Frame narrative structure

Frame narrative structure in fiction: 7 works

1. -800The OdysseyHomer

   The recounting of Odysseus's adventures to the Phaeacians serves as an inner story framed by his ultimate return to Ithaca.

2. 1349The DecameronGiovanni Boccaccio

   The overarching story of the ten youths fleeing the plague provides the explicit setting and occasion for all the embedded stories they tell.

3. 1387The Canterbury TalesGeoffrey Chaucer

   The entire collection is structured around the pilgrims' journey, with each pilgrim telling a story within that overarching narrative.

4. 1898The Turn of the ScrewHenry James

   The main story of the governess is presented as a manuscript read by one character to a group of friends, who are themselves telling ghost stories, creating a double frame.

5. 1899Heart of DarknessJoseph Conrad

   The entire narrative of Marlow's experience in the Congo is told by him to an unnamed narrator and other listeners on the Nellie, providing a clear framing device.

6. 1989HyperionDan Simmons

   Pilgrims each tell their tale on the journey, framing embedded stories within the whole.

7. 2001Life of PiYann Martel

   The novel begins and ends with an author's quest to find Pi and hear his story, which then forms the bulk of the narrative, clearly framing Pi's adventure.