List of narrative forms

This literature-related list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (October 2021)

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Narrative forms have been subject to classification by literary theorists, in particular during the 1950s, a period which has been described metaphorically as the Linnaean period in the study of narrative.[1]

* Epistolary \- a story usually in a letter written form with a section of dialogue

Narrative forms include:

* Autobiography – a detailed description or account of the storyteller's own life.
* Biography – a detailed description or account of someone's life.
* Captivity narrative – a story in which the protagonist is captured and describes their experience with the culture of their captors.
* Epic – a very long narrative poem, often written about a hero or heroine and their exploits.
* Epic poem – a lengthy story of heroic exploits in the form of a poem.
* Essay \- a short literary composition that reflects the author's outlook or point
* Fable – a didactic story, often using animal characters who behave like people.
* Fantasy – a story about characters that may not be realistic and about events that could not really happen.
* Flash fiction – a fictional work of extreme brevity that still offers character and plot development.
* Folk tale – an old story which has been passed down orally and which reveals the customs of a culture.
* Historical fiction – stories which take place in real historical settings and which often feature real historical figures and events, but which center on fictional characters or events.
* Legend – a story that is based on fact but often includes exaggerations about the hero.
* Memoir – similar to an autobiography, except that memoirs generally deal with specific events in the life of the author.
* Myth – an ancient story often meant to explain the mysteries of life or nature.
* News – information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.
* Nonlinear narrative – a story whose plot does not conform to conventional chronology, causality, and/or perspective.
* Novel – a long, written narrative, normally in prose, which describes fictional characters and events, usually in the form of a sequential story.
* Novella – a written, fictional, prose narrative normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.
* Parable – a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles.
* Play – a story that is told mostly through dialogue and is meant to be performed on stage.
* Poem \- a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language—such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre—to evoke meaning
* Quest narrative – a story in which the characters must achieve a goal. This includes some illness narratives.
* Realistic fiction – stories which portray fictional characters, settings, and events that could exist in real life.
* Screenplay – a story that is told through dialogue and character action that is meant to be performed for a motion picture and exhibited on a screen.
* Short story – a brief story that usually focuses on one character and one event.
* Tall tale – a humorous story that tells about impossible happenings, exaggerating the hero's accomplishments.

## See also

[edit]

* Bibliography
* Literary device
* Narrative mode

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Stanzel, F. K. (1984). A theory of narrative. Cambridge University Press. p. 1\. ISBN 978-0-521-31063-5.

## References

[edit]

* Peterson, Shelley (2005). Writing Across the Curriculum: Because All Teachers Teach Writing. Portage & Main Press. p. 88\. ISBN 9781553790600. Retrieved 2009-10-01.

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Narrative

Character|

* Antagonist
* Archenemy
* Character arc
* Character flaw
* Characterization
* Confidant
* Deuteragonist
* False protagonist
* Focal character
* Foil
* Gothic double
* Hamartia
* Hero
* Anti
* Byronic
* Tragic
* Narrator
* Protagonist
* Stock character
* Straight man
* Supporting character
* Title character
* Tritagonist
* Villain

Plot|

* Ab ovo
* Action
* Backstory
* Origin story
* Chekhov's gun
* Cliché
* Cliffhanger
* Conflict
* Deus ex machina
* Dialogue
* Dramatic structure
* Eucatastrophe
* Foreshadowing
* Flashback
* Flashforward
* Frame story
* In medias res
* Kishōtenketsu
* MacGuffin
* Pace
* Plot device
* Plot twist
* Poetic justice
* Red herring
* Reveal
* Self-insertion
* Shaggy dog story
* Stereotype
* Story arc
* Story within a story
* Subplot
* Suspense
* Trope

Setting|

* Alternate history
* Backstory
* Crossover
* Dreamworld
* Dystopia
* Fictional location
* city
* country
* universe
* parallel
* Utopia
* Worldbuilding

Theme|

* Irony
* Leitmotif
* Metaphor
* Moral
* Moral development
* Motif
* Deal with the Devil
* Conflict between good and evil
* Self-fulfilling prophecy
* Time travel

Style|

* Allegory
* Bathos
* Comic relief
* Diction
* Figure of speech
* Imagery
* Mode
* Mood
* Narration
* Narrative techniques
* Hook
* Show, don't tell
* Stylistic device
* Suspension of disbelief
* Symbolism
* Tone

Structure|

* Act
* Act structure
* Three-act structure
* Freytag's Pyramid
* Exposition/Protasis
* Rising action/Epitasis
* Climax/Peripeteia
* Falling action/Catastasis
* Denouement/Catastrophe
* Linear narrative
* Nonlinear narrative
* films
* television series
* Premise
* Types of fiction with multiple endings

Form|

* Drama
* Fabliau
* Flash fiction
* Folklore
* Fable
* Fairy tale
* Legend
* Myth
* Tall tale
* Gamebook
* Narrative art
* Narrative poetry
* Epic poetry
* Novel
* Novella
* Parable
* Short story
* Vignette

Genre
(List)|

* Fiction
* Action fiction
* Adventure
* Comic
* Crime
* Docu
* Epistolary
* Ergodic
* Erotic
* Historical
* Western
* Mystery
* Nautical
* Paranoid
* Philosophical
* Picaresque
* Political
* Pop culture
* Psychological
* Religious
* Rogue
* Romance
* Chivalric
* Prose
* Saga
* Satire
* Speculative fiction
* Fantasy
* Gothic
* Southern
* Horror
* Magic realism
* Science
* Hard
* Utopian and dystopian
* Underwater
* Superhero
* Theological
* Thriller
* Urban
* Nonfiction
* Autobiography
* Biography
* Novel
* Creative

Narration|

* Diegesis
* First-person
* Second-person
* Third-person
* Third-person omniscient narrative
* Subjectivity
* Unreliable narrator
* Multiple narrators
* Stream of consciousness
* Stream of unconsciousness

Tense|

* Past
* Present
* Future

Related|

* Dominant narrative
* Fiction writing
* Continuity
* Canon
* Reboot
* Retcon
* Parallel novel
* Prequel / Sequel
* Genre
* List
* Literary science
* Literary theory
* Narrative identity
* Narrative paradigm
* Narrative therapy
* Narratology
* Metafiction
* Political narrative
* Rhetoric
* Glossary
* Screenwriting
* Series of works
* Storytelling
* Tellability
* Verisimilitude

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (February 2011)

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