Order concerns the relationship between the chronological sequence of events in the story and their arrangement in the discourse. Since stories rarely move from beginning to end without interruption, Genette invented terms for the disruptions.
Genette organizes his system around three fundamental categories: (which govern the relationship between story time and discourse time), and Mood and Voice (which govern perspective and narration). Gerard Genette Structuralism And Literary Criticism Summary
Genette’s foundational move is a crucial distinction, adapted and refined from the Russian Formalists (Vladimir Propp) and earlier French critics: Structuralist criticism focuses on the , treating it
Genette himself was aware of these limits. In his later work, he moved toward a more playful, "esthetic" criticism, but he never abandoned the structuralist core. Analysis of Form over Content
Genette distinguishes between the "work" (the physical object or the author’s finished product) and the "text" (the methodological field where the reader and the structure interact). Structuralist criticism focuses on the , treating it as a space of infinite permutations rather than a closed box containing a "secret" meaning hidden by the author. 6. The Spatialization of Literature
Here is a detailed breakdown of the key concepts and arguments presented in the essay. 1. The Transition from Language to Literature
Genette argues that writers and critics alike are bricoleurs because they work within the "prison-house of language." They do not create out of nothing; they rearrange existing signs, tropes, and structures to create new meaning. 4. Analysis of Form over Content