Meaning & use
framing device in literature
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Meaning
phrasecountableliteraryformal
A story structure in which an outer narrative surrounds and introduces an inner story or set of stories.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a framing device' or 'framing devices'.
Patterns
- use a framing device
- a framing device for something
- the framing device of a novel
The novel uses a framing device: an old man tells the story to a group of children.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein employs a framing device through Walton's letters.
The film's framing device is a series of interviews with the main character.
Word forms
| plural | framing devices in literature |
|---|
Common combinations
- use a framing device
- Many authors use a framing device to add depth to their stories.
- employ a framing device
- The director employed a framing device to connect the past and present.
- a common framing device
- A story within a story is a common framing device.
- the framing device of the novel
- The framing device of the novel is a letter written by the protagonist.
Synonyms and how they differ
- frame narrative
- A more technical term for the same concept, often used in literary criticism.
- frame story
- Similar, but emphasizes the story itself rather than the structural technique.
Word family
Commonly confused: framing device in literature or frame-up?
framing device in literature vs frame-up
A frame-up is a dishonest scheme to make someone look guilty, completely different from a literary framing device.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'framing device' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The correct answer uses 'framing device' as a literary technique. Option A confuses it with a physical frame; option C is grammatically wrong; option D treats it as a purchasable object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “framing device in literature”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.