NARRATIVE TEXT

Al Faqih Warsono

Teks Narrative adalah teks yang bertujuan untuk menghibur pendengan atau pembacanya. Pada tahap awal pembaca akan dibawa untuk mengenali setting Narrative, yang berupa :

1. Setting waktu (time).  Waktu yang digunakan biasanya tidak dapat diukur secara pasti, tidak jelas. Misalnya : once, once upon a time, long-long time ago (pada jaman dahulu, dahulu kala)
2. Setting characters (tokoh). Misalnya: a king (seorang raja), an old woman (seorang wanita tua), Prince Arjuna (pangeran Arjuna), a mousedeer (seekor kancil), a tiger (seekor harimau), dll.
3. Setting tempat (place).  Misalnya: in a valley (di sebuah lemb ah), in a small town (di sebuah kota kecil), in a cave (di sebuah gua), in Neverland, dll.

Tahap berikutnya, pembaca akan dibawa kepada jalan cerita yang tentu saja terjadi komplikasi (masalah). Jalan cerita ini biasanya di awali dengan "one day (pada suatu hari)", namun tidak harus. Kemudian pada khir cerita disuguhkan penyelesaian masalah yang terjadi dalam cerita, baik berupa happy ending (akhir cerita dengan penuh bahagia), atau sad ending/tragic ending (akhir cerita dengan penuh kesedihan atau tragedi)

Dengan demikian struktur teksnya :

• Orientation (pengenalan tokoh, waktu, dan tempat).
• Complication (pengembangan konflik / masalah, jalan cerita)
• Resolution (penyelesaian konflik berupa happy ending, sad/tragic ending).   
• Re-orientation (perubahan yangb terjadi pada tokoh di akhir cerita, atau pelajaran yang dapat dipetik (moral value).

Ciri-ciri kebahasaan :

1. menggunakan bentuk kata kerja past tense (lampau), misalnya : told (memberitahu), said (berkata), screamed (menjerit), jumped (melompat), took (mengambil), dll.
2. biasanya diawali dengan adverb of time seperti :  long time ago, once upon a time, dll.
3. menggunakan kata hubung seperti then (kemudian), after that (setelah itu), before (sebelum[nya]).
4. ketika berbentuk cerita, biasanya menggunakan bentuk ungkapan langsung (direct speech)

Bentuk-bentuk Narrative:

1. Fabel (cerita binatang)
2. cerpen (short story)
3. Comic (cerita bergambar)
4. legenda (legend)
5. cerita rakyat (folktale)

Contoh Fabel

THE FROG AND THE THUNDER

LONG, LONG ago there was a little frog.  He lived in a little pond.  Near the pond was a tall tree.  The little frog was very happy.
        The little frog had a long, long tail.  He loved his tail.  When he looked at it he sang a song.  He thought it was the best tail in all the world.
        The little frog grew bigger.  His tail grew longer.  His songs got louder.  All the birds came to sit in the tall tree, and hear him.  They sang songs too, about his lovely tail.
        One day the little frog said to himself, "I am the only frog in this pond.  I sing songs; the birds come to hear me.  I have a beautiful tail.  I am the greatest frog in all the world."
        Then he stood up, and he said, "Listen to me, you birds and you fishes.  From today, and for always, you can  call me King Frog!"
        The little frog liked his new name.  He thought it was the best name of all. 


Contoh Legend

Sangkuriang

Long time ago in West Java, lived a beautiful girl named Dayang Sumbi. She was also smart and clever. Her beauty and intelligence made a prince from the heavenly kingdom of Kahyangan desire her as his wife. The prince asked permission from his father to marry Dayang Sumbi. People from Kahyangan could never live side by side with humans, but his father approved on one condition, when they had a child, the prince would transform into a dog. The prince accepted the condition. 

They get married and lived happily in the woods until Dayang Sumbi gave birth to a baby boy. The prince then changed into a dog named Tumang. Their son is named Sangkuriang. He was very smart and handsome like his father. Everyday, he hunted animals and looked for fruits to eat. One day, when he was hunting, Sangkuriang accidentally killed Tumang. His arrow missed the deer he was targeting and hit Tumang instead. He went home and tells her mother about the dog. “What?” Dayang Sumbi was appalled. Driven by sadness and anger, she grabbed a weaving tool and hit Sangkuriang’s head with it. Dayang Sumbi was so sad; she didn’t pay any attention to Sangkuriang and started to cry. 

Contoh Comic