roots of narrative

The roots of Western narrative form begin here:

Aristotle's poetics:

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/classics/resources/poetics/poettran.htm

Aristotle's six principles of drama:

http://www.agamemnon.com/aristotle.html

Fryetag's triangle - a structural map of plot building on Aristotle:

http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/freytag.html

Robert McKee updates Aristotle for the screen:

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/10/20/031020fa_fact

The oral epic as encyclopedia - ancient models of database organization:

http://journal.oraltradition.org/files/articles/2i/8_foley.pdf

Northrop Frye's theory of archetypes is still relevant

Good overview of basics of fiction:

http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/tools.html

Northrop Frye Anatomy of Criticism