CHAPTER III

NARRATION

Material of Narration.

Narration has been defined as the form of discourse which recounts
events in a sequence. It includes not only letters, journals, memoirs,
biographies, and many histories, but, in addition, that great body of
literature which people generally include in the comprehensive term of
"stories."

If this body of literature be examined, it will be found that it deals
with things as opposed to ideas; incidents as opposed to propositions.
Sometimes, it is true, the author of a story is in reality dealing
with ideas. In the fable about "The Hare and the Tortoise," the
tortoise stands for the idea of slow, steady plodding; while the hare
is the representative of quick wits which depend on their ability to
show a brilliant burst of speed when called upon. The fable teaches
better than an essay can that the dullness which perseveres will
arrive at success sooner than brilliancy of mind which wastes its time
in doing nothing to the purpose. Andersen's "Ugly Duckling," Ruskin's
"King of the Golden River," and Lowell's "Sir Launfal" stand for deep
spiritual ideas, which we understand better for this method of
presentation. In an allegory like "Pilgrim's Progress," the passions
and emotions, the sins and weaknesses of men are treated as if they
were real persons. Ideas are represented by living, breathing persons;
and we may say that all such narratives deal, not with ideas, but, for
want of a better word, with things.

In Action.

Not only does narration deal with things, but with things doing
something. Things inactive might be written of, but this would be
description. It is necessary in narration that the things be in an
active mood; that something be doing. "John struck James," then, is a
narrative sentence; it tells that John has been doing something.
Still, this one sentence would not ordinarily be accepted as
narration. For narration there must be a series, a sequence of
individual actions. _Recounting events in a sequence is narration._

The Commonest Form of Discourse.

Narration is the most popular form of discourse. Between one fourth
and one third of all books published are stories; and more than one
half of the books issued by public libraries belong to the narrative
class. Such a computation does not include the large number of stories
read in our papers and magazines. In addition to being the most
popul