List 2 characteristics of a frame story and explain how one of the stories you read demonstrates these characteristics.

I think what a frame story is a story within a story. Am I right?

I've read the following stories:

- The Canterbury Tales (The Pardoner's tale and The Wife of Bath)
- Beowulf (The battle with Grendel, The Monster's Mother, The Final Battle)
- Gilgamesh
- Iliad (Book 22: Death of Hector)
- Federigo's Falcon
- The Day of Destiny from Le Morte d'Arthur

Help would really be appreciated.

Yes, you are correct in understanding that a frame story is a narrative structure where there is a story within a story. It typically involves a main narrative that surrounds one or more smaller stories.

Two characteristics of a frame story are:

1. Outer story: The frame story provides the outer narrative that sets the stage for the smaller, embedded stories. It introduces the main characters and context within which the smaller stories are told.

2. Framing device: A frame story often includes a framing device that connects the outer story to the embedded tales. This device could be a narrator or a situation that provides a reason for the smaller stories to be told.

To demonstrate these characteristics, let's use "The Canterbury Tales" as an example. In this medieval collection of stories, the frame story revolves around a group of pilgrims traveling to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The characters are introduced at the beginning, and their journey forms the outer story.

Within this frame, each pilgrim tells a story to entertain the others during their journey. These individual stories, such as "The Pardoner's Tale" and "The Wife of Bath," constitute the embedded stories. The framing device in this case is the pilgrimage itself, which creates a context for the characters to share their tales. The outer story of the pilgrimage and the inner stories of the individual pilgrims intertwine to create a cohesive narrative structure.

By including the frame story, "The Canterbury Tales" showcases the characteristics of a frame story - an outer story that sets the stage and a framing device that connects the smaller stories.

Yes, you are correct! A frame story is a narrative structure where a main story serves as a "frame" for other interconnected stories. It typically involves a narrator or a group of characters who provide the context or framework for the subsidiary stories.

Here are two characteristics of a frame story:

1. Framing Device: A frame story often begins with an introductory section that sets the stage for the main story. This framing section may establish the narrator, the setting, and the purpose of telling the additional stories. It provides the context for the subsidiary stories and connects them to the main narrative.

2. Interconnected Stories: A frame story contains multiple subsidiary stories that are linked to the main narrative. These additional stories are usually told by characters within the framing section or by different narrators. The subsidiary stories may have different themes, perspectives, or genres, but they all contribute to the overall meaning of the frame story.

Now, let's take the example of "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer to demonstrate these characteristics. In "The Canterbury Tales," the main story is about a group of pilgrims traveling together to the shrine of Thomas Becket. This main narrative acts as the frame for the individual tales told by the pilgrims.

1. Framing Device: The introductory section of "The Canterbury Tales" presents the pilgrims gathering at an inn and deciding to tell stories to pass the time during their journey. The narrator describes each pilgrim and their social status, creating the framework for the subsequent tales. The pilgrimage sets the context and purpose for the storytelling.

2. Interconnected Stories: Each of the pilgrims, representing different social classes and occupations, tells a distinct story within the larger frame. For example, in "The Pardoner's Tale," the Pardoner tells a cautionary tale about the dangers of greed and deception. This story explores themes of morality and hypocrisy, contributing to the overarching theme of corruption within the Church. Each subsidiary story provides a unique perspective and adds depth to the main narrative.

In summary, "The Canterbury Tales" exemplifies the characteristics of a frame story through its framing device of a pilgrimage and the interconnected tales told by the diverse group of pilgrims. Each tale contributes to the collective meaning of the work, making it a prime example of this narrative structure.

Here's a nice, short, short story that is also a frame story:

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/POE/oval.html

Take a little time to read it. You won't be sorry.

Then apply the assignment directions to this story, and you should be able to apply those ideas to one of the works you are to focus on.

Let us know what you come up with.