2. Unit 1 LITB1 - Aspects of
Narrative
In the 2 hour exam you must be able
to:
SECTION A
• comment in detail on the narrative
method of an extract from one of
the texts studied
• relate this extract to wider concerns
within the text as a whole
SECTION B
• compare aspects of narrative across
the other three texts that they have
studied
This is an open book exam.
4. Exam Questions
How the exam questions are worded
will depend on the actual texts you are
studying; there will be four in total: two
novel and two poetry texts. Section A of
the exam will focus on single texts,
while Section B will ask you to compare
texts.
June 2009:
SECTION A
Enduring Love, Ian McEwan
(a) How does McEwan tell the story in
Chapter 10? (21 marks)
(b) Some readers feel that the
relationship between Joe and Jed is the
most compelling aspect of the whole
novel. What do you think about this
view? (21 marks)
5. Section B
June 2009
• Write about some of the ways
characters are created in the three
texts you have studied. (42 marks)
• Write about the ways authors use
time to shape the order of events in
the three texts you have studied.
(42 marks)
January 2011
• Write about the significance of the
ways the three writers you have
studied have structured their
narratives.
• Write about the significance of the
ways the three writers you have
studied have used places in their
narratives.
6. The essay – Section B
• You will need to write a short introduction giving
an overview of the topic as it affects your chosen
texts.
• You will need to check carefully whether the
question asks you to ‘compare’ your texts or just
to ‘write about’ them. If asked to compare, you
will need to ensure that you do some crossreferencing of the texts – but you do not have to
keep doing this all the time. If asked to write
about the topic, you do not need to compare
texts, but you might occasionally choose to do so.
• You will need to provide some evidence from
each of the three texts but with limited time you
cannot be expected to say everything.
• You will need to write approximately the same
amount on each text but there is no rule that says
they have to be exactly equal.
• You will need to tie your ideas together at the
end with a brief conclusion.
You will need to practise this sort of writing
7. For section B of the exam
you will be assessed for
AO1, AO2 and AO3.
What are AO1, AO2
and AO3?
8. A02: Can you list all the possible features
of form and structure and language
which can be explored in a text
Form and Structure
•Narrative structure/sequence (order of
events)
•The way time is organised
•The connection between chapters
•Narrative (the events and causes and
the methods used to show)
•Representation of characters and events
(this can cross over into language)
•Point of view /narrative voice
•Destination
Form: aspects of a
text in its totality
that enable it to be
identified as a novel
or poem etc.
Structure: how the
significant parts of a
text work together
to form a whole.
Look at what the writer has chosen to include or not include and how
this choice leads the reader to certain conclusions
Language:
refers in this
context to
specific words
or phrases in
the text.
Language
•Word choice (including dialect)
•Voices (use of speech/narrative voice)
•Imagery (metaphor, simile, personification)
•How characterisation is built
•Sentence construction, function and
punctuation
•Archaism
9. A01 – critical vocabulary
• The difference between story, plot and
narrative
• Representation (characters and events in
stories are representations of reality and
not real. They are completely controlled by
the author.)
• Time and sequence
• Characterisation
• Point of view / narrative voice
• Destination
• Ideology – attitudes, values and
assumptions
• Symbolic
• Establishment
• Attributed / Free speech
• Visual and spatial metaphors
• Semiotics
What else does A01 cover?
10. A03:Making connections and comparisons
between different literary texts, informed by
possible interpretations of other readers
• What have I seen about the methods used (A02)
and how does this help me come to an
interpretation?
• Are different interpretations now possible? Is
one more convincing than another?
• If you are looking at part of a text, what is its
relationship with the whole text? What is its
relationship with other texts being studied?
What common ground can be found?
• What is the relationship between the opening of
the text and its closure? How do these two vital
parts of the text relate to each other?
• Are there relevant ideas that arise out of
contemporary ideas and situations which may
affect the way the text can be read? These can
be called contexts of reception. (This is an A04
element so don’t dwell to much on this in the
exam)
• Can different critical methods be applied to the
text? What ambiguities and uncertainties arise
from studying it? Can these ambiguities be seen
positively?
11. Roland Barthes – Narrative
Codes
The French critic Roland Barthes put forward a scheme of five types of
narrative coding useful for analysing stories:
The Action Code:
Actions have a logical relationship to the real world. For example, a
journey involves preparation, departure, travel and arrival. We have
expectations from certain actions, e.g. when a gunslinger draws his gun,
we expect an exchange of shots.
The Semic Code:
This code includes all signs and meanings in the text which depict
character. E.g. in a horror novel, a vampire may be pale, hide from
sunlight etc.
Mystery (or Enigma) Code:
These are codes that puzzle the audience and create suspense. For
example, a sense of mystery is created at the beginning of a detective
story, as we find out who committed the crime.
The Cultural Code:
Stories make sense and possess realism by making reference to
information which is part of the real world. For example, James Bond
drinks Martini, which is part of the real world.
Code of Oppositions:
These are binary opposites such as good v evil, nature v civilisation, life v
death, childishness v maturity. It is very useful when looking at
oppositions to consider which ‘side’ the narrative favours.
12. Narrative Theories
Todorov
Todorov saw a repeated pattern in
narrative structures. Events started out
in equilibrium (in harmony), which is
disrupted to form disequilibrium
(usually with the introduction of an evil
character/problem), which is eventually
resolved to form a new equilibrium.
Propp
Theorist Vladimir Propp, analysing
Russian fairytales, classified their
narrative structure in a more detailed
structure, which he called The Seven
Spheres of Action. They can be applied
to virtually any story.
13. Band 6 (36-42)
AO1 use of appropriate critical vocabulary and technically fluent style/
well structured and coherent argument/ always relevant with very sharp
focus on task.
AO2 exploration and analysis of key aspects of form and structure with
perceptive evaluation of how they shape meanings
AO2 exploration and analysis of key aspects of language with perceptive
evaluation of how they shape meanings
AO3 detailed and perceptive understanding of issues raised through
connections between texts and task
AO3 perceptive consideration of different interpretations of texts with
sharp evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses
AO3 excellent selection of supportive references
Band 5 (29-35)
AO1 use of appropriate critical vocabulary and well structured argument
expressed accurately with sharp focus on task
AO2 exploration of several aspects of form and structure and evaluation
of how they shape meaning
AO2 exploration of several aspects of language and evaluation of how
they shape meanings
AO3 detailed and evaluative discussion of connections between texts
and task
AO3 clear consideration of different interpretations of texts with
evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses
AO3 significant supportive references
Band 4 (22-28)
AO1 use of accurate critical vocabulary and clear argument expressed
accurately/ relevant with clear focus on task
AO2 consideration of how specific aspects of form and structure shapes
meanings
AO2 consideration of how specific aspects of language shape meanings
AO3 clear consideration of connections between texts and task
AO3 clear consideration of some different interpretations of texts
AO3 apt supportive references
14. Write about some of the
ways characters are
created in the three texts
that you have studied.
15. Possible content:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Discussion might focus on the ways
characters are created:
through authorial or narratorial description
through the ways they speak
through what other characters say about
them
through their actions, attitudes and
behaviour
through what is not said – the gaps in texts
through the places in which they live
through their relationships with others
through the structures of the narrative, etc.
16. Write about some of the ways characters are created in the
three texts that you have studied.
17. Write about some of the ways characters are created in the
three texts that you have studied.
18. Aspects of Narrative
•
•
•
•
•
•
Time and Sequence
Characters and Characterisation
Points of View
Voices in texts
Scenes and Places
Destination
All of these aspects work together to
form a complete narrative: separating
them can help you understand how the
narrative works but when it comes to the
exam you will be expected to draw on
your knowledge of all the aspects, and
decide which ones are most relevant in
writing about your chosen text.
19. Aspects of Narrative
Curious Incident
Browning
Time and
Sequence
Character and
Characterisation
Point of View
Voices in Texts
Scenes and
Places
Destination
For each aspect of narrative
highlight/select a section of
the novel or poem which
you would use to support
your analysis.
Tennyson
20. Scenes and Places:
•
What are the major locations where the novel/poem is set?
•
How much space, roughly, do the authors give to describing places?
•
Do any of the places seem to be especially significant – if so how?
•
Is speech used to represent the way local people might talk?
•
Are any scenes and places of any particular significance? If so in what ways?
•
How have the authors signalled this significance to the reader?
Time and Sequence
•
What timescale is covered by the novel?
•
At what point in the timescale does the novel open in the first chapter?
•
To what extent is the sequence of events chronological?
•
At what point in time does the novel end? Is this the end of the story, is everything
complete?
•
How significant overall is time to the way the story is told and to what its meanings
are?
•
To what extent do the poems show aspects of time?
•
What is the significance of time in the poems?
•
Does the poem use aspects of time to reflect on aspects of human existence?
•
Is there any ambiguity about the time in which the poems are set? If so, what is the
effect of this?
•
What is the broader time which surrounds the story, the time in which the story is
set? How is this shown in the story? How does this effect the story?
Characters and Characterisation
•
Is there any significance in the way any of the characters are named?
•
Is there any significance in the way characters are described externally? (what they
look like, their speech habits, what they do, their actions_
•
Are any of the characters given any noticeable features of speech that help you to
remember them and their specific traits?
•
Are there any aspects of the author’s methods of characterisation that you can
identify?
•
To what extent do the poems show aspects of individual characters?
•
What methods does the poet use to create characters?
•
Does the speaker of the poem have a discernible character? If so, how is it created?
Voices in Texts
•
How is speech used in the novel/poem?
•
Is attribution used to indicate aspects of character?
•
Is thought given? Whose thought are given?
•
Are there points in the novel/poem where who is speaking/thinking is deliberately
ambiguous?
•
To what extent do the poems contain direct speech? What is the effect of this?
•
Do the poems have a range of speakers?
•
Who is heard and who is not? Is this significant?
Points of View
•
What is the point of view in the novel/poem? How close or distant is it from the
action? Can you find an ideological point of view?
•
Does the point of view remain constant or does it shift?
•
Does the title have the same point of view as the rest of the poem?
21. A03:Making connections and comparisons
between different literary texts, informed by
possible interpretations of other readers
• What have I seen about the methods used (A02) and
how does this help me come to an interpretation?
• Are different interpretations now possible? Is one
more convincing than another?
• If you are looking at part of a text, what is its
relationship with the whole text? What is its
relationship with other texts being studied? What
common ground can be found?
• What is the relationship between the opening of the
text and its closure? How do these two vital parts of
the text relate to each other?
• Are there relevant ideas that arise out of
contemporary ideas and situations which may affect
the way the text can be read? These can be called
contexts of reception. (This is an A04 element so don’t
dwell to much on this in the exam)
• Can different critical methods be applied to the text?
What ambiguities and uncertainties arise from
studying it? Can these ambiguities be seen positively?
This is the Destination.
22. Write about the ways authors
use time to shape the order of
events in the three texts you
have studied.
Possible content:
Focus might be on:
• a specific year or number of years
• a season or month
• linear narration
• the use of retrospective narration
• disjointed chronology and use of
flashbacks and memories
• single days and night
• condensed time/protracted time
• use of adverbs or adverbial phrases
of time, etc.
