Learning knowledge to support domain-independent narrative intelligence

ed from artificially segmented perceptual inputs of the human senses. This dissertation follows the three-tier model proposed by Bal [5]. Thus, I consider a narrative to contain three tiers, as defined below: Definition 3 (Fabula). A fabula is the complete set of events that include but are not limited to all events presented in the narrative, that happen to and around all story characters within a continuous time period, and that are temporally partially ordered as multiple events can happen simultaneously. Definition 4 (Sjuzhet). A sjuzhet is a linear sequence of events that are selected from the fabula to constitute the narrative, possibly in a different ordering from the fabula and with possible repetition of events. One event may be repeated from multiple viewpoints, such as viewpoints of an omniscient narrator or different story characters. Definition 5 (Media). The media is the form of representation in which the sjuzhet is actualized and presented to the audience, including but not limited to oral narration, audio recordings, video footages, theatrical performances, text, multimedia hypertext, and so on. An example story that illustrates the differences between the three tiers of fabula, sjuzhet, and media is shown in Figure 2. Many different literary techniques may be used to transform a fabula into a sjuzhet, including but not limited to: linearization, which turns partial-ordered events into a single sequence that is suitable to telling; reorganization, which orders the events differently from the order in which they actually occur (e.g. flashbacks); compression and expansion, which selects more or less events from the fabula, creating a slower or faster pace; focalization, which tells events from different points of view. This dissertation follows this three-tier model and proposes methods to generate fabula, sjuzhet, and text respectively. For the purpose of this dissertation, the task Other complex models have been proposed. See, for example, Branigan’s 8-tier model [16], whose structure is vastly different from those reviewed.