The Artful Arrangement of the Story 📖
The concepts of syuzhet and fabula were introduced by the Russian Formalist literary critics of the early 20th century to create a precise analytical tool for understanding narrative structure. They are a pair of terms that distinguish between the raw material of a story and the final, artistic form in which it is presented.
Syuzhet (сюже́т), which can be translated as ‘plot,’ is the ‘how’ of the story. It is the actual sequence of events as they are shown to the viewer or reader. The syuzhet is the finished product, the result of all the author’s creative decisions:
- The choice of a beginning, middle, and end.
- The use of flashbacks or flash-forwards.
- The decision to withhold certain information from the audience.
- The ordering of scenes for maximum dramatic or thematic effect.
- The use of different points of view.
An Example: Pulp Fiction
Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994) is a perfect illustration of the power of syuzhet.
- The fabula (the chronological story) is a fairly straightforward sequence of events involving two hitmen, a boxer, a crime boss, and his wife.
- The syuzhet is the famous non-linear structure that shuffles the timeline. By presenting the story out of chronological order, the film creates suspense (we see a character die, only to see him alive in a later scene that takes place earlier in the story), irony, and powerful thematic resonances.
The artistry of narrative lies in the filmmaker’s manipulation of the syuzhet. It is the primary way that a simple story (fabula) is transformed into a complex and meaningful plot.