Verhaalteorie in die twintigste eeu : sintese en toepassing
Abstract
Since the beginnings of mankind man has been able to produce and understand narratives. Narration is a basic form of human communication
whether the narrative is told in language or in any other medium.
The human ability to tell and to understand what is told, has developed
over the centuries, and today we have not only folktales, which are
relatively simple, but also a large number of artistic narrative texts,
which are highly complex structures. The study of the narratives that
human beings produce is a vast and fascinating field of theoretical investigation.
In this thesis I am primarily concerned with the theory of narrative
texts and not with the narrative texts themselves or with the history
and development of narrative as such.
Narrative theory then is the theory of all the different aspects of
narration.
Narrative texts appear in a diversity of forms and in a variety of media
(language, film, music, dance, picture, etc.). I have limited my investigation to theory concerned with written language texts which can
also be described as fictitious and artistic narrative texts. Theories
dealing with non-artistic narrative texts could not be left aside because
the non-artistic logical and chronological version of a story forms a
fixed structure which enables us to discern and admire the artistic variations in artistic literary texts.
Narrative theory has to take into consideration the universal feature of
narratives namely that narrative is at once time-and-culture-bound and
time-transcending. The main object of narrative theory is to look for
universal patterns in narratives on the one hand, and to describe and
interpret the narratives and artistic devices in literary texts as
meaningful artistic structures and presentational processes on the other.
I have endeavoured to bring together the most important theories on narrative texts which have been developed since the beg inning of the twentieth century. The emphasis falls on theory that can be used in the analysis, interpretation and evaluation of .literary texts, and especially
on theory that is concerned with narrative structure.
The theoretical approach, methodology and terminology of certain leading
literary critics and theorists are explained and discussed . Problems
regarding terminology have received special attention, and I have also
tried to indicate the place of the different theories in the general development of narrative theory - and in a wider sense in literary theory
as such.
Anglo-American narrative theory during the first half of the twentieth
century is fairly traditional and not very extensive : narrative theory
has to be extracted from general literary theory , theory of literary
criticism or theory of genres, because very little research of narrative
texts as such was done in English- speaking countries between 1900 and
1950.
Henry James was one of the first literary theorists to discuss the novel
extensively . His theoretical ref lections cover all the important aspects of the novel or short story, but he does not present us with a
systematic or scientific or coherent theory. From his Prefaces, notes
and letters it is apparent that he assumes unquestioningly the fact that
the novel tells a story , but he is by far more interested in the artistic
presentation of the story than the story itself. He emphasizes the
artistic unity of the "good" literary work and the narrative aspect of
the novel is only one of the aspects that must be transformed with all
the other aspects into a new artistic unity .
Lubbock, Muir and Liddell discuss the novel as a form of narrative in
different ways . Lubbock concentrates on the quest ion of point of view,
Muir wants to classify all novels according to the nature of the plot ,
and Liddell gives a general discuss ion of the artistic requirements of
the novel.
E. M. Forster is the first theorist to distinguish formally between
story and plot by giving and adhering to specific definitions.
Though these definitions present certain problems, the idea of looking
more carefully into different components of narrative texts, is carried
further by the New Critics.
New Criticism advocates the strictly objective and intrinsic approach
to literary study. Cleanth Brooks distinguishes between action and
plot, and Wellek and Warren between story and plot. All these critics
emphasize that the prime function of the literary work is fidelity to
its own nature, and therefore they want to define plot in such a way
that all the different types of plot can be accommodated within the
definition. Plot is the artistic narrative structure, and story and
action form part of the raw materials with which the author works.
For the Chicago Critics plot is a dynamic working power in the text:
the particular temporal synthesis affected by an author of the elements
of action, character and thought so that a specific response can be
expected from a reader.
In spite of excellent text analyses and critical essays, Anglo-American
narrative theory lacks a coherent and consequent set of terms or methodology.
Russian Formalism is a school of critical thought that has influenced
the most important subsequent literary theories of this century, especially the structuralist and semiotic approaches to the literary theory.
The Formalists wanted to develop a form of literary study that would be
free and scientifically objective, and they took great pains to analyse
the different components of literary works to the smallest detail.
Some of the most important contributions to literary theory made by the
Formalists are concepts like the following: the unity of "content" and
"form", literariness as the main objective of literary study, the description and analysis of literary devices, de familiarization and the dominant.
The analysis of narrative texts is placed on a firm and systematic basis
by the Formalists. In his essay "Thematics" Tomaševskij treats important aspects of narrative technique , but also makes a thorough
investigation of the basic elements of narrative texts . The terms
fabula and sjužet are introduced to distinguish between the basic story
material and the artistic rendering thereof. To do so the text is
described as a sequence of mot ifs where a motif is the smallest thematic
unit in a text . There are free and bound motifs in the fabula, and
there are static and dynamic motifs in the sjužet . This essay forms
the basis of many structuralist theories which have tried to improve
or extend the theory Tomaševskij set forward.
Prop’s famous analysis of 100 fairy tales has also had a profound
influence on many structuralist and semiotic theories of narrative.
Prop makes a syntagmatic analysis of the tales, and comes to the
conclusion that all these fairy tales are constructed on certain principles. There are only 31 possible function (actions) in the tales,
and they always appear in the same order, though some might be left
out. Prop distinguishes 7 spheres of action around the main characters in the fairy tales.
The methodological and terminological heritage of Russian Formalism as
a text-centred intrinsic approach to literature , is really extensive
as is shown throughout this study.
Czech Structural is a continuation as well as a negation of Russian
Formalism because scholars from the Prague School wanted to extend and
improve on the work of the Formalists.
Mukařovsky discusses some vital aspects of literary works which are also
applicable to narrative texts. The literary work is an artefact but
when it is concretized by a reader it becomes an aesthetic object. The
semiotic approach becomes more apparent as the literary work as a unity
is seen as a sign, but al so as a structure and a value : the literary
work is autonomous, but it is also communicative. The terms foregrounding
and the semantic gesture are elaborations of the formalist concepts of
de familiarization and the dominant . The most important contribution of
Mukařovsky is the emphasis on the analysis of the multiple relations between text and elements in the text and between systems of elements within the text.
Jurij Lotman, who is a representative of Sovjet semiotics, concerns himself specifically with the artistic text as a sign in itself as well as
a system of signs in which structure also possesses artistic meaning. He
also emphasizes text external relations. The artistic narrative text
exhibits a concentration of information which constitutes multiple levels
of meaning. For Lotman the artistic text is a text in which several
codes are operating at the same time. He puts forward a set of well defined
terms which are exceptionally well suited to the analysis of
complicated contemporary texts.
One branch of French Structuralism is called narratology and these
theorists concern themselves mainly with the universal characteristics
of narrative. They analyse different aspects of narrative texts and
put together their work provides us with a really comprehensive narrative theory.
Barthes proposes a methodology for the structural analysis of narrative
texts. He isolates semantic units of action which he calls functions
and units of description which he calls indices. The functions (cardinal functions and catalysts) are units of distribution which are syntagmatic units and the indices (and informatives) are units which constitute the vertical complexity and integration of the text.
Bremond gives an extended analysis of the logical possibilities of action
in narratives and Greimas wants to constitute a universal scheme of narratives by proposing an actantial model as a deep structure which is
based on the teleological relations between actors and action. Both
these models function on the level of the fabula and is primarily concerned with syntagmatic relations.
Todorov bases his method of analysis on linguistic principles, and believes that linguistic structure and narrative structure have much in common.
He analyses narratives on the level of parts of speech, the level of
propositions and the level of narrative discourse. He also employs
the concept of narrative transformations and his theory i s thoroughly
tested and illustrated i n excellent analyses of texts .
Genette 's narrative theory forms the basis of most contemporary narratological theories. He proposes a model of analysis of narrative
texts which examines the text on the three levels, that of the
histoire, rècit and narration. He gives a detailed descript ion of
temporal relations in narrative texts, and also discusses narrative
modality, focalisation and voice.
The discussion of narrative theory in twentieth century German
Literaturwissenschaft begins with a descript ion of the classical work
of Andre Jolles , Einfache Formen. Jolles believes that certain basic
psychological conditions in humans are manifested in certain speech acts .
These speech acts develop into fixed structures which he calls simple
forms and when a simple form is deliberately used by an artist in a
literary work, an artisticform comes into being .
Kayser, Lämmert, Hamburger and Stanzel are all exponents of the werkimmanente Methode. Kayser's theory has a broad background and concentrates on genres . Lämmert gives a truly excellent and extensive
analysis of artistic narrative works , and discusses important issues
like narrative strings and the combination and elaboration of narrative strings . His analysis of temporal relations in a narrative text is
famous and very useful as well as his terms Raffung and Dehnung
which are almost indispensable when one wants to describe narrative
speed .
Kate Hamburger uses a linguistic approach in her discussion of narrative texts, and Frans Stanzel concentrates on narrator s , because he
sees the mediacy of presentation through a narrator as the essential
characteristic of narrative texts .
In recent years the aesthetics of reception has flourished at German
universities and the awareness of the receiver in the communication
process around a literary work plays an important role in most contemporary narrative theories.
Contemporary narrative theory includes a variety of approaches.
Teun van Dijk's text grammar and the American story grammars are manifestations of the structuralism and linguistic approaches. Mary Louise
Pratt's theory combines concepts from the speech act theory and sosio-linguistics, while Doležel and Eco analyse narrative texts in a strictly
semiotic way. Many contemporary literary theorists have a comprehensive
narrative theory in which elements of different traditions and theoretical systems are combined. Such theorists discussed in this thesis
are Scholes, Ruthrof, Rimmon-Kenan, Prince and Bal. Consequently a
vast theoretical apparatus, existing of terms and methods, is at the
disposal of the student who wants to analyse a narrative text.
In the analysis of Die kêrel van die Pêrel used much of the theory mentioned above. However, I had to devise a theoretical framework suited
to the specific text - a task I believe to be the essential starting
point for any competent analysis. The text is analysed on three levels.
The first level is that of the history and on this level one can distinguish four degrees of abstraction as different relations between text
and elements are examined. The second level is the level of the artistic presentation of the story which I call verhaal. This level incorporates what is traditionally indicated as plot as well as sjužet as well
as presentational process. The texture of the text as a linguistic
phenomenon is analysed on the third level. Where all the forms of artistic ordering and artistic presentation are discussed as aspects of
verhaal, the texture of the text includes aspects such as voice, the
stylistic characteristics of the language used and the whole fascinating
question of text and meta text.
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