Narration x Narrative x Narrator

Definitions

Narration

Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries describe narration as “the act or process of telling a story, especially in a novel, film or a play” (Definition of Narration). Often narration differs from other kinds of writing such as dialogue, description or commentary. (Baldick: 165)   

Narrative

According to Baldick a narrative is “a telling of some true or fictitious event or connected sequence of events recounted by a narrator to a narratee …” (Baldick: 165) There can be different kinds of narrative, for example first-person narrative – narrated from the point of view of an involved narrator – or a third-person narrative where the narrator is not actively involved in the story. Narrative consists of a set of events (story) recounted in a process or narration (discourse), in which the events are selected and arranged in a particular order (the plot) (Baldick: 165).

Narrator

Baldick defines narrator as “one who tells, or is assumed to be telling, the story in a given narrative” (Baldick: 166). Narrators differ based on their degree of participation in the story. Apart from narrators used in first and third-person narratives, there can be for example an omniscient narrator who stands outside the events as well but has special privileges such as access to the thoughts of characters and knowledge (Baldick: 166).

Sources

Baldick, C. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford University Press, 2001.

“Definition of Narration.” www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/narration. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.

by Jan Vojtěch, 482072