Literary Theory · Part 4 of 25 · 1920s–1980s
Narratology: Propp, Todorov & Genette
What is Narratology? Narratology is the structuralist study of how stories are built. Vladimir Propp found 31 functions in Russian folktales, Tzvetan Todorov coined the word “narratology” (1969), and Gérard Genette analysed order, duration, voice and focalisation in Narrative Discourse.
This part covers Vladimir Propp, Tzvetan Todorov, Gérard Genette, Wayne Booth and point of view. The questions are drawn from previous UGC NET, SET, PhD entrance and Assistant Professor papers, and every answer comes with a short explanation. Tap an option to check your answer.
Vladimir Propp
1. Russian formalist Vladimir Propp identified how many functions (actions) in the folk tale, distributed among seven spheres of action?
- 31
- 23
- 63
- 13
2. Vladimir Propp, who wrote Morphology of the Folktale, can be best described as a
- Mythic-archetypal critic
- Psychoanalyst
- Post-structuralist
- Structuralist
3. Vladimir Propp’s analysis of the folk tale is an example of:
- Postcolonial criticism
- Deconstruction
- Structuralist criticism
- Practical criticism
Gérard Genette
4. The work of Genette raises a range of ________ questions detailing the process of telling.
- Nine
- Six
- Four
- Two
5. ________ means slow telling, where an author stages a tale for readers, whereas ________ means relating, where the narrator summarises events without trying to create an illusion.
- Paradigm / paradigmatic
- Metonymy / metaphor
- Mimesis / diegesis
- Langue / parole
6. ________ focalisation is the classic narrative mode called omniscient narration.
- External
- Spiritual
- Internal
- Zero
7. Who employed the term ‘analepsis’ to denote a flashback or the account of an event prior to the narrative in question?
- Allan White
- Gérard Genette
- J. Hillis Miller
- James Phelan
8. The index of a book is a part of the
- Paratext
- Subtext
- Text
- Metatext
Booth, Lubbock & Point of View
9. Who coined the term “implied reader”?
- Wayne Booth
- David Lodge
- F.R. Leavis
- Percy Lubbock
Narratology: General
10. What is the term for the study of narrative structures, derived from structuralism and linguistic theory?
- Semiology
- Ideology
- Narratology
- Scientology
11. Narratology studies how narratives, or stories, create ________.
- Money
- Icons
- History
- Meaning
12. What does narratology study as common to all story-telling?
- Imitation and motivation
- Mechanisms and procedures
- Genre and plot
- Metaphors and synonyms
13. Which Greek philosopher identified three elements in a plot, fault or character-defect, recognition and reversal, which are all incumbent on the hero or heroine?
- Aristotle
- Plato
- Confucius
- Sophocles
14. Aristotle offered types of psychic narrative, ________ the plot specifics and ________ the tools to tell the story.
- T.S. Eliot / Proust
- Plato / Aristophanes
- Propp / Genette
- Galileo Galilei / Kepler
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