Definition:
In composition studies, one of the traditional modes of discourse that recounts an event or a series of related events. See also:
Examples of Narration:
- The Battle of the Ants, by Henry David Thoreau
- Christmas Afternoon, by Robert Benchley
- An Experiment in Misery, by Stephen Crane
- The Story of an Eyewitness, by Jack London
- Goodbye to All That, by Robert Graves
- In Mammoth Cave, by John Burroughs
- Outcasts in Salt Lake City, by James Weldon Johnson
- The Rise of Pancho Villa, by John Reed
- She Would Have Enjoyed It, by George Bernard Shaw
- Street Haunting, by Virginia Woolf
- The Hills of Zion, by H. L. Mencken
Etymology:
From the Latin, "knowing"Observations:
- "Jokes, fables, fairy tales, short stories, plays, novels, and other forms of literature are narrative if they tell a story. Although some narrations provide only the basic who, what, when, where, and why of an occurrence in an essentially chronological arrangement, as in a newspaper account of a murder, others contain such features as plot, conflict, suspense, characterization, and description to intensify readers' interest."
(Lynn Z. Bloom, The Essay Connection, Houghton Mifflin, 2001) - "Narration is . . . a component of much of the writing done in the workplace. Police officers write crime reports, and insurance investigators write accident reports, both of which narrate sequences of events. Physical therapists and nurses write narrative accounts of their patients' progress, and teachers narrate events for disciplinary reports. Supervisors write narrative accounts of employees' actions for individual personnel files, and company officials use narration to report on the company's performance during the fiscal year for its stockholders."
(Barbara Fine Clouse, Patterns for a Purpose, McGraw Hill, 2003)
Pronunciation: nah-RAY-shen
