Narratology is not a monolith. There are also very socially and politically, as well as ethically, psychologically, etc. pertinent stuff in there. That said, it IS a required taste. P.S. Thank you for mentioning Ian McEwan's weirdly underrated novel (even with the Booker award to its name), Amsterdam! :)
I've never really appreciated plot. I always spend my time reading anxious that I won't "get it", that various things pass me by in the early stages, the neglect of which will ruin the later parts. It rarely happens, but I'd rather read a novel spoliered as the anxiety is enough to ruin the entertainment, as if reading in an exam. I feel like I should be taking notes.
00:11 Origin of Spoiler Alert 04:29 Wilkie Collins's request to critics for not spoiling his thrillers 07:11 Three examples 24:34 Narratology 27:10 Plot and Sensation novels 31:23 'The Woman in White' 38:06 'Great Expectations' 39:45 What is a plot? 40:25 Jane Austen's 'Emma' 48:22 'Amsterdam' 53:13 'Bleak House' 55:30 'Mystery of Edwin Drood'
This lecture is not about plot but more about authors giving the reader clues as to where their plot is going. Emma is NOT the only one of Austen's novels to have a plot, just the only one to leave hints for the reader, two very different things! (Chunters and tuts to self: 'Pride and Prejudice no plot' Austen will be turning in her grave!)
Demonstrating plot with the use of italics, exclamation marks and cliffhangers. These are devices that may serve the plot, not the plot itself. There was no discussion around that.
