THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT STAGES OF NARRATIVE STRATEGIES IN MODERN ENGLISH LITERATURE

Abstract

This article explores the historical evolution and conceptual development of "narrative strategy," a cornerstone concept in contemporary literary studies. Beginning with the classical philosophical paradigms of Plato and Aristotle regarding mimesis and diegesis, the study traces the transformation of narrative techniques into a rigorous academic discipline. Special attention is given to the emergence of structuralist narratology in the late 1960s, led by Tzvetan Todorov, and its subsequent refinement by Gerard Genette and Roland Barthes. Furthermore, the paper analyzes the communicative-receptive shifts introduced by Wolfgang Iser and Umberto Eco, alongside Wayne Booth’s theory of the "unreliable narrator." Finally, the research examines the cognitive and post-classical turns in 21st-century English fiction, particularly through the works of Ian McEwan and Kazuo Ishiguro, demonstrating how contemporary narrative strategies shift focus from mere structural mechanics to active reader engagement and consciousness manipulation.