Jocelyn N.

Huidem
Alyanna D. Quinto
Arian Norven P. Fulo
Tristan Lionell S.Trinidad
Lemuel Ray T. Balloyan
Irwin Jeremy A. Isip
Honoratio Perez
Michelle Paderon
Christine Joy Buensuceso

Narrative
Theory

Narrative
Theorists

Vladimir Propp

He was born on April 29, 1895 at St

Petersburg

He applied Formalist method to the research

of narrative structure

He ignores verbal aspects of folk tales, such

as tone, rhythm, time and mood of narration

He is a Russian philologist and structuralist

He died in Leningrad on August 22, 1970

PROPPS
THEORY
FUNCTION IS UNDERSTOOD AS AN ACT OF A CHARACTER,
DEFINED FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF ITS SIGNIFICANCE
FOR THE COURSE OF THE ACTION.

Theorems:
1.

Functions of characters serve as stable, constant elements

in a tale, independent of how and by whom they are fulfilled.
They constitute the fundamental components of a tale.

2.

The number of functions known to the fairy tale is limited.

The 31
Narratemes
1.

Absentation

2.

Interdiction

3.

Violation of interdiction

4.

Reconnaisance

5.

Delivery

6.

Trickery

7.

Complicity

8.

Villainy and lack

9.

Meditation

10.

Counterction

11.

Departure

12.

Testing

single story may not contain all of these but may

13. A Reaction
appear in same sequence.
14.

Acquisition

Propps Dramatis
Personae

The Hero the key character (a seeker; a victim)

The Helper supports the hero (magician, wise man, old man)

The Princess - whom the hero seeks; the reward

The False Hero acts like a hero; steals the heros fame and loved
ones; may gain favor of the princesss father

The Dispatcher anyone who sets the hero to fulfil a mission

The Donor (wise persons, a god) aids the hero by giving

something to help in the mission

The Princesss Father restricts the hero for her daughter, the
princess

The Villain the bad guy; one who tempts or prevents the hero to
succeed

Theorems:
3.

The sequence of functions is always

identical.

4.

All fairy tales are of one type in regard to their

structure

(Propp, V. (1927).Morphology of the Folktale. Trans., Laurence Scott. 2nd

ed. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1968)

Tzevetan Todorov

He was born on March 1, 1939 in Sofia, Bulgaria

Roland Barthes directed his doctoral thesis which

was published in 1967 as Litterature et signification

Todorovs theoretical stance shifted radically over

the years from that of a scientist to that of a
humanist and moralist

Todorov observed that one sense of structuralism

is the study of abstract structure

A systematic theory of literature is Todorovs work

heavy reliance on structural linguistics and on
semiotics as sources for the basis of categories in
terms which it describes the systems of literature

A narrative always starts at an equilibrium.

It is followed by a problem or disequilibrium

After the whole problem is resolved, there is

another equilibrium or a new equilibrium.

5 Stages of Narratives
Equilibrium
Disruption
Resolution

This is when there is normality

and calmness. This is reflected in
the music which is usually an
artist song to create a sense of
normality.
Disruption is caused when the
zombie
start
to
attack.
The
disruption and resolution phases
take up the bulk of the movies.
Resolution is the part when the team
find ways to kill the zombies. This is
a goal that is weaved through the
film and is eventually reached.

Retored Order
New Equilibrium

The zombie are either contained

dead or under control.
New Equilibrium are optional for zombie
fils. In 28 days later there is new order as
the survivors migrate to a monitored
area, the sequel to this film continues in
from this equilibrium.

Claude Levi-Strauss

He was born on November 28, 1908 in Brussels

He became an activist in a Socialist Party

He published La Pensee Sauvage in 1962, which

is considered by many as his most important
work

He seek to describe thought processes as a

universal attribute of the human mind

He died in Paris on October 31, 2009 at the age

of 100

Key Concepts:
1.

Perceiving ideas to attain its 'reality'

2.

Its the difference of binary pair that

gives meaning to each ** or
"Interpreting binary opposites through
their differences

3. Values: from more highly valued to

a less valued concept

Binary Opposition

Examples:

-Hot and Cold

-

Roland Barthes

He was born at Cherbough, Montagne and his

father died in a naval battle

He had established a theatrical group and

managed to teach at lycees in different places

He was a structuralist and semiotician

He loved his mother so much writing her a

book, his final book, the La Chambre Claire

He died in a street-accident in Paris on March

23, 1980 at the age of 64

Roland Barthes describes

a text as:

a galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signifieds; it has no

beginning; it is reversible; we gain access to it by several entrances,
none of which can be authoritatively declared to be the main one; the
codes it mobilizes extend as far as the eye can read, they are
indeterminablethe systems of meaning can take over this
absolutely plural text, but their number is never closed, based as it is
on the infinity of language (S/Z 1974 translation)

According to Barthes, basically a text is like a tangled ball of threads

which needs unravelling so we can separate out the colours. He
identified two different meanings between media texts, the open and
the closed meanings. Texts may be open because it can be
interpreted in a lot different ways, meaning it is subjective. However,
texts are said to be closed because it was produced with a single
definitive meaning where there is only one thread to pull on.

Barthes decided that the threads that you pull on to try and
unravel meaning are called narrative codes. These narrative
codes drive one to main interest in a story. These five codes
are as follows:

Hermeneutic/Enigma Code
-the mystery or deepest part of the show in which the audience needs
to decipher its meaning. It also captures curiosity.

Proairetic/Action Code
-it is the action part; it also shows the climax to entertain the
audience.

Semantic Code
-elements of text which add more meaning to the media text which
are called:
*Semes common meaning in media text

Symbolic Code
-simply known as symbols in media text. The can also be called as
*Signifiers- gives the meaning of the symbol

Referential Code
-this code deals with sources in which the media text is connected to
the bodies of knowledge such as historical, scientific, or cultural.

Criticisms of the theory

How is it applicable to
reading or understanding
media?

References:

http://www.shmoop.com/narrative-theory/poetics-of
-prose-text.html

http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/
authority.20110803104812859

https://rosswolfe.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/roland
-barthes-an-introduction-to-the-structuralist-analys
is-of-narrative.pdf
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/
authority.20110803104812859

http://www.enotes.com/topics/tzvetan-todorov

http://www.signosemio.com/todorov/index-en.asp

http://www.shmoop.com/narrative-theory/poetics-of
-prose-text.html

http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/
authority.20110803104812859

https://rosswolfe.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/roland

https://projectnarrative.osu.edu/about/what-isnarrative-theory

https://mrnolanmedia.files.wordpress.com/2014
/04/barthes-narrative-theory.pdf

http://www.philol.msu.ru/~discours/images/stori
es/speckurs/Narrative_and_media.pdf

https://brianair.wordpress.com/filmtheory/narrative-theories/

http://www.jltonline.de/index.php/reviews/article
/view/588/1412

https://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/ellibst/narrati
vetheory/chapt1.htm

http://www.paulhazel.com/blog/Introduction_To_
Narrative.pdf

http://www.keithmurphy.info/399/narrativ.htm

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytellin
g/articles/barthes_five_codes.htm
http://www.narrati.com/Narratology/Narrative_S
tructure-Codes.htm
https://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/narr
atology/modules/barthescodes.html
https://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/elljwp/5codes
.htm