2007-07-08 16:40:22 · 10 answers · asked by whatisn'twouldn'tbe™ 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
It is called a frame story, a literary device acts as a convenient conceit for the organization of a set of smaller narratives which are either of the devising of the author, or taken from a previous stock of popular tales slightly altered by the author for the purpose of the longer narrative.
Sometimes a story within the main narrative can be used to sum up or encapsulate some aspect of the framing story, in which case it is referred to in literary criticism by the French term mise en abyme.
An early example of the frame story is The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, in which the character Scheherazade narrates a set of fairy tales to the Sultan Shahriyar over many nights. Many of Scheherazade's tales are also frame stories, such as Tale of Sindbad the Seaman and Sindbad the Landsman is a collection of adventures related by Sindbad the Seaman to Sindbad the Landsman.
2007-07-08 16:49:15 · answer #1 · answered by Miss Chief 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It is known by the French term mise en abyme, or as a frame story or narative.
To quote word for word from the Wikipedia
"This literary device acts as a convenient conceit for the organization of a set of smaller narratives which are either of the devising of the author, or taken from a previous stock of popular tales slightly altered by the author for the purpose of the longer narrative.
Sometimes a story within the main narrative can be used to sum up or encapsulate some aspect of the framing story, in which case it is referred to in literary criticism by the French term mise en abyme.
An early example of the frame story is The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, in which the character Scheherazade narrates a set of fairy tales to the Sultan Shahriyar over many nights. Many of Scheherazade's tales are also frame stories, such as Tale of Sindbad the Seaman and Sindbad the Landsman is a collection of adventures related by Sindbad the Seaman to Sindbad the Landsman.
An extensive use of this device is Ovid's Metamorphoses where the stories nest several deep, to allow the inclusion of many different tales in one work. Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights uses this literary device to tell the story of Heathcliff and Catherine, along with the subplots.
Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein is another good example of a book with multiple framed narratives. In the book, Robert Walton writes letters to his sister describing the story told to him by Victor Frankenstein; Frankenstein's story contains the monster's story."
2007-07-08 23:46:59 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Another great example of mise en abyme is Edgar Allen Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. Poe uses it twice in that book - both of his framed stories help to establish mood and foreshadowing for the main story. Pax - C
2007-07-09 00:12:16 · answer #3 · answered by Persiphone_Hellecat 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
An anecdote is a little story that is usually used to start out another story.
2007-07-09 00:52:47 · answer #4 · answered by Court 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Another story within a story is a flashback. That's when the protagonist is recalling something that happened earlier.
2007-07-09 06:29:53 · answer #5 · answered by Susan G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It actually has a few synonyms.......... depends how you think about it.
Here are a few: (from top (recommended) to bottom (not recommended)
1. A frame story (highly recommended for this word)
2. A subplot
3. A frame work
4. A substory
2007-07-11 10:40:24 · answer #6 · answered by Eddy 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I thought it was a frame work...I am in 12th grade and that's what I was taught so I agree that it is called framework...double check though...smiles
2007-07-09 00:21:48 · answer #7 · answered by Ablebaby 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its a frame story, i learned about that not long ago..
2007-07-09 00:42:10 · answer #8 · answered by xtina 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A subplot
2007-07-08 23:43:42 · answer #9 · answered by thrill88 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
frame story... that's it!
2007-07-09 05:43:18 · answer #10 · answered by ~ ANGEL ~ 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋