Frame Story

A frame story (also frame tale, frame narrative, etc.) is a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories. The frame story leads readers from a first story into another, smaller one (or several ones) within it.

Read more about Frame Story:  Origins, A Set of Stories, Single Story, Use of Frame Stories

Famous quotes containing the words frame and/or story:

    “We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours.”
    —Dag Hammarskjöld (1905–1961)

    “So every journey that I make
    Leads me, as in the story he was led,
    To some new ambush, to some fresh mistake:
    So every journey I begin foretells
    A weariness of daybreak, spread
    With carrion kisses, carrion farewells.”
    —Philip Larkin (1922–1986)