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temporal mechanics/ˈkrɒnətoʊp/
Chronotope
Etymology: Greek 'chronos' (time) + 'topos' (space).
Theorist Origin: Mikhail Bakhtin, 'Forms of Time and of the Chronotope in the Novel' (1937)
Definition
The intrinsic connectedness of spatial and temporal relationships that are artistically expressed in literature—where time thickens and becomes visible, and space responds to the movements of time, plot, and history.
Mathematical or diagrammatic model:
Chronotope = MetricTensor(Space, Time) characterizing a specific genreExample from literature
“The Chronotope of the Road (random encounters across social classes in picaresque novels); The Chronotope of the Castle (historical feudal claustrophobia in Gothic fiction).”
Related terms
HeteroglossiaDiegesisSetting