Narrative unit

Narrative unit is the term I am using to denote the nine structural or dramatic units that make up the plot in the accounts of the Satanic verses. These are:

1. the setting or background
2. the specific occasion
3. Satan’s intervention
4. the Satanic verses
5. the reaction of Quraysh
6. the reaction of the Muslims
7. correction
8. clarification
9. consequences

All or some of these narrative units may be present in a particular account of the incident, in any order or arrangement, by explicit presentation or by contextual implication. Narrative motifs are those features of the narrative that provide the narrative units with specific content. Thus, the reaction of Quraysh may be specified by the narrative motif of the sajdah (prostration) of Quraysh (as above), or by a narrative motif other than the sajdah of Quraysh.