Etymology and Meanings of Literary Device Frame Story
Etymologically, a frame story is a term comprising two words; frame and story. It has another variant called a frame tale. It means a story inserted in a story in a way that it constitutes its main frame.
Definition of Literary Device Frame Story
In literature, it is a term that the main narrative comprises some short pieces of the same narrative or has a second narrative emphasizing the main story.
In other words, a frame story leads the readers to other secondary narratives that stress upon the main idea of the main thematic strand. Therefore, it could be defined as a set of different stories tied together with smaller narratives but slightly changed to adjust to the major theme.
Another definition that suits this term is that it is a story embedded within the main story where the main character is involved in some other incidents or narrates his own story.
Common Examples of Frame Story
- One Thousand and One Nights is a good example of a frame story having several short narratives.
- The Tale of Ameer Hamza in Urdu literature having several stories is another example of a frame story.
- Metamorphoses of Ovid has also parts, making a good example of a frame story.
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley presents a story within a story, providing a good example of a frame story.
Literary Examples
Example # 1
The Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Prologue is not only full of characters but also full of mini-narratives as they expand into separate narratives after that when the host proposes each pilgrim state his/her story. However, within this prologue, the main narrative goes on when the host tells about each character. Therefore, it is a very good example of a story within a story or a frame story.
Example # 2
If On a Winter’s Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino
The novel shows the good use of a frame story as it comprises more than twelve stories each as a chapter. The interesting point about this novel is that each story has a “you” narrator instead of a traditional third-person or first-person narrator. The story presents a man going to exchange a suitcase with somebody but it seems to the reader that the book has the same page repeated. The reader, then, returns that book but comes to know that it is not the same book. Written in a magical realistic mode, the book shows many frame stories in a similar fashion.
Example # 3
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Although this postmodern masterpiece shows several examples of frame stories, these frame stories show erratic timeframes in each of them as Billy Bud does not know how to tell the narratives from his memory in chronological order. For example at one point, Vonnegut’s narrator Billy tells, “I would hate to tell you what is this lousy little book…” but again starts another story that “But not words about Dresden came….”. This shows that he has several frame stories jotted down together to present a postmodern account of his WWII experiences as a soldier.
Example # 4
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
This latest novel by Kristin Harmel presents several frame stories. The main story of a librarian goes with her own love story and story of her fugitive status in the town lying in the free zone. Almost all of these frame stories go parallel to each other, implying to the readers that they are part of the same story though these different love, hate, escape and travel stories are frame stories or frame tales in their own way.
Example # 5
A play within a play, Hamlet presents a good example of a frame story. The reason is that the play within Hamlet is a separate story staged by separate players as presented by Shakespeare. Hamlet, the prince, enjoys this play as it suits him to alert his rival, King Claudius. The thematic strands are not only similar but almost the same. Although it is a classic case of a play within the play, it also suits the purpose when it comes to a frame story. In fact, this is another type of a frame story.
Example # 7
Some other popular literary examples of frame stories are Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and some movies such as Titanic, Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and even Braveheart have frame stories within them.
How to Create Frame Story
- Imagine and plan the main story.
- Think of different aspects of the main story.
- Break these aspects into mini-narratives.
- Insert these mini-narratives into the main story in chronological or reverse chronological order or even without it.
Benefits of Using Frame Story
- Make a narrative easier to decipher, understand and apply in the real life.
- Make a story well-connected, coherent, and well-knit.
- Make the readers have a sense of time and place.
- Make the story setting clear to the readers and audiences.
- Make the story interesting as well as enchanting for the readers and the audiences.
Literary Device of Frame Story in Literary Theory
It is interesting to note that a frame story as a literary device/technique is used in different literary perspectives.
- Certainly, this term is part of Russian formalism which uses different literary techniques to decipher the real message of a text.
- However, its usage in postcolonial and specifically indigenous narratives from an indigenous perspective is a question mark. Despite this, its importance in post-colonialism or para-colonialism is secondary as both of them are concerned with some other pressing issues connected with human beings and culture as a whole.
- Its placing, interpretation, and inclusion, however, in reader’s response theory or formalism or New Criticism is of paramount importance when interpreting a narrative. It also has vital importance in narratology.
Suggested Readings
Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction To Literary And Cultural Theory. Manchester University Press, 2020. Print.
Bennett, Andrew, and Nicholas Royle. Literature, Criticism, and Theory. Harlow, UK: Pearson, 2004. Print.
Hikel, Mary Lyn. “The Theory and Practice of the Frame Story as Narrative Device: Boccaccio’s Decameron” As Paradigm.” (1990): 2888-2888. Thompson, Michael, Richard Ellis, and Aaron Wildavsky. Cultural Theory. Routledge, 2018. Print.
