Narrative Structures in Burmese Folk Tales By Soe Marlar Lwin

The recognition of narrative as a sequence of events can be inferred from the aforementioned minimal view on narrative. It can be concluded that for a discussion of narrative and its structure, events (particularly a sequence of events) are often regarded as an important characteristic and a significant narratological² concept. To quote Bal (1985), an ‘event is the transition from one state to another state’ (p. 13). In her three-level description of narrative (fabula, story, text), fabula is a series of logically and chronologically related events caused or experienced by actors. It is regarded as the deep or abstract structure of the text. The crucial role of events in a narrative structure was also discussed by Rimmon-Kenan (1983):

Toolan (1988) then clearly asserted that ‘an event, bringing a change of state, is the most fundamental requirement in narrative’ (p. 90). Indeed, the temporal sequencing of two or more events has been considered by many to be a hallmark of narrative (Ochs & Capps, 2001). However, as has been pointed out by Leitch (1986) and also by Toolan (1988), a random set of events cannot be a story. An analysis of the narrative structures will thus devote considerable attention to plot structure—the organisation of events in the plot or the relationship that connects one event to the other.