This book makes an intensive study of James Phelans rhetorical theory of narrative. Apart from illustrating six basic principles in doing rhetorical theory of narrative, the author examines six major issues which are central to Phelans rhetorical poetics, namely, focalization, character narration, unreliable narration, narrative progression, narrative judgments, and narrative ethics. For each narratological concept, the author minutely conducts a genealogical study to make the review work complete. The book not only compares Phelans rhetorical narratology with classical narratology but also with other strands of postclassical narratology. A detailed bibliography makes this book a compendium of narrative theory which is of relevance for scholars and students of all literary disciplines.

Contents: Beyond the Poetics of Plot: Phelan’s Theory of Narrative Progression – A New Light on the Old Concept: Phelan’s Theory of Character Narrator – The Rhetorical Approach Revisited and Updated: Phelan’s Theory of Unreliable Narration – «Narrator as Focalizer», and «Dual Focalization»: Phelan’s Theory of Focalization – The Activation of Multileveled Responses: Phelan’s Theory of Narrative Judgments – The Ethics of «the Told», the Ethics of «the Telling», and the Ethics of «the Reading»: Phelan’s Theory of Narrative Ethics. Inhaltsverzeichnis