student asking question

What does "narrative" mean? Is it related to a "narrator"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

In this context the speaker is talking about the "literary technique" of "narrative". You can think of narrative as a way of telling a story. Authors use "narrative" as a way to order events of a story into a sequence that will make them interesting to read. The "narrative" is not the story or the storyteller (the storyteller is the narrator), it is simply the telling of the story. Because it can be a little confusing, you may sometimes see phrases like "written narrative" or "oral narrative," to make the meaning even clearer. In a story, for example, a car crash takes a split second. A narrative account, however, might be almost entirely about the crash itself and the few seconds leading up to it. So, basically, any message that tells the details of an act or event, presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program, is a form of "narrative".

Popular Q&As

03/28

Complete the expression with a quiz!