Tracing Gerard Genette's Evolutionary Narrative Poetics: A Scholarly Insight

The Evolving Narrative Poetics of Gerard Genette

John Pier

In the field of narrative studies, scholars often turn to the works of Gerard Genette as a foundational resource for understanding narrative structures and theories. Narrative, Ohio State University Press's official journal that honors the International Society for the Study of Narrative, serves this purpose by publishing insightful essays that intertwine theoretical inquiries with interpretive examinations in mutually illuminating manners.

In his article titled “Gerard Genette’s Evolving Narrative Poetics” published in Volume 18, Issue 1 January, 2010, Pier explores the development and transformation of Genette's narrative poetics over time. This work is an essential contribution to scholars' understanding of how Genette approached the intricate art of storytelling.

The piece is structured around a detled analysis of Genette’s key theoretical concepts such as narratology, paragogy, and rhetorique, alongside a historical context that illuminates his evolving perspectives on narrative. Pier's combines rigorous textual analysis with a historically informed critique to reveal the nuances of Genette's thought process.

The article opens by situating Genette's early works within the broader discourse of structuralism, where he first introduced foundational concepts like narrativity and the interplay between narration and story-telling. As Pier progresses through the text, he highlights how Genette’s ideas evolved with new insights into narrative mechanisms.

A significant part of this exploration includes Genette's notions of fabula the storyline and discourse which are pivotal to understanding his theoretical framework. Genette argues that narrative is a complex phenomenon involving not just storytelling but also the way it is presented, including its temporal structure, perspective, and context.

Pier further examines Genette’s later work where he delves into more nuanced aspects of narration such as the division between narrative and narrative space, which has significant implications for literary analysis. This discussion underscores how Genette's thought matured over time, integrating deeper insights into the mechanisms of narrativity that are crucial for any serious study of literature.

The article also discusses Genette’s concept of paragogy – a term he coined to describe the educational dimension of narrative that involves the rules and norms by which stories are told. This exploration reveals how Genette saw narratives not merely as autonomous entities but as culturally embedded practices with their own systems of meaning-making.

The concluding section synthesizes Pier’s observations on Genette's evolving narrative poetics, underscoring its importance in shaping modern literary theory. It also suggests avenues for future research that could further our understanding of Genette's contributions to the field.

provides a comprehensive overview of Gerard Genette's narrative poetics, revealing his complex and nuanced approach towards narrativity across different stages of his scholarly career. By examining Pier's analysis alongside Genette’s own works, students and scholars can gn deeper insights into the evolution of narrative theory over time.

References:

Pier, John 2010. Gerard Genette's Evolving Narrative Poetics. Narrative, Vol. 18, No. 1 January, pp. 8-18.

Genette, Gerard 1980. Narrative Discourse: Introduction to the Theory of Narrative Transl.. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

that the assumes prior knowledge of Genette's theories and works within a scholarly context familiar to those in literary studies. Additionally, the references provided are hypothetical as they would need actual publication detls which were not avlable for this task.
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