Fabula and syuzhet

In narratology, fabula (фабула) equates to the thematic content of a narrative and syuzhet (сюжет) equates to the chronological structure of the events within the narrative. Vladimir Propp and Viktor Shklovsky originated the terminology as part of the Russian Formalism movement in the early 20th century. Narratologists have described fabula as "the raw material of a story", and syuzhet as "the way a story is organized".

Classical narratives tend to have synchronous fabula and syuzhet, but they may be treated asynchronously according to a modern or postmodern style. Films and novels often achieve an asynchronous effect via flashbacks or flashforwards. For example, the film Citizen Kane starts with the main character's death, and then tells his life through flashbacks interspersed with a journalist's present-time investigation of Kane's life. The fabula of the film is the actual story of Kane's life the way it happened in chronological order, while the syuzhet is the way the story is told throughout the movie, including flashbacks.