OCR
26 | Digital Media and Storytelling in Higher Education have a beginning, middle and end; (2) it must have a certain length, which is not too short and not too long; (3) the unity of the action should be primary; (4) the unity of probable and necessary actions should be in focus; (5) the plot should contain unexpected storylines for the right effect. In addition to outlining criteria for a narrative, Aristotle also defined its parts, which include (1) ‘the unexpected turn; (2) ‘the realization’ and (3) ‘the suffering. He also writes about the requirements of characterization, as well as the role of spectacle and language. As seen above, ancient thinkers already started to formally group narratives and distinguished between works written in verse or prose; they also differentiated between drama and epic based on the presence of the narrator at the textual level. In epic, the narrator speaks directly, while in drama the plot unfolds through the dialogue of the characters. Further systematic thinking about narratives appeared in the Romantic theory of poetry, especially in the work of the Schlegel brothers and of Hegel, who defined the lyric as the third main genre. After that period, newer and newer narratives found a place in the subordinate system of genres. The function, form, and hierarchy of genres, as well as the classification of genre groups, can vary from literary period to literary period, and some genres are found only in the literature of certain nations. Moreover, genres are in a state of constant flux. (Keszeg, 2011, p. 17) The acts, themes, and genres of storytelling also change from era to era, culture to culture and social group to social group. Some themes and genres may lose their importance andbe excluded from the public sphere, while others may become particularly popular; a transformation of narratives can also be observed. Narratives conveying Christian ideology (e. g. stories of conversion, damnation and mystery) were followed by chivalric tales, then from the Enlightenment onwards by educational narratives; after the Industrial Revolution, narratives dealt with the relationship between human beings and technology. In the 16" century, a process of division began, and authorial literature consumed by the elite and popular stories passed on by word of mouth split into two registers. From the Romantic period onwards, national literature became more prevalent, followed by personal narratives from the fin de siécle (Keszeg, 2011). Narrative schemas linked to genres can help to interpret individual narratives, but genre categories cannot be considered permanent. The function, form, and hierarchy of genres, as well as the classification of genre groups, can vary from literary period to literary period, and some genres are found only in the literature of certain nations. Moreover, genres are in a state of continuous transformation (Imre, 1996). Todorov (1988) argued that genres are not without precedent but evolve dynamically from each