Author Topic: Periodic Table of Story Elements  (Read 1761 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Perry

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 25
    • Email
Periodic Table of Story Elements
« on: June 12, 2009, 04:03:43 PM »
When I get stuck in a rut and need new ideas for games and stories, there are two sources I consistently turn to for "GM inspiration": the folklore scholars Vladimir Propp and Stith Thompson. Both individuals are renowned for having devised (different, yet equally universal) schemata for identifying and classifying the "fundamental" narrative building blocks of all traditional folktales.  Yup, all of them.

From a GM's perspective, I find it useful to think of their work as two attempts to create a kind of Periodic Table of Elements, but for narrative typology instead of chemistry. If you do not make use of these amazing references already, maybe you will find them as interesting as I have.

1.
Stith Thompson's extensive system was originally published between 1931 and 1958 in 6 volumes, collectively entitled The Motif Index of Folk Literature. I'm happy to report that there is now an online version of Thompson's magnum opus. Check it out. http://www.ruthenia.ru/folklore/thompson/index.htm

2.
Vladimir Propp's study was published in his Morphology of the Folktale in 1928. The elements are made up of 31 functions and 7 characters. I haven't found an online version of Propp's schema that is fleshed out to the degree that Thompson's is, but I will try to summarize briefly here.

Propp claims that traditional (i.e. oral) folktales all incorporate the same basic motifs and sequence, though they may vary by different inversions. After the initial situation of a tale is depicted, it then involves the following functions-- (here, I've copied more or less from Jerry Everard's interesting blog, Mindsigh http://lostbiro.com/blog/?page_id=522):

   1. A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced);
   2. An injunction is placed upon the hero ('don't go there', 'go to this place');
   3. The injunction is violated (villain enters the tale);
   4. The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc; or intended victim questions the villain);
   5. The villain gains information about the victim;
   6. The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim);
   7. Victim taken in by deception, unwittingly helping the enemy;
   8. Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone, substitutes child etc, comits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments); Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc);
   9. Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc/ alternative is that victimised hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment);
  10. Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action;
  11. Hero leaves home;
  12. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor);
  13. Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary's powers against them);
  14. Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters);
  15. Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search;
  16. Hero and villain join in direct combat;
  17. Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or scarf);
  18. Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, killed while asleep, banished);
  19. Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revivied, captive freed);
  20. Hero returns;
  21. Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero);
  22. Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms unrecognisably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life);
  23. Hero unrecognised, arrives home or in another country;
  24. False hero presents unfounded claims;
  25. Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks);
  26. Task is resolved;
  27. Hero is recognised (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her);
  28. False hero or villain is exposed;
  29. Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc);
  30. Villain is punished;
  31. Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted).

Propp's 7 broad character types are:

Prime32

  • Administrator
  • Organ Grinder
  • *
  • Posts: 7534
  • Modding since 03/12/10
Re: Periodic Table of Story Elements
« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2009, 04:39:15 PM »
Then there's the Hero with a Thousand Faces... and TVTropes.

TVTropes also has a list of books like this.
My work
The tier system in a nutshell:
[spoiler]Tier 6: A cartographer.
Tier 5: An expert cartographer or a decent marksman.
Tier 4: An expert marksman.
Tier 3: An expert marksman, cartographer and chef who can tie strong knots and is trained in hostage negotiation or a marksman so good he can shoot down every bullet fired by a minigun while armed with a rusted single-shot pistol that veers to the left.
Tier 2: Someone with teleportation, mind control, time manipulation, intangibility, the ability to turn into an exact duplicate of anything, or the ability to see into the future with perfect accuracy.
Tier 1: Someone with teleportation, mind control, time manipulation, intangibility, the ability to turn into an exact duplicate of anything and the ability to see into the future with perfect accuracy.[/spoiler]

Perry

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 25
    • Email
Re: Periodic Table of Story Elements
« Reply #2 on: June 12, 2009, 05:40:21 PM »
Hero with A Thousand Faces is a great resource, too!  I believe it's really deserving of a separate treatment than Propp's narrative units or Thompson's motifs, and the reason is that Campbell's work focuses on the underlying meanings of myth, as semantic variations on a common theme, whereas the others focus solely on structure (or in Propp's case function) without reference to meaning. 

TVTropes is cool.  I think sometimes it could benefit from a little more quality control.  I wasn't aware they had a reading list, and now that I've seen your link I can't help but wonder why they didn't include a hat-tip to dear old Vladimir. 

Prime32

  • Administrator
  • Organ Grinder
  • *
  • Posts: 7534
  • Modding since 03/12/10
Re: Periodic Table of Story Elements
« Reply #3 on: June 12, 2009, 07:02:06 PM »
TVTropes is cool.  I think sometimes it could benefit from a little more quality control.  I wasn't aware they had a reading list, and now that I've seen your link I can't help but wonder why they didn't include a hat-tip to dear old Vladimir. 
Because you didn't add that in yet. ;) It is a wiki, you know.
My work
The tier system in a nutshell:
[spoiler]Tier 6: A cartographer.
Tier 5: An expert cartographer or a decent marksman.
Tier 4: An expert marksman.
Tier 3: An expert marksman, cartographer and chef who can tie strong knots and is trained in hostage negotiation or a marksman so good he can shoot down every bullet fired by a minigun while armed with a rusted single-shot pistol that veers to the left.
Tier 2: Someone with teleportation, mind control, time manipulation, intangibility, the ability to turn into an exact duplicate of anything, or the ability to see into the future with perfect accuracy.
Tier 1: Someone with teleportation, mind control, time manipulation, intangibility, the ability to turn into an exact duplicate of anything and the ability to see into the future with perfect accuracy.[/spoiler]

Perry

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 25
    • Email
Re: Periodic Table of Story Elements
« Reply #4 on: June 12, 2009, 07:18:24 PM »
Er, no.  I don't know.  I wouldn't know a wiki from a hickey, (or is it wick-eye?) which is probably why I usually reference primary sources and get excited about guys like Vladimir Propp and Stith Thompson.  Alas, we can't all be cool kids....   ;)     "Cool kids" is a trope, you know.