Actant
Encyclopedia
In narrative theory, actant is a term from the actantial model
of semiotic
analysis of narrative
s.
(1917-1992), professor of Semiotics who is widely credited with producing in 1966 the "actantial" model. The actantial model
reveals the structural roles typically performed in story telling; such as "hero, villain (opponent of hero), object (of quest), helper (of hero) and sender (who initiates the quest)." Each of these roles fulfill an integral component of the story (or "narrative" if you prefer). Without the contribution of each actant, the story may be incomplete. Thus, an "actant" is not simply a character in a story, but an integral structural element upon which the narrative revolves.
An actant can also be described as a binary opposition
pairing, such as a hero paired with a villain, a dragon paired with a dragon slaying sword, a helper paired with an opponent. Actantal relationships are therefore incredibly useful in generating problems within a narrative that have to be overcome, providing contrast, or in defining an antagonistic force within the narrative. However, the same character can simultaneously have a different actant (or way of concern) in regard to a different sequence of action, event or episode in the story. Therefore, it should be distinguished from a character's consistent role in the story like the archetype
of a character
. The concept of actant is important in structuralism
of narratology
to regard each situation as the minimum independent unit of story.
also attempted to understand the dynamic development of the situations in `narratives
with Greimas' Actant-Model. She thought the subject and the object can change the positions mutually and the Supporter and the Opposition also change the positions accordingly. Furthermore, the pair of the Subject and the Object sometimes change the position with the pair of the Supporter and the Oppositionist. There are, however, plural overlapping situations in narrative at the same time. To contend with the overlapping situations present in all narrative structure, she called the potential actant shift not "change" but "transformation."
also provided the "7 act spheres":
However, these are not the types of the person in the story, but rather patterns of behavior; therefore the same person acts sometimes as one "sphere", and later as a different "sphere".
considered and analyzed the position of the persons concerning a situation with the symbols of the celestial objects and constellations. Georges Polti
counted up the needed positions in his famous The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations
. Étienne Souriau
reduced them to only 6 positions named "dramaturgic functions" with astrological symbols:
considered the function of a verb as most important in dependency grammar
and invented the term "actant", various persons that accompany a verb:
Algirdas Julien Greimas
redefined actants as the 3 pairs "Modulations":
, AI
and programming language theory
, actants are the principal concern of the actor-network theory
, the activity of which is described as "mediation" or "translation".
In sociology, the term "actant" is an approach neither to speak of "actors" (who act) or of "system
s" (which behave). It was coined by Bruno Latour
.
Actantial model
In structural semantics, the actantial model, also called the actantial narrative schema, is a tool used to analyze the action that takes place in a story, whether real or fictional...
of semiotic
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
analysis of narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
s.
In Narratology
Due credit must be paid to Algirdas Julien GreimasAlgirdas Julien Greimas
Algirdas Julien Greimas , known among other things for the Greimas Square, is considered, along with Roland Barthes, the most prominent of the French semioticians. With his training in linguistics, he added to the theory of signification and laid the foundations for the Paris School of Semiotics...
(1917-1992), professor of Semiotics who is widely credited with producing in 1966 the "actantial" model. The actantial model
Actantial model
In structural semantics, the actantial model, also called the actantial narrative schema, is a tool used to analyze the action that takes place in a story, whether real or fictional...
reveals the structural roles typically performed in story telling; such as "hero, villain (opponent of hero), object (of quest), helper (of hero) and sender (who initiates the quest)." Each of these roles fulfill an integral component of the story (or "narrative" if you prefer). Without the contribution of each actant, the story may be incomplete. Thus, an "actant" is not simply a character in a story, but an integral structural element upon which the narrative revolves.
An actant can also be described as a binary opposition
Binary opposition
In critical theory, a binary opposition is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning. Binary opposition is the system by which, in language and thought, two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another. It is the contrast between two mutually...
pairing, such as a hero paired with a villain, a dragon paired with a dragon slaying sword, a helper paired with an opponent. Actantal relationships are therefore incredibly useful in generating problems within a narrative that have to be overcome, providing contrast, or in defining an antagonistic force within the narrative. However, the same character can simultaneously have a different actant (or way of concern) in regard to a different sequence of action, event or episode in the story. Therefore, it should be distinguished from a character's consistent role in the story like the archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
of a character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
. The concept of actant is important in structuralism
Structuralism
Structuralism originated in the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure and the subsequent Prague and Moscow schools of linguistics. Just as structural linguistics was facing serious challenges from the likes of Noam Chomsky and thus fading in importance in linguistics, structuralism...
of narratology
Narratology
Narratology denotes both the theory and the study of narrative and narrative structure and the ways that these affect our perception. While in principle the word may refer to any systematic study of narrative, in practice its usage is rather more restricted. It is an anglicisation of French...
to regard each situation as the minimum independent unit of story.
As defined by Julia Kristeva
In 1969 Julia KristevaJulia Kristeva
Julia Kristeva is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, literary critic, psychoanalyst, sociologist, feminist, and, most recently, novelist, who has lived in France since the mid-1960s. She is now a Professor at the University Paris Diderot...
also attempted to understand the dynamic development of the situations in `narratives
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
with Greimas' Actant-Model. She thought the subject and the object can change the positions mutually and the Supporter and the Opposition also change the positions accordingly. Furthermore, the pair of the Subject and the Object sometimes change the position with the pair of the Supporter and the Oppositionist. There are, however, plural overlapping situations in narrative at the same time. To contend with the overlapping situations present in all narrative structure, she called the potential actant shift not "change" but "transformation."
As defined by Vladimir Propp
Independently, researching Russian folklores, Vladimir ProppVladimir Propp
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp was a Russian and Soviet formalist scholar who analyzed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible narrative elements.- Biography :...
also provided the "7 act spheres":
- Aggressor
- Donor
- Auxiliary
- Princess and the father
- Committer
- Hero
- Bogus hero
However, these are not the types of the person in the story, but rather patterns of behavior; therefore the same person acts sometimes as one "sphere", and later as a different "sphere".
In Astrology
Since ancient times, astrologyAstrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
considered and analyzed the position of the persons concerning a situation with the symbols of the celestial objects and constellations. Georges Polti
Georges Polti
Georges Polti was a French writer from the mid-19th century . He is best-known today for his list of thirty-six dramatic situations and for writing Art of Inventing Characters .-External links:* Full text of available at Internet Archive* Full text of available...
counted up the needed positions in his famous The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations
The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations
The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations is a descriptive list which was created by Georges Polti to categorize every dramatic situation that might occur in a story or performance. To do this Polti analyzed classical Greek texts, plus classical and contemporaneous French works. He also analyzed a handful...
. Étienne Souriau
Étienne Souriau
Étienne Souriau was a French philosopher, best known for his work in aesthetics.He studied at the École Normale Supérieure and received his agrégation of philosophy in 1925. After teaching at the universities of Aix-en-provence and Lyon he eventually became a professor at the Sorbonne, where he...
reduced them to only 6 positions named "dramaturgic functions" with astrological symbols:
- "The Leo", the thematic powered.
- "The Sun", the valued.
- "The Earth", the wished obtainer.
- "The Mars", the oppositionist.
- "The Libra", the judge of the situation.
- "The Moon", Auxiliary.
In Linguistics
Linguist Lucien TesnièreLucien Tesnière
Lucien Tesnière was one of the most prominent and influential French linguists.Tesnière was born in Mont-Saint-Aignan on May 13, 1893...
considered the function of a verb as most important in dependency grammar
Dependency grammar
Dependency grammar is a class of modern syntactic theories that are all based on the dependency relation and that can be traced back primarily to the work of Lucien Tesnière. Dependency grammars are distinct from phrase structure grammars , since they lack phrasal nodes. Structure is determined by...
and invented the term "actant", various persons that accompany a verb:
- "prime actant", the nominative caseNominative caseThe nominative case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or the predicate noun or predicate adjective, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments...
- "second actant", the accusative caseAccusative caseThe accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
- "third actant", the dative caseDative caseThe dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given, as in "George gave Jamie a drink"....
Algirdas Julien Greimas
Algirdas Julien Greimas
Algirdas Julien Greimas , known among other things for the Greimas Square, is considered, along with Roland Barthes, the most prominent of the French semioticians. With his training in linguistics, he added to the theory of signification and laid the foundations for the Paris School of Semiotics...
redefined actants as the 3 pairs "Modulations":
- The Actant-Subject and the Actant-Object of Action.
- The Actant-Sender and the Actant-Receiver of Information
- The Actant-Supporter and the Actant-Oppositionist of Volition.
In Sociology
In sociologySociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, AI
Ai
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
and programming language theory
Programming language theory
Programming language theory is a branch of computer science that deals with the design, implementation, analysis, characterization, and classification of programming languages and their individual features. It falls within the discipline of computer science, both depending on and affecting...
, actants are the principal concern of the actor-network theory
Actor-network theory
Actor–network theory, often abbreviated as ANT, is a distinctive approach to social theory and research which originated in the field of science studies...
, the activity of which is described as "mediation" or "translation".
In sociology, the term "actant" is an approach neither to speak of "actors" (who act) or of "system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
s" (which behave). It was coined by Bruno Latour
Bruno Latour
Bruno Latour is a French sociologist of science and anthropologist and an influential theorist in the field of Science and Technology Studies...
.
See also
- Actor modelActor modelIn computer science, the Actor model is a mathematical model of concurrent computation that treats "actors" as the universal primitives of concurrent digital computation: in response to a message that it receives, an actor can make local decisions, create more actors, send more messages, and...
- Science and technology studiesScience and technology studiesScience, technology and society is the study of how social, political, and cultural values affect scientific research and technological innovation, and how these, in turn, affect society, politics and culture...
- Scientific Community MetaphorScientific community metaphorIn computer science, the Scientific Community Metaphor is a metaphor used to aid understanding scientific communities. The first publications on the Scientific Community Metaphor in 1981 and 1982 involved the development of a programming language named Ether that invoked procedural plans to...