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frame story

American  

noun

  1. a secondary story or stories embedded in the main story.

  2. a narrative providing the framework for connecting a series of otherwise unrelated stories.

  3. a literary device that uses such a narrative structure.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In a frame story, all of this is recounted in Los Angeles by Claude, in 1962, to a film-history doctoral student, Martin Embry, who wants to restore the Frenchman’s singular achievement.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 10, 2019

Take, for instance, The Princess Bride’s frame story, which in the movie features a grandfather reading the fable to a sick little boy who would rather be playing video games.

From Slate ● Nov. 21, 2018

A frame story has the tween protagonist recording a vlog about his experiences in fighting the alien invasion, then posting it online with the hashtag #RESIST.

From The Verge ● Jan. 16, 2018

The play begins with an unnecessary frame story.

From New York Times ● Nov. 7, 2017

Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio also set his great work, The Decameron, within a frame story in 1335.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012

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