Shape of You - Narrative Structure

Shape of You – Ed Sheeran 

Ed Sheeran's music video for 'Shape of You' is a closed text narrative which uses a mostly linear narrative structure, and can be examined using Todorov's concept of the three-act structure. The music video has three clear acts, the first one involving an equilibrium where then character (and singer) meets the girl and falls in love. The second act starts after the inciting incident, and the girl leaves the main character of the music video, which leads to disequilibrium and a search for resolution. The resolution comes quite close to the end, after struggle and unbalance through the second act, a new equilibrium is created after the resolution, when the girl appears to watch his fight, and help him at the end, and they are reunited. In this video, the narrative structure creates anticipation and expectation of the narrative using the three-act structure which make audiences seek closure at the end and satisfaction that the narrative has been resolved. This video uses this structure to make the audience care about the story between the characters, then cause a conflict or problem which will make the audience want to keep watching to see it resolved in a 'happy ending', typical of a closed text, which is a text that resolves conflict and closes meanings, with no significant loose ends, as in this video the girl returns, resolving the events of the second act and tying up the end, not leaving any questions about the main narrative as the characters are reunited.

Proairetic event, first interaction 

Roland Barthes' ideas of narrative codes can be applied to this music video, as proairetic and symbolic codes are used in the narrative of the video. Proairetic codes used, which are events or moments which drive the narrative, such as the first interaction between characters, which drives the narrative forwards as they go out together after and then fall in love, the first proairetic event influences the story of the whole music video. After the first proairetic event, the girl in the video leaves the main character, leading on to the second act, which is another proairetic event as it drives the narrative, it forces the character to react and move on to seek equilibrium. The mouth guard she leaves him could be seen as either a symbolic device, or a proairetic device, as it could represent the aspect of the character associated with it, or it could be the item which moves the narrative on and signals the end of the first act in the video, as after the main character finds it, it seems to motivate him to train and go to a fight. 

A narrative device used in the music video for 'Shape of You' are ellipses, which are jumps in time. They are used to jump forward in time to locations in the first act with the characters together, implying that the characters have been to many places together and that they have a good relationship. Also, an ellipsis is used at the start of the second act and the initial conflict, when the girl leaves him some symbolic devices in the narrative and then leaves him. Through the second act to the resolution ellipses during the montage of the character running and training, as he seeks a new equilibrium and resolution to the imbalance created by the girl leaving. The ellipses suggest that, in the story, he has spent a lot of time working through the disequilibrium in search for a resolution, possibly earning sympathy from the audience, as they want the character to find new equilibrium and for the narrative to close, from implying a long passage of time rather than showing it.