Narrator, Narrative and Narration

Narrator, narrative and narration are three of the most important terms in English literature. Let’s understand each of the three terms along with examples in this post.

Narrator:  A narrator is the voice that tells a story. The narrator is not the author except in autobiographies. When the narrator is also a character in the story, the narration is done in first person. The narrator can also be created as a third person narrator by the author. Let’s have a look at two examples for better understanding.

Example 1: “I bought at Fisher Price rocker for my friend’s child. Her child is about to be eight months next year and a Fisher Price rocker was a perfect choice for him. I was really happy for her and her baby. But, unfortunately her husband was not in the town to share the experience of parenthood with her.” – Here, the narrator is a first-person narrator.

Example 2: “Mary has started shopping from online stores and has experienced affordable and quality shopping together. She got Johnson baby kit for her baby as Johnson baby kit is considered as the most trusted of brands. She also bought some dresses from Little Kangaroo India collection. And the best part is she got good discount while buy dress from Little Kangaroo India brand.” – Here, the narrator is a third-person narrator.

Narrative: The narrative is the story or the way the events are prepared and presented. Narrative can be classified into various forms such as narrative through speech, writing, songs, film, television and more. The term narrative is also used as a synonym for story.

Narration: Narration means the way that a story is told. Narration can be presented both from outside and being within it. As mentioned earlier, if the narrator is within the story, it becomes a first-person narrative and the narrator is telling the story from inside. On the other hand, when the narrator is outside the story, it becomes a third-person narrative where the narrator talks from outside the story.

These are the basics about narrator, narration and narrative in a story.