1. Narrative Theorists
By Evie May Thornborrow

2. Vladimir Propp
• Propp came up with ‘The Seven Spheres of Action’ indicating
that there are generally seven different types of character in
narrative. These characters are:
1. The Villain - Creates the narrative complication
2. The Donor – Gives the hero something that helps in the
resolution of the narrative
3. The Helper – Gives help to the hero in restoring equilibrium
4. The Princess – The victim, the person who has to be saved
by the hero
5. The Dispatcher – Sends the hero on his task
6. The Hero – Fights the villain, saves the princess, saves the
day and restores equilibrium. The central protagonist in
the action of the narrative
7. The False Hero – Appears to be good but is revealed at the
end to have been bad all along
8.

3. Propp (continued)..
• We have definitely applied Propp's theory to the narrative
of our film, we have done this by using a few of the
different characters which he states:
• Lucy (woman) – The Princess
• Old person – Hero
• Tom (Lucy’s Boyfriend) – Helper
• Ghost – Villain
• I think that this will help us with our film and help introduce
the characters to the audience making them
recognisable, helping to move the narrative along etc.

4. Gustav Freytag
• Freytag came up with the theory that a narrative is divided into
five parts, like five acts of a play. These five parts are:
1. Exposition – Introduction, where situation is introduced
(Character/Location/Scenario)
2. Rising Action – Incidents which build towards the climax
3. Climax – Turning point, makes change for better or worse to
the protagonist. This is where the main/most dramatic part
happens
4. Falling Action – Things unravel even more, conflict between
the protagonist and antagonist unravels. Final moment of
tension
5. Denouement – Conclusion of story, conflicts are resolved or
release of tension and anxiety for the viewer

5. Freytag (continued)…
• We have not used Freytag’s theory in our narrative, this is
because we want our audience to be on edge at all
times, meaning we don’t want them to expect what will
happen, we want things to happen unexpectedly. We
may have included some of the five acts, but in a
different order and definitely not how you would expect a
storyline to go.
• Many horror and thriller films won’t use Freytag’s theory
as horror films are created to keep the viewer unaware
of what will happen, they may even have the climax at
the very start or at the very end of the film. Also, many
horror films might end with some big event (climax)
which will make the viewer frightened, and thinking
about the film a long time after watching it.

6. Freytag (continued)…
• We have not used Freytag’s theory in our narrative, this is
because we want our audience to be on edge at all
times, meaning we don’t want them to expect what will
happen, we want things to happen unexpectedly. We
may have included some of the five acts, but in a
different order and definitely not how you would expect a
storyline to go.
• Many horror and thriller films won’t use Freytag’s theory
as horror films are created to keep the viewer unaware
of what will happen, they may even have the climax at
the very start or at the very end of the film. Also, many
horror films might end with some big event (climax)
which will make the viewer frightened, and thinking
about the film a long time after watching it.