Definition of Narrative

Secara singkat definisi dan tujuan teks narative adalah

Narrative is a account of interesting connected events experienced by specific participants.
Its social function is to tell a story and entertain or amuse as well as well as give a certain
moral lesson to the readers.
Teks narrative merupakan jenis teks berupa cerita atau dongeng yang bertujuan menghibur
pembaca. Ciri utama teks narrative adalah terdapatnya masalah ( atau hal yang dianggap
masalah ) dan langkah yang di ambil untuk merespon masalah tersebut ini umunya berupa
solusi atau penyelesaian. Konten teks narrative dapat berupa cerita khayalan atau kisah
nyata yang mendapatkan bumbu-bumbu perekayasa.
Types of narrative
Plays

: narratives that are written for theatrical performances

Fables

: short narratives with a compulsory coda or lesson that feature animals as

characters

Legends

: narratives that most people believe to be true but cannot be verified

Myths

: narratives ( usually featuring gods and legendary heroes ) that explain a

natural phenomenon or object or a cultural practice.

Fairy Tales

: narratives written for children that involve imaginary creatures such as elves
and goblins, etc. and which always have a happy ending.

Novels

: Fictional narratives of considerable length and complexity

Folk tales

: communal narratives steeped in tradition that teach a moral or explain why

something is the way it is.

Narrative poems : narratives which are presented in poetic form

Generic Structure of Narrative

Setelah definisi, hal lain yang perlu diketahui adalah schematic structure. A narrative text
should consist of the following generic structure:
1. Orientation: Introducing the participants and informing the time and the place /
pendahuluan atau pembuka berupa pengenalan tokoh, waktu, dan tempat.
2. Complication: Describing the rising crises / pengembangan konflik atau pemunculan
masalah
3. Sequence of events : where the reader is shown how the characters react to the
complication, both in action and in inner thoughts
3. Resolution: Showing the way of participant to solve the crises, better or worse /
penyelesaian konflik atau langkah yang diambil untuk merespon masalah.
4. Re-orientation: The ending of the story / penutup ungkapan- ungkapan yang
menunjukkan cerita sudah berakhir,
5. Coda: perubahan yang terjadi pada tokoh dan pelajaran yang dapat dipetik dari cerita.(
opsional )

Language Features of Narrative

Tak lupa pula ciri ciri bahasa yang dipakai oleh narrative text, meskipun sifatnya tidak
absolut, namun kecenderunganya, jenis teks ini akan memakai model language
feature seperti dibawah ini:
-

Noun tertentu sebagai kata ganti orang, hewan, dan benda dalam cerita, misalnya
stepmother, household, dsb.

Characters, setting and actions are described in detail ( using adjectival and
sdverbials )

Simple Past Tense is normally used, except in the case of direct speech/
menggunakan kata kerja bentuk lampau

Time connective and conjunction untuk mengurutkan kejadian, misalnya after,

before,soon, then, after, dsb.

Action verbs are used ( ran, jumped )to describe what happens [ kata kerja yang
menunjukkan peristiwa atau kegiatan ], but other verbs are used to describe the
mental states of participants ( felt, thought ) and also what they say ( whispered,
shouted, bellowed )

Saying verb, kata kerja yang menunjukkan pelaporan atau ujaran, misalnya said, told
promised, thought, understood, dsb.