NARRATIVE text: definition and characteristics

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Let's see what is a narrative text, what is its definition and the characteristics that differentiate it from others, such as descriptive ones, for example. Let's remember that a textWhatever the type, it is a set of statements that, united, maintain coherence and a unity that makes sense. In addition, the intention of these essays must be communicative.

In the case that concerns us here, after defining the text, it would also be interesting to know exactly what the act of narrating. We can refer to it as the intention to tell a story, be it fictional or true. Now that we know the two basic components of the narrative text, we are going to start with this lesson from a TEACHER to continue delving into the definition and characteristics of the narrative text.

Index

1. Definition of the narrative text
2. Characteristics of the narrative text
3. Other important characteristics of the narrative text
4. Narrative text types
5. Structure of a narrative text

That said, we can refer to the definition of the narrative text as one that includes a account of events that are developed or have been developed for an estimated period of time and space. It usually includes the participation of various characters. Also, this text can be both real and imaginary.

Let's take an example. If we are reading a novel that tells the story of one of the characters, we consider it to be fiction or imagination. If, on the contrary, a sender tells what happened to him days before in class, we are talking about reality.

The point is that the narrative has to be made up of events in succession. As we have seen, in literature it configures the fictional world, despite the fact that what is narrated is based on facts real, since the author will include his own elements and nuances arising from his imagination or interpretation.

Structure of the narrative text

As in other cases, the narrative text is structured as follows:

• Introduction: it is the part that allows to raise the story or situation to be narrated and where the conflict that will develop the various situations is exposed.
• Knot: It consists of the development, that is, the bulk of the story where the events narrated take place.
• Outcome: This is where the conflict that was raised in the introduction or approach and has developed during the knot is resolved.

It is different from descriptive text since, in this second, there is no action.

At this point, it is time to reveal the characteristics of the narrative text, since they are very diverse and of vital importance to understand this type of narration:

• We find two types of structures in the narrative text. On the one hand, the external structure, which is responsible for the organization of the story through sequences, chapters, acts, etc. Then we find the internal structure, which revolves around events as they take place.
• The internal structure can be very diverse. We find that there is the linear type, when events occur chronologically, based on flash-backs, remembering situations from the past, etc.
• All narrative text needs the figure of the storyteller, which is the person who tells the story, either in the first, second or third person (omniscient).
• In these texts we find main and secondary characters. The former will carry the weight of the story more or less directly, while the latter appear and disappear at certain moments with greater or lesser weight as it happens in the narrative.

Let's now look at other characteristics that are important to know:

• Any narrative text costs a space, which is the place where the various events in history take place.
• We also find another element, the weather. It can be internal if the story takes place in days or months while the events last, or external if it is a different time of the narrative.
• We also find internal elements, referring to the narrator, time or space, and external elements, which are the chapters or acts that make up the work.
• The narrative text is presented in the form of story, rather brief and with a moral, of novel, more complex and extensive, or chronicle, where real events are related.
• The narrative text comes from the oral tradition of telling stories.
• The goal is usually merely informative, but sometimes it looks for entertain counting certain facts.
• The style of these texts is set by the writer himself. You can use cult, vulgar language, poetry, etc.
• In general, verbs are used in both the past indefinite and the past imperfect or present.
• The most important events in the narrative are called cores. The least important are called secondary or minor action.
• The main and secondary characters are usually people, things or animals.
• These texts touch many genres, from drama to comedy, science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc.

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Now that you know better what a narrative text is, we are going to continue this lesson by informing you about the different types of narrative textsthat you can find. The most common are those mentioned below:

• Story: it is a type of narrative text that is characterized by its short length and the presence of few characters. They are shorter narrations that communicate a specific idea and that can be for both children and adults.
• Fable: is another text that is also considered narrative since it tells us a story through the use of the figure of a narrator. In this case, the fable is a short text and is usually intended for a children's audience. It has a final moral and is usually carried out by characters that are animals or inanimate, they are almost never human beings.
• Novel: the novel is a much more extensive and profound type of text in which different themes can be addressed. The characters can be very abundant and the action is more complex. It is about creating a fictional world in which the characters move and perform different actions to reach a final outcome.
• Biography: a biography is a type of text that delves into recounting the life of a person, both on a personal level and their contribution to the world.
• Chronicle: it is a text of a more journalistic nature and that tells us in a subjective way the experience that the writer or journalist has lived in an event, event, etc.
• Daily: it is also a narrative text that is written in the first person and that explains the thoughts and reflections of the person who is narrating the story.
• MythsThey are also texts that are part of oral literature and that are used in different cultures (especially ancient ones) to explain the origin of the world and of the human being.

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To continue knowing the characteristics of a narrative text, in this section we will talk about the most common structure that is usually followed in this type of text. The first thing you should know is that there is two structures of a narrative text: the internal and the external. We briefly discuss them below.

External structure

The external structure of a text It is one that focuses on the elements that organize the text. There are different methods to do this, such as chapters, paragraphs, sequences, sentences, acts or scenes, and so on.

It is the structure in which the text is organized. There are different ways to do it, for example:

Internal structure

And the internal structure is the one that we carry out to organize the content that is inside a text. In general terms, a narrative text is usually divided into these parts:

• Approach or introduction. It is the moment in which the characters are introduced, the reader is placed in the space and place that we find ourselves and the plot begins to be presented.
• Knot or development. It is when the initial situation raised is interrupted by the appearance of a conflict that must be resolved by the characters, especially by the protagonist.
• End or denouement. It is the part of the structure of a narrative text in which the conflict that has appeared in the knot is resolved and, normally, the characters have usually experienced a change. After that experience, nothing will be the same again and that approach from the beginning, even if it recovers, will be altered by what the characters have experienced.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is a narrative text: definition and characteristics, we recommend that you enter our category of Writing.

• Domínguez, A. G. (1993). The narrative text. Synthesis.
• Marotto, C. M., & Duarte, A. (2007). Comprehension of the narrative text and inferences. Journal Subjectivity and Cognitive Processes, (10), 163-183.
• Bobes-Naves, C. (1985). Language and literature in the dramatic text and in the narrative text. Bulletin hispanique, 87 (3), 305-335.
• Calatrava, J. R. V. (2008). Narrative Theory: A Systematic Perspective (Vol. 3). Iberoamericana Editorial.