The art of narration

"The art of narration" by Mary Ellen Chase and Frances Kelley Del Plaine is a college composition textbook and anthology written in the early 20th century. It presents guidance and curated models across a wide range of narrative forms to help students analyze, imitate, and practice narration beyond the short story, emphasizing readable, current examples alongside a few classics. The opening of the volume sets the aim and method: the Preface and Foreword argue for expanding college instruction past short stories, note the difficulty of permissions, and promise varied, engaging models for twelve narrative types; the Contents maps that breadth. Chapter I defines expository narrative as storytelling used to explain, offers practical tips (choose action-rich subjects, keep details clear and human), and then illustrates the method with four pieces: a vivid life cycle of a salmon that teaches biology through a single fish’s journey; a richly detailed account of a medieval wedding that reveals custom and ceremony; a day-in-the-life portrait of an Oxford undergraduate that explains routines, rules, and social life; and the peasant Bodo’s world under Charlemagne, using one family’s day to convey work, belief, and festivity.

The art of narration, by Mary Ellen Chase. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78424.