Cognitive Narratives Thematics proposes a new way in which narrative works organise their thematic material. It rehabilitates the study of what books are about by providing a cognitive narrative thematic model (CNT).
Part I presents CNT by combining different approaches to narrative, such as evolutionary theory, semiotics, possible worlds theory, or rhetorical criticism. Part II applies CNT to a variety of well-known narratives in different modalities, such as Robert Browning’s "My Last Duchess", Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo, Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, Frank Miller’s 300, or Mike Mignola’s Hellboy. It also considers literary histories and digital humanities. Daniel Candel shows that CNT deserves greater attention and that thematics generates its own forms and adds to the aesthetic pleasure of the text. Candel illustrates that CNT improves the established interpretations of the narrative works it studies.
This innovative study reveals how CNT offers readers a deeper understanding, and how readers and critics are often using CNT intuitively without being aware of it. It is an invaluable resource for students and scholars of narrative theory.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Part I
Chapter 1. Setting the Scene
1.1. Cognitive narrative thematics (CNT) or what this book is about
1.2. Why nobody does thematics
1.3. Two complementary traditions of cognitive thematics
1.4. Two thematics? Cherries vs. cakes
1.5. Countering the reductionist potential of thematics
1.6. Folk psychology and CNT
1.7. Consequences for thematics
Chapter 2. Articulating CNT
2.1. Justifying the premise of CNT: the nature-society binary
2.2. CNT and evolutionary psychology: evolved human motivations
2.3. CNT and modality
2.4. Summarising and justifying CNT
2.5. Two additional models
Part II
Chapter 3. CNT And Rhetorical Poetics
3.1. A new role for CNT vis- à- vis rhetorical poetics
3.2. CNT, rhetorical poetics and "My Last Duchess"
3.3. Conclusion
Chapter 4. CNT and children’s stories
4.1. CNT and children’s stories I: The Gruffalo
4.2. CNT and children’s stories II: Where the Wild Things Are
4.3. Conclusion
Chapter 5. CNT In Comics
5.1. CNT and comics: Hellboy’s "Baba Yaga"
5.2. CNT, comics and covert progression: Frank Miller’s 300
5.3. Conclusion
Chapter 6. CNT In Academia
6.1. CNT in four histories of the novel
6.2. CNT in digital humanities reports
6.3. Conclusion
Chapter 7. Conclusion
About the Author :
Daniel Candel is Professor of English literature at the Universidad de Alcalá, Spain. He has published widely in journals such as Poetics Today, Semiotica, English Text Construction and Style.
Review :
‘Through the application of the model across genres, CNT emerges as a powerful tool for narrative analysis. . . . Cognitive Narrative Thematics represents an invaluable contribution not only to literary studies but also to any field engaged in narrative analysis. […] the model’s completeness makes it tempting to apply universally. . . . [D]espite its interdisciplinary nature, the author makes the book accessible to a broad audience by clearly introducing and justifying the theories it draws upon. In conclusion, I found Cognitive Narrative Thematics deeply engaging; it is one of those books that enriches the reader with knowledge. For this reason, I consider it a highly recommended work for scholars, students, and anyone engaged in literary theory, or textual, or even multimodal analysis.’
- Irune Fernández-Montes in Nexus 2025(1): 38-40
