Rahmen

Rahmen, a term mainly associated with the Novelle. There are two basic forms of frame technique, the cyclic frame (zyklischer Rahmen) and the single frame (Einzelrahmen). The cyclic frame, modelled on the Decameron and introduced into German literature by Goethe ( Unterhaltungen deutscher Ausgewanderten), combines a series of stories into a unified entity, although it was used by some writers (e.g. Tieck) merely as a convenient way of presenting a collection of stories. The single frame embraces a story which is self-contained and yet linked with the frame by a narrator. The narrator can function in both first-person and third-person narratives. The frame can introduce the narrator's recollections (Erinnerungsnovelle); alternatively the narrator can function as observer. In either case he gives the narrative perspective. One type of frame technique uses a story which purports to be a historical chronicle (Chroniknovelle), the frame linking different ages.

In the original cyclic frame the stories were told to a group of persons who function as commentators. This technique has also been applied to narratives relating one or two connected stories. The term is also used of narratives which introduce the story and are not resumed at its close.