Annotating and quantifying narrative time disruptions in modernist and hypertext fiction

Edward Kearns

doi:10.18653/v1/2020.nuse-1.9

Abstract

This paper outlines work in progress on a new method of annotating and quantitatively discussing narrative techniques related to time in fiction. Specifically those techniques are analepsis, prolepsis, narrative level changes, and stream-of-consciousness and free-indirect-discourse narration. By counting the frequency and extent of the usage of these techniques, the narrative characteristics of different works from different time periods and genres can be compared. This project uses modernist fiction and hypertext fiction as its case studies.

Highlights

This project annotates and analyses a specific combination of narrative techniques that have not been treated in this way before
Its Timex3 and Tlink tags allow numbers to be assigned in their values for recording the relative order of events, but there are no specific tags for analepsis or prolepsis, and the annotation scheme is not concerned with subjective narration or narrative levels so there are no tags for them either
Annotation and quantitative analysis allows temporal narrative features to be assessed in a different way than with traditional literary methods

Summary

Introduction

This project annotates and analyses a specific combination of narrative techniques that have not been treated in this way before. This paper shows a new way for this to be done using a custom XML schema and analysis of preliminary data gleaned from the application of that schema This process can be used to compare fiction from any genre or time period because most of the techniques involved in the annotation scheme have been used in fiction for centuries. This project applies the process to modernist fiction (experimental novels from the early 20th century) and hypertext fiction (texts from the last four decades which are designed to be read on a computer) because comparing them quantitatively can help to trace the relationship between the two genres which has been proposed in literary theory This is work in progress, and this paper’s analysis will mainly focus on the use of analepsis, which is one of the techniques of disrupting narrative time

Description of project and research question

Related quantitative work

Methodology

Preliminary results and discussion

Conclusion