“Unnatural” or “Fictional”?: A Partial Critique of Unnatural Narrative Theory and Its Discontents

Style ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-424
Author(s):  
Ansgar Nünning ◽  
Natalya Bekhta
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Theory ◽  
Unnatural Narrative

Unnatural Narrative Theory

Style ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Theory ◽  
Unnatural Narrative

Unnatural narratology and premodern narratives: Historicizing a form

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva von Contzen
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Theory ◽  
Medieval Literature ◽  
Unnatural Narratology ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Dynamic Form ◽  
Unnatural Narrative ◽  
Historical Trajectory ◽  
Narrative Forms

Abstract‘Unnatural’ narratology has been a thriving new field of narrative theory in recent years. What its various sub-fields share is that they are concerned, very broadly, with narratives that transcend the parameters of conventional realism. One of the field’s promises is that it can also account for earlier ‘unnatural’ narrative scenarios, for instance in ancient and medieval literature. Focusing on two recent publications by Alber and Richardson, this essay challenges the historical trajectory the movement envisages. Paying special attention to the influence of religion on premodern narratives and its implications for the concept of the unnatural, this essay argues that unnatural narratology is reductionist and adheres to a structuralist paradigm, and thus cannot do justice to the idiosyncrasies of premodern narrative forms and functions. An alternative approach to the unnatural as a dynamic form is introduced as an outlook.

scholarly journals Literature Review on Unnatural Narrative Theory

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Sufen Wu
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Narrative Theory ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
James Phelan ◽  
Unnatural Narrative ◽  
Interpretive Strategies

Unnatural narrative becomes a popular theory in literary criticism. In 2016, No. 4 issue of Style is a special issue on Brian Richardson’s Target Essay “Unnatural Narrative Theory”. Narratologists such as Marie-Laure Ryan, Shen Dan, James Phelan have responded actively to this new paradigm in narrative theory. In spite of its popularity, unnatural narrative remains controversial because of its diversified definitions, the hard-to-identified manifestations of unnaturalness, and its various interpretive strategies. Accordingly, this paper tries to comb the existing literature and provide a systematic review on the definitions, the manifestations, and the interpretive strategies of unnatural narrative theory.

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