Three Models of Narrative Comprehension in William Stafford's “Traveling through the Dark”: Some Relations between Schemata and Interpretive Context (Part 1)

Abstract

This paper discusses the mechanisms involved in accounting for William Stafford's poem “Traveling Through the Dark.” Part 1 presents the narrative models of Teun van Dijk and William Labov, while Part 2 continues the discussion of Labov's Model, introduces Stanley Fish's view of narrative, and relates all three models to Roger Schank's and Robert de Beaugrande's theoretical work on stories. In the conclusion, a number of criteria for the evaluation of narrative theories are suggested.