narrative meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

narrative

adj

UK /ˈnæɹ.ə.tɪv/ · /ˈnɛɹ.ə.tɪv/

Etymology Borrowed from Middle Scots narrative, nerrative, from Middle French narratif, from Latin narrātīvus, from narrō (“to narrate”). By surface analysis, Latin narr- + -ate + -ive.

Telling a story.

Overly talkative; garrulous.

But wise through time, and narrative with age.1715–1720, Homer, translated by Alexander Pope, “(please specify the book of the Iliad or chapter quoted from)”, in The Iliad of Homer, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC:

Of or relating to narration.

the narrative thrust of a film
There is a deep divide in our species. On one side, the narrators: those who are indeed intensely narrative, self-storying, Homeric, in their sense of life and self, whether they look to the past or the future.2004 January 10, Galen Strawson, “Review: Making Stories by Jerome Bruner”, in The Guardian:

Derived terms: grounded narrative inquiry, narrative arc, narrative art, narratively, narrative present, narrative structure, narrative verdict, narrativise, narrativization, narrativize, nonnarrative, pseudonarrative, seminarrative, semionarrative

narrative

noun

Etymology Borrowed from Middle Scots narrative, nerrative, from Middle French narratif, from Latin narrātīvus, from narrō (“to narrate”). By surface analysis, Latin narr- + -ate + -ive.

The systematic recitation of an event or series of events.

That which is narrated.

A representation of an event or story in a way to promote a certain point of view.

changing, controlling the narrative
Yes, there were instances of grandstanding and obsessive behaviour, but many were concealed at the time to help protect an aggressively peddled narrative of [Oscar] Pistorius the paragon, the emblem, the trailblazer.2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport):

2 more examples

[Alexandra] Bell challenges the dominant coverage of Brown’s killing with the aim of introducing “a perspective and a narrative which is probably how a lot of people from these communities saw it go down”.2017 May 30, Francisco Navas, quoting Alexandra Bell, “'It feels important': the counter-narrative artist challenging how news is reported”, in The Guardian:
The posters quickly became embroiled in the interminable battle over narrative in the Israel-Palestine conflict.2023 November 10, Chris McGreal, “‘It’s like a fire in the world’: how the Israeli ‘kidnapped’ posters set off a phenomenon and a backlash”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

A manner of conveying a story, fictional or otherwise, in a body of work.

Creative writing

The plot is full of holes, but the narrative is extremely compelling.
The player is free to create their own narrative within a much larger set of possible designed narrative options, or, given the geographic and dialogical openness of Morrowind, to refuse the creation of any narrative but their own and wander aimlessly through the game.2015, Angus Slater, “Prophecy, Pre-destination, and Free-form Gameplay: The Nerevarine Prophecy in Bethesda’s ‘Morrowind’”, in Online: Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet, volume 7, →DOI, page 175: