Vladimir Propp's Theory on Narrative

    The central concept in Propp's theory is the "morpheme," the smallest unit of a story’s structure. According to Propp, these morphemes represent the basic building blocks of all narratives and can be rearranged to create different stories. The seven character types include the villain, the donor, the helper, the princess (or sought-for person), the dispatcher, the hero, and the false hero.

    Propp argued that these characters and functions are universal, transcending cultural and temporal boundaries. Propp's structural analysis emphasizes the underlying unity of folktales and suggests that they share a common, deep-seated narrative grammar.

    While his theory was initially applied to folk narratives, it has since been adapted to analyze a wide range of stories, including modern literature and film. Propp's work has had a significant impact on the study of narrative structure, influencing subsequent theorists and contributing to the understanding of storytelling across cultures and genres.