non-narrative
Lacking plot structure
Non-narrative describes works or forms that don't tell a story.
A non-narrative poem might explore an image or idea without events unfolding.
Non-narrative film includes documentaries, experimental works, and abstract pieces that lack plot or characters.
The term appears in academic and critical contexts to distinguish from storytelling modes: non-narrative structure, non-narrative elements.
Broken into pieces
- episodicOccurring in distinct segments
- nonlinearNot in sequence
- discontinuousHaving breaks or gaps
- cyclicalRepeating in rounds
modular · mosaic · collage · montage · vignette · tableau · sequence · juxtaposition
Intended to instruct
- instructionalIntended to educate
- educationalPromoting knowledge or skill
- informativeProviding useful knowledge
- descriptivePortraying with specific details
analytical · documentary · explanatory · illustrative · scholarly · academic · pedagogical · tutorial
Innovative cultural pioneers
- aleatoryGoverned by chance
- dadaismAbsurdist artistic movement
- surrealismIrrational, dreamlike aesthetic
- atonalWithout musical key
chance · deconstruction · improvisation · indeterminacy · installation · intermedia · minimalism · noise
Motion picture visual craft
- photographyCreating images from light
- timelapseRecording shown greatly accelerated
- pictorialRelating to pictures
- iconographyAnalysis of artistic symbols
ambient · atmospheric · observational · contemplative · scenic
Relating to subject matter
- symbolicRepresenting through signs
- metaphoricalSymbolic rather than literal
- allegoricalExpressing meaning through symbols
- meditativeInclined toward deep reflection
philosophical · reflective · abstract · mood · texture · pattern · rhythm · repetition
fragmented
Broken into pieces
- episodicOccurring in distinct segments
- nonlinearNot in sequence
- discontinuousHaving breaks or gaps
cyclical · modular · mosaic · collage · montage · vignette · tableau · sequence · juxtaposition · associative
didactic
Intended to instruct
- instructionalIntended to educate
- educationalPromoting knowledge or skill
- informativeProviding useful knowledge
descriptive · analytical · documentary · explanatory · illustrative · scholarly · academic · pedagogical · tutorial · encyclopedic
avant-garde
Innovative cultural pioneers
- aleatoryGoverned by chance
- dadaismAbsurdist artistic movement
- surrealismIrrational, dreamlike aesthetic
atonal · chance · deconstruction · improvisation · indeterminacy · installation · intermedia · minimalism · noise · postmodernism
cinematography
Motion picture visual craft
- photographyCreating images from light
- timelapseRecording shown greatly accelerated
- pictorialRelating to pictures
iconography · ambient · atmospheric · observational · contemplative · scenic
thematic
Relating to subject matter
- symbolicRepresenting through signs
- metaphoricalSymbolic rather than literal
- allegoricalExpressing meaning through symbols
meditative · philosophical · reflective · abstract · mood · texture · pattern · rhythm · repetition · variation
- Avant-Garde Filmexperimental cinema, underground film, art film, art house, avant-garde cinema
non-narrativenarrative
Account of events
story-driven · plot-driven · storytelling · fictional narrative · linear narrative
non-narrativenarrative
Account of events
narration · storytelling · recounting · relating · tale
non-narrativesequential
Occurring in succession
chronological · linear · event-driven · plotted · through-composed
narrative, narrate, narration, narrator, narratives, narrated, narrating, narrator's, narrators