narrative

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noun

A recounting of past events: account, chronicle, description, history, narration, report, statement, story, version. See words.

adj

Definition: storylike, chronological
Antonyms: rambling

narrative [na‐ră‐tiv], a telling of some true or fictitious event or connected sequence of events, recounted by a narrator to a narratee (although there may be more than one of each). Narratives are to be distinguished from descriptions of qualities, states, or situations, and also from dramatic enactments of events (although a dramatic work may also include narrative speeches). A narrative will consist of a set of events (the story) recounted in a process of narration (or discourse), in which the events are selected and arranged in a particular order (the plot). The category of narratives includes both the shortest accounts of events (e.g. the cat sat on the mat, or a brief news item) and the longest historical or biographical works, diaries, travelogues, etc., as well as novels, ballads, epics, short stories, and other fictional forms. In the study of fiction, it is usual to divide novels and shorter stories into first‐person narratives and third‐person narratives. As an adjective, ‘narrative’ means ‘characterized by or relating to story‐telling’: thus narrative technique is the method of telling stories, and narrative poetry is the class of poems (including ballads, epics, and verse romances) that tell stories, as distinct from dramatic and lyric poetry. Some theorists of narratology have attempted to isolate thequality or set of properties that distinguishes narrative from non‐narrative writings: this is called narrativity. For a fuller account, consult Michael J. Toolan, Narrative (1988).

[Th]

The creation of a historical narrative is, for many, the ultimate aim of archaeological research—developing a rounded knowledge about the past, or some aspect of it, which combines the particulars of the archaeological record with events, people, societies, and a plot. The creation of such narratives is a major theme of interest in post-processual archaeology. Narrative is a basic human means of making sense of the world, and narratives form a basic component of self-identity. The development of a narrative is itself a creative and intellectual process. Not surprisingly, narratives feature prominently in nationalist and heritage appropriations of the archaeological past for they provide a means of externalizing particular ways of seeing the world and projecting understandings of meaning and significance to others.

The narration of an event or story, stressing details of plot, incident and action. Along with dramatic and lyric verse, it is one of the main groups of poetry.

IN BRIEF: A story.

The narrative of the expedition varied according to who was telling it.

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For a list of words related to narrative, see:

• Devices, Techniques, and Elements - narrative: story or account of events, either fictional or true, usu. in chronological or linear order

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - fortælling, beretning
adj. - fortællende, berettende

Nederlands (Dutch)
vertelling, verbindende tekst, in de verteltrant

Français (French)
n. - récit, histoire, narration
adj. - narratif, de conteur

Deutsch (German)
n. - Erzählung, Geschichte, Erzählkunst
adj. - erzählend, Erzähl...

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - διήγημα, αφήγημα, αφήγηση, (επίθ.) αφηγηματικός

Italiano (Italian)
narrazione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - narrativa (f)

Русский (Russian)
повествовательный, повесть, изложение

Español (Spanish)
n. - narrativa, narración
adj. - narrativo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - berättelse, skildring

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
叙述, 故事, 叙述的, 故事体的, 叙事的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 敘述, 故事
adj. - 敘述的, 故事體的, 敘事的

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 이야기, 설화, 이야기체 문학
adj. - 이야기체의, 설화의

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 物語の, 物語体の, 話術の
n. - 物語, 話術

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) قصه, حكايه, سرد‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮סיפור, תיאור‬
adj. - ‮סיפורי, תיאורי, מספר, של אפוס‬

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