1st Edition
Developments in Narrative Structure: Two Volume Set From the Thirteenth Century to the Rise of the Novel
Volume I
List of Contributors
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Typographical Note for Readers
PART I: Introductory and Theoretical
Chapter 1. Introduction - Monika Fludernik
1.1 Background, Questions and Aims
1.2 The Theoretical Model
1.2.1 Episodic Narrative: The Model
1.2.2 Comparison With Other Models of Episodic Narrative
1.3 Points of Analysis and Leading Questions
1.3.1 Narrative Discourse Markers
1.3.2 The Historical Present Tense
1.3.3 Subject-Verb Inversion and Constituent Preposing
1.3.4 Other Episode Markers: Syntactic and Semantic
1.4 Corpus and Method of Analysis
1.4.1 Corpus
1.4.2 Genre
1.4.3 Method of Analysis
Works Cited
Chapter 2. Diachrony Reconsidered - Monika Fludernik
2.1 The Oral Substrate Theory: From Orality to Written Composition
2.2 Narrative and Narrativity
2.3 Narrative Structure in Flux
2.3.1 From Episodic Narrative to the Novel: Form and Function
2.3.2 The Linguistics of Form and Literary History
2.4 Diachronicity: How to Describe Form and Function Changes in Narrative
2.4.1 Linguistics
2.4.2 Literary Studies
2.5 Narrative Diachrony
Works Cited
PART II: THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD
Chapter 3. Narrative Verse I: The Romance - Anne Herlyn
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The Middle English Romance between Orality and Literacy
3.3 The Narrative Structure of the Middle English Romances
3.4 The Corpus
3.5 The Model: Sample Analysis
3.5.1 Episodic Structures and their Markers in the Middle English Romances: An Overview
3.5.2 Narrative Structures in Guy of Warwick: A Sample Analysis
3.6 Developments in the Narrative Structures of the Romances
3.6.1 The Off-Plotline Level
Abstract
Final Evaluation/Coda
Narratorial Comments
Tendencies and Developments
3.6.2 The On-Plotline Level
Intact Episodic Patterns
Modification and Dissolution of the Episodic Pattern
Episode Points
3.6.3 The Historical Present Tense
3.6.4 Discourse Markers
þo and than
Other Episode Point Markers
3.6.5 Adverbial Phrase Preposing and Subject-Verb Inversion
Adverbial Phrase Preposing
Subject-Verb Inversion
3.7 Chaucer
3.8 Conclusion
Works Cited
Appendix to Chapter 3
Chapter 4. Narrative Verse II: The Saint's Legend - Monika Fludernik
4.1 The Verse Legend
4.2 Texts and Corpus
4.3 Narrative Structure in the Saint's Legend
4.4 The Off-Plotline Level: Framing the Narrative Episode
4.4.1 The Abstract
4.4.2 Orientation
4.4.3 Delayed Orientation
4.4.4 The Coda
4.4.5 Narratorial Commentary
4.5 The On-Plotline Level: The Marking of Episode Points
4.5.1 Macro-Incipits and Incipits
4.5.2 Setting and Incidence
4.5.3 Reaction/Result and Resolution/Macro-Result
4.5.4 The Historical Present Tense
4.5.5 Discourse Markers
4.5.6 Subject-Verb Inversion and Preposing
4.5.7 Summary
4.6 Diachronic Analysis
4.6.1 The Thirteenth Century and the (Early) South English Legendary
4.6.2 The Fourteenth Century
4.6.3 The Fifteenth Century
4.7 Outline of Observed Changes and Results
4.7.1 The Episode Pattern and Where it Reaches its Limits
4.7.2 Summary
Works Cited
Appendix to Chapter 4
Chapter 5. Narrative Verse III: The Fabliau and Short Comic Narrative - Theresa Hamilton and Monika Fludernik
5.1 Introduction
5.2 The Genre of the Fabliau
5.3 The Corpus
5.4 Narrative Structure: The Episodic Pattern
5.5 The Off-Plotline Level
5.5.1 The Abstract
5.5.2 The Initial Orientation
5.5.3 The Coda
5.5.4 Narratorial Commentary
5.6 The On-Plotline Level
5.6.1 Episode Point Marking
5.6.2 The Historical Present Tense
5.7 Diachronic Development
5.7.1 The Thirteenth Century
5.7.2 The Popular Fabliau in the Late Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries
5.8 Conclusion
Works Cited
Appendix to Chapter 5
Chapter 6. Narrative Prose I: The Late Medieval Prose Romances - Sonia García de Alba Lobeira
6.1 Introduction
6.2 The Corpus and Methodology
6.3 The Prose Romance in England
6.3.1 Influences from French Narrative Models
6.4 Analysis of Narrative Structure: The Off-Plotline Level
6.4.1 Editorial and Typographical Additions
6.4.2 Abstracts and Closing Sections
6.4.3 Interlacement Strategies
6.4.4 Involved Narrators
6.5 Analysis of Narrative Structure: The On-Plotline Level
6.5.1 Narrative Episodes
6.5.2 Discourse Markers
6.5.3 Syntactic Inversion
6.5.4 Preposing
6.5.5 DO-Periphrasis
6.5.6 The Historical Present Tense
6.6 Final Remarks
Works Cited
Appendix to Chapter 6
Volume II
PART III: FROM MIDDLE ENGLISH TO EARLY NEW ENGLISH
Chapter 7. Historical Narrative, 1066-1700 - Anne Herlyn
7.1 General Introduction: On Historiography vs. Fiction
7.2 The Genres of English Historiography
7.2.1 Medieval Annalistic and Chronicle Writing and the Chronicle Tradition
7.2.2 Renaissance Developments: From the Chronicle to Humanist History
7.3 Corpus and Methodology
7.4 Narrative Structure in Middle English Historical Texts
7.4.1 Chronicle Style and the Narrative Episode in Middle English
Historiography
7.4.2 The Off-Plotline Level: Abstracts, Codas and the Narratorial Voice
7.4.3 The On-Plotline Level: Markers of the Episodic Structure
7.5 Narrative Structures in Early Modern English Historical Texts
7.6 Conclusion
Works Cited
Appendix to Chapter 7
Chapter 8. Narrative Prose II: Prose Hagiography - Thomas Lederer
8.1 Late Medieval and Early Modern Prose Hagiography: Generic and Historical Background
8.2 The Corpus
8.3 Episodic Structure
8.3.1 The Episode Pattern
8.3.2 'Internal' Experiences in the Incidence Slot
8.3.3 Active Incidence Points
8.4 The Off-Plotline Level and Narratorial Intervention
8.5 Discourse Markers, Subject-Verb Inversion and the Historical Present Tense
8.6 Syntactic Issues
8.6.1 Participial Constructions
8.6.2 The Latin Parallels
8.7 Summary
Works Cited
Appendix to Chapter 8
Chapter 9. Letters, 1400-1650 - Monika Fludernik
9.0 Introduction
9.1 Corpus of Texts
9.2 Reportage in Letters, Diaries and Legal Texts
9.3 Narrativity in Flux
9.3.1 The Formal Marking of Episodic Structure
9.3.2 Episode Markers
9.3.3 Additional Aspects
9.4 Summary
Works Cited
Appendix to Chapter 9
PART IV: THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Chapter 10. Epic Verse: Spenser, Milton and Dryden - Roman Barton
10.1 Introduction: The Episodic yet Teleological Epic Narrative
10.1.1 The Decline of the Epic
10.1.2 Telos and Episodes
10.1.3 Methodology and Corpus
10.2 Narrative Structure I: The Episode Pattern and its Limits in Epic Verse
10.2.1 The Contest for Eden in Spenser's The Faerie Queene
10.2.2 The War in Heaven in Milton's Paradise Lost
10.2.3 The Conflict of Words in Dryden's The First Book of Homer's Ilias
10.3 Narrative Structure II: Major Results of the Analyses
10.3.1 Totals of Episodes Compared
10.3.2 Off-Plotline Elements: The Framing of Episodes
10.3.3 On-Plotline Elements: The Marking of Episodes
Discourse Markers
Syntactic Markers
The Historical Present
10.4 Conclusions: The Decline of the Epic Reconsidered
Works Cited
Appendix to Chapter 10
Chapter 11. Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Romances - Sebastian Straßburg
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Genre Definition
11.3 The Corpus
11.4 Narrative Structure in the Early Modern Romance
11.5 The Off-Plotline Level
11.5.1 Abstracts and Paratexts
11.5.2 Codas and Closing Sections
11.5.3 Chapters and Chapter Headings
11.5.4 Narratorial Commentary
11.6 The On-Plotline Level
11.6.1 Discourse Markers
11.6.2 Syntactic Marking
11.7 Conclusion
Works Cited
Appendix to Chapter 11
Chapter 12. Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Prose in the Low Style - Tanja Haferkorn and Monika Fludernik
12.1 Introduction
12.2 The Corpus
12.3 Genre Definitions
12.3.1 Jest-Books
12.3.2 Cony-Catching Pamphlets
12.3.3 Criminal (Auto)Biographies
12.3.4 Nashe
12.3.5 Deloney
12.4 Episodic Narrative in the Analyzed Texts
12.5 Analysis of Narrative Structure I: The Off-Plotline Level
12.5.1 Chapter Headings, Abstracts and Codas
12.5.2 Orientation Sections
12.5.3 The Narrator
12.6 Analysis of Narrative Structure II: The On-Plotline Level
12.6.1 Discourse Markers
12.6.2 DO-Periphrasis
12.6.3 Historical Present Tense
12.6.4 Syntactic Marking
12.7 Summary and Conclusions
Works Cited
Appendix to Chapter 12
PART V: Summary and Conclusions
Chapter 13. Summary of Results and Discussion - Monika Fludernik
13.1 Main Aims of the Study, Problems and Provisos
13.2 Internal Restructuring of Narrative Episodes: From Experientiality to Report Sequences
13.3 Episodic Structure and Developments between the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Century
13.3.1 The Contraction and Extension of Narrative Episodes
13.3.2 The Addition of Elements
Description
Narrative Report and Commentary
13.3.3 Humanism, Rhetoric and Syntax: Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century Developments
13.3.4 The Diversification of Narrative Patterns in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
13.4 Episode Marking
13.4.1 Discourse Markers: Genres and Periods
13.4.2 The Historical Present Tense in Late Medieval and Early Modern Texts
13.4.3 DO-Periphrasis
13.4.4 Subject-Verb Inversion and Preposing
13.4.5 Clause-Related Syntactic Marking
13.5 Dialogue Management from the Romances to the Novel
13.6 The Representation of Consciousness: Internal Speech (Soliloquy), Psycho-narration and Free Indirect Discourse
13.7 Narration, Narrative Voice and Narratorial Discourse
13.7.1 Providing Information
13.7.2 Commenting and Evaluating
13.7.3 Description and Delayed Orientation
13.7.4 Quasi- and Pseudo-Autobiographical Discourse and the Role of the Narrator Persona
13.7.5 Narratorial Address
13.7.6 Shifting Between Plot Strands and Shifting from Report to Comment and Back
13.7.7 Self-Reflexive Commentary and Metafictional Discourse
13.8 Concluding Remark
Works Cited
Appendix to Chapter 13
Chapter 14. Final Considerations - Monika Fludernik
14.1 Opening Remarks
14.2 Continuities, Discontinuities, Refunctionalizations
14.3 Verse versus Prose Narrative, 1300-1700
14.4 Genre vs. Chronology
14.5 The Rise of the Novel Reconsidered
14.6 Insights Afforded for Linguists and Historical Pragmatics
14.7 Insights Afforded for Narratologists and the Study of Diachronicity
14.8 Brief Summary of Results for Busy Readers: The Development of Narrative Structure through the Centuries
Works Cited
Author Index
Subject Index
Biography
Monika Fludernik is Professor Emerita at the University of Freiburg, Germany, where she taught from 1994 to 2025. Her research interests include narratology, literary linguistics, postcolonial studies, law and literature and eighteenth-century aesthetics.
