What is a story?
When someone tells you, "A man found a wallet in the road," you might like to know instantly how it came to be there and what the man did about it. In other words, before you have learned the "full story", you will not be happy. This inherent interest lies at the heart of all stories. The storyteller's craft consists of weaving a plot with such ability that he keeps his audience's attention from start to finish.
The illustrations above (from a15th-century Venetian Bible) form art of a series that tells the storyo f Creation. They show (top) Gods separating the void into day andnight; (center) making the moona nd stars; (lower) creating Evef rom Adam's rib.
When someone tells you, "A man found a wallet in the road," you might like to know instantly how it came to be there and what the man did about it. In other words, before you have learned the "full story", you will not be happy. This inherent interest lies at the heart of all stories. The storyteller's craft consists of weaving a plot with such ability that he keeps his audience's attention from start to finish.
To do so, the storyteller typically chooses a main character-called the hero or heroine-to play the leading role in the dramatic events. He tracks the progress of his character through a sequence of events before they meet a final result. The way the events are linked, and certain characters related to each other and to the narrator, make up the structure or storyline of the novel.
The structure gives form to a tale. The basic structure of the plot could well start with the introduction of the main character. We may also be told about him and about other characters that are going to play a part in the story. For example, at the beginning of the Cinderella fairy tale, we meet Cinderella in Charles Perrault's famous French version (1628-1703) and learn about the cruel stepsisters who mistreat her. Now, all is set for the proper plot-the sequence of events that will bring the heroine to the most dramatic stage of the novel. (Remember that the fairy godmother of Cinderella appears and takes her to a ball where a prince falls in love with her, but she drops a slipper in her haste to leave at midnight stroke.) The romantic high-point or climax of the tale comes after the ball as Cinderella puts on the slipper describing her as the prince's girl who falls in love with her. It suits her well to the indignation of her stepsisters. The conclusion of the story — sometimes called the denouement-follows; all ends well for Cinderella, and she marries the prince.
Under this simple sequence of introduction, resolution, and denouement, the storyteller deliberately arranges different events in a specific order to add significance to the story as a whole and lead us to the finish. He also picks concise descriptions to help fill in the story and add flavour and texture to it. Once we are told that the sisters of Cinderella are grotesque, it serves to increase their hatefulness whilst a description of the ragged clothes of Cinderella gives us a more accurate impression of the horrible life she leads. Although these specifics aren't important to the story's plot, they help us imagine the actions and make them more meaningful to us.
Anything that has been said in this article relates similarly to all the stories, whether fact or fiction. In all, the storyteller's goal is to make the characters stand out as actual, living individuals. To do that, the storyteller would have to concoct for historical characters' authentic feelings, movements, and conversation when no evidence of such has come to us. And he will base the actions of his imaginary characters-though unlikely-on his experience of how real people behave. So strong is the magic of a professional storyteller in constructing character that he can sometimes apply a gloss (or a tarnish) to the historical reality that changes everybody's expectations about a person-whether or not he was behaving exactly like the storyteller claims he was doing.
For example, it is a historical fact that Cardinal Richelieu, as an advisor to Louis XIII, basically ruled France for 18 years during the 17th century. But Richelieu's image which has come down to us is inspired by stories written by Alexandre Dumas (1802-) about this time in French history. Richelieu's diplomatic intrigues form the backdrop to the swashbuckling protagonists of Dumas 'exploits in The Three Musketeers.
The storyteller creating his own fictional characters and scenarios is capable of inventing facts in order to generate whatever effect he likes. We see this distinctly from the English writer Lewis Carroll (1832-98) in the fantastic universe of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. From the moment Alice sees the White Rabbit hurrying by, watch in hand, to the final scene where the vision crashes like a house of cards, the storyteller fills our mind with a series of dreamlike scenes, events, and occurrences that somehow represent real life in a strange way.
A combination of fact and fantasy are two of the oldest myths that have come down on us. Such stories were passed down from one generation to the next, actual incidents and characters being dressed in fictional detail as they are named. For starters, finding the true truth about the actual King Arthur, a hero of British and French legend — from the many tales he has inspired, is almost impossible.
The fundamental principles of storytelling must be followed in both real and fictitious tales. A good storyteller introduces to us a series of ideas and events intentionally formed and arranged that satisfy our instinctive curiosity.
The structure gives form to a tale. The basic structure of the plot could well start with the introduction of the main character. We may also be told about him and about other characters that are going to play a part in the story. For example, at the beginning of the Cinderella fairy tale, we meet Cinderella in Charles Perrault's famous French version (1628-1703) and learn about the cruel stepsisters who mistreat her. Now, all is set for the proper plot-the sequence of events that will bring the heroine to the most dramatic stage of the novel. (Remember that the fairy godmother of Cinderella appears and takes her to a ball where a prince falls in love with her, but she drops a slipper in her haste to leave at midnight stroke.) The romantic high-point or climax of the tale comes after the ball as Cinderella puts on the slipper describing her as the prince's girl who falls in love with her. It suits her well to the indignation of her stepsisters. The conclusion of the story — sometimes called the denouement-follows; all ends well for Cinderella, and she marries the prince.
Under this simple sequence of introduction, resolution, and denouement, the storyteller deliberately arranges different events in a specific order to add significance to the story as a whole and lead us to the finish. He also picks concise descriptions to help fill in the story and add flavour and texture to it. Once we are told that the sisters of Cinderella are grotesque, it serves to increase their hatefulness whilst a description of the ragged clothes of Cinderella gives us a more accurate impression of the horrible life she leads. Although these specifics aren't important to the story's plot, they help us imagine the actions and make them more meaningful to us.
Anything that has been said in this article relates similarly to all the stories, whether fact or fiction. In all, the storyteller's goal is to make the characters stand out as actual, living individuals. To do that, the storyteller would have to concoct for historical characters' authentic feelings, movements, and conversation when no evidence of such has come to us. And he will base the actions of his imaginary characters-though unlikely-on his experience of how real people behave. So strong is the magic of a professional storyteller in constructing character that he can sometimes apply a gloss (or a tarnish) to the historical reality that changes everybody's expectations about a person-whether or not he was behaving exactly like the storyteller claims he was doing.
The 15th-century French painting (top) depicts Joan of Arc, the devout peasant girl whoturned soldier and inspired the French army to rally against the invading English in 1429-30 -a story retold by many famous writers. |
For example, it is a historical fact that Cardinal Richelieu, as an advisor to Louis XIII, basically ruled France for 18 years during the 17th century. But Richelieu's image which has come down to us is inspired by stories written by Alexandre Dumas (1802-) about this time in French history. Richelieu's diplomatic intrigues form the backdrop to the swashbuckling protagonists of Dumas 'exploits in The Three Musketeers.
The storyteller creating his own fictional characters and scenarios is capable of inventing facts in order to generate whatever effect he likes. We see this distinctly from the English writer Lewis Carroll (1832-98) in the fantastic universe of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. From the moment Alice sees the White Rabbit hurrying by, watch in hand, to the final scene where the vision crashes like a house of cards, the storyteller fills our mind with a series of dreamlike scenes, events, and occurrences that somehow represent real life in a strange way.
Arthur, legendary British king, and his knights; from a woodcut contemporary with Thomas Malory's 15th-century version of the Arthurian story, Morte d'Arthur. |
A combination of fact and fantasy are two of the oldest myths that have come down on us. Such stories were passed down from one generation to the next, actual incidents and characters being dressed in fictional detail as they are named. For starters, finding the true truth about the actual King Arthur, a hero of British and French legend — from the many tales he has inspired, is almost impossible.
The fundamental principles of storytelling must be followed in both real and fictitious tales. A good storyteller introduces to us a series of ideas and events intentionally formed and arranged that satisfy our instinctive curiosity.
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