? Have you been influenced by a more Postmodern approach to Narrative?

What about audience reception theory? How do audiences respond to narrative…do they have expectations that need to be fulfilled…do certain genres use certain narrative structures and have you maintained or challenged these audience expectations related to narrative. For example, in a Pop music video do we expect to see a narrative unfold with a sense of equilibrium at the end?

Can you give specific examples of where you can apply narrative theory to your work? Have you used PROPP’S ARCHETYPAL CHARACTERS..or a version of them? i.e Do you have a hero?

Have you followed Todorov’s Narrative Structure- give specific examples.

Have you used  Freytag’s DRAMATIC STRUCTURE? Which bit in your production work could be described as the CLIMAX or the RESOLUTION?

What about BARTHES ENIGMA CODE? Did you have any part of your production which left a question for the audience.

You could CONCLUDE your essay with a statement about Narrative and a good QUOTE related to Narrative. This should reveal your understanding about the necessity to tell stories and that Narrative theory is an interesting framework in which to explore how stories are told. You could also conclude about the nature of development or evolution or if we still use stock characters/archetypes like PROPP states, or if we still basically follow the UNIVERSAL STRUCTURE that TODOROV proposed.

Remember you must show an understanding of the theory, related theorists but most importantly…apply the theory to your own work with plenty of examples and end with a quote!