Mechanisms of Narrative Organization : From Formalism to Structuralism

Abstract

This study aims to explore the mechanisms of narrative organization in literary texts through a perspective that combines Russian Formalism and French Structuralism. It focuses on key concepts such as time, narration, discourse, and narrator as fundamental components of textual construction.

The analysis draws on the Formalist distinction between story and plot, and on narrative time theories developed by Tzvetan Todorov and Gérard Genette.

The research examines how narrative discourse is structured through techniques like analepsis, prolepsis, sequencing, embedding, and alternation. It also highlights the narrator’s role in shaping perspective and distributing voices.

The study concludes that integrating Formalist and Structuralist approaches offers a comprehensive framework for understanding the deep structures of narrative. Thus, it contributes to refining literary criticism and advancing modern narrative theory.