4.  How does the narrative create meaning in the text itself?

  • Who are the main characters? Do they change in any way? How are they related to one another?
  • In what way are the events of the story structured?
  • Is there a surprise twist in the plot?
  • Are the events foreshadowed?
  • Does the story contain flashbacks?
  • Is there a central conflict?
  • Is the story ironic in any way?
  • Is it comic? Tragic? A mixture of the two?
  • What is the setting (the time and place) of the story?
  • Is the atmosphere of the story important?
  • Is the narrator realistic? Impressionistic? Magical? Fantastic? Surreal?
  • What kind of narrator tells the story?
  • Does the title relate to the meaning of the story?
  • What is the theme of the story?
  • How does style shape the meaning of the story?

"All manner of thing shall be well/ When the tongues of flame are in-folded/ Into the crowned knot of fire/ And the fire and the rose are one." -- T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding