Framing device

A narrative structure that encloses or organizes a story through a distinct opening or closing frame. The frame can establish a teller, setting, or context for the story within it.

Frame narrative: A narrative in which an outer story contains one or more embedded stories. This is the broader narrative form in which a framing device operates.
The Canterbury Tales: A collection of stories told by pilgrims traveling together to Canterbury. The pilgrimage supplies a social frame for the pilgrims’ varied tales.
Narrative: A representation of connected events, real or imagined, conveyed through a medium. A framing device is one way to organize the presentation of a narrative.
Prologue: An introductory section that precedes the main action of a literary work. A prologue may introduce a story without enclosing it or returning at its end.
Oral storytelling: The performance and transmission of stories through spoken language. A storyteller’s live setting can supply a natural frame for an enacted tale.
Embedded narrative: A story presented within another story. The framed story is the inner narrative organized by the device.
Frankenstein: Mary Shelley’s novel about Victor Frankenstein and the being he creates. Walton’s letters enclose Victor’s account, which in turn contains the creature’s narrative.
Narrative level: A position within a story’s hierarchy, such as the level of a frame or an embedded tale. The device establishes the outer level against which embedded levels are understood.
Epilogue: A concluding section that follows the main action of a literary work. An epilogue follows a story rather than necessarily framing an embedded one.
Epistolary novel: A novel composed primarily of documents such as letters, diaries, or messages. A document can frame an account by identifying who records or receives it.

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