A study of the speed of narration in the novel Al-Masabih Al-Zurq (Blue Lamps) by Hanna Mina

Time is regarded as a major and basic element in the art of fiction. Therefore, story, in comparison with other literary types, is more dependent on time. In fact, time is the main framework of story in which events develop and different stages of story are identified. One of the components that Gérard Genett, a French structuralist critic, has examined in relation to time is duration of time or narration speed in which the relationship between time of the story and time of the text are considered. This study, a using descriptive-analytic method, tries to examine the speed of narration in the novel of Lamps Glaucoma, by Hanna Mina. Through the novel, it can be found that the novelist has not been able to avoid inconsistency between the time of the story and the time of the text. For this reason, through the events of the novel, from time to time, there is a decrease or an increase in the pace of narration. Employing some techniques, like omission and summarization, has led to a rise in the speed of narration. On the other hand, techniques such as descriptive delay and dialogue have resulted in a decreased speed of narration. Appropriate use of these techniques, however, has made the story beautiful and attractive, prevented the reader from being bored.