Structuralism and literary criticism

Blog on 'Structuralism and literary criticism ' task given by Sir

About him

Gérard Genette was a French literary theorist, associated in particular with the structuralist movement and such figures as Roland Barthes and Claude Lévi-Strauss, from whom he adapted the concept of bricolage.

Structuralism

Structuralism is the offshoot of certain developments in linguistics and anthropology. Saussure's mode of the synchronic study of language was an attempt to formulate the grammar of a language from a study of language was an attempt to formulate the grammar of a language from a study of parole. Using the Saussurian linguistic model, Claude Levi Strauss examined the  customs and conventions of some cultures with a view of arriving at the grammar of those cultures.

The best work in structuralist poetics has been done in the field of narrative. A literary critic applying a structuralist literary theory might say that authors of West side story did not write really anything new because their work has the same structure as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Gerard Genette is a French literary theorist associated in particular with the Structuralist's movement and such figures as Roland Barthes and Claude Levi Strauss, from whom he adapted the concept of bricolage. Here, I apply his five concept which he used in Narrative Discourse: An essay in method:

1) Order

2) Frequency

3) Duration

4) Voice

5) Mood

1) Order

Story arrangements like simple a murder occurs event -1 then the circumstances of the murder are revealed to a detective event -2 and finally the murder is caught event -3. Generally Savdhan India Tv serial following these type of Chronological.

2) Frequency

The separation between an event and its narration allows several possibilities. 

An event can be occured once and be narrated once.

An event can be ocuured once and be narrated many times. For example: serial Tarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chasmah. In this serial the event was happened once but narrated many times.

3) Duration

There are the two main elements of duration.

First is ten years passed but a short narrative time it mean they narrated in few seconds. For examplel; 

Tv serial 'Sath Nibhana Sathiya' and 'Bedai". In these serials narrated many times left few years.

5) Mood 

Genette said narrative mood is dependent on the distance and perspective of the narrator, and like music, narrative mood has predominant patterns. It is related to voice.