What Is a Montage In Literature?

A montage is primarily used in movies. It's a technique of narrating a story, or part of a story, through a sequence of images. The word "montage" has its origins in the French language, which uses the term "monter" for this storytelling technique. The literal meaning of montage is "to mount" or link a bunch of things to one another.

There are usually 5 elements that are employeed through the use of this technique. These include narrative, no dialogue or conversation, quick cuts, supers, and music/background music. Just like filmmaking, a montage is also used in literature. Here as well, it's a collection of pictures assembled to tell the complete or partial tale.

How Do They Work?

Authors and screenplay writers mainly utilize a montage to advance the plot of their story without revealing too many details. For instance, you might see a cluster of quick shots in which a police detective is intently examining a crime scene, then talking to a couple of eye-witnesses, and then checking out a particular location in an attempt to solve the case as quickly as possible.

Without utilizing any background narration or character dialogues, the filmmaker/director shows the audience that the detective is hard at work trying to catch the criminal before they strike again.

Furthermore, you'll notice many people using the term "montage" more loosely to refer to an assortment of discrete elements within a poem or story. This is usually known as a "literary montage." Nevertheless, montages tend to be more common in filmmaking as compared to literature.

What Are The Functions of Them?

Despite being still shots, these narrative collages create an interesting tale when assembled together. This is especially the case in postmodernism where even contrasting montages are formed to drum up interest in the storyline and encourage the readers to create their own unique anecdotes. Authors tend to assume that all their readers are erudite personalities who would deduce exactly the same meanings that a writer is trying to communicate.

They also provide useful clues about a character and their personality, physical features, mindset, communication skills, etc. In some way, this tool can be used to stoke the embers of a reader's imagination and exploit their ability to create engaging visuals as they read along.

Types of Montages

Depending upon the kind of stuff you like to read, you'll probably come across an infinite number of them. However, the following categories are commonly used.

Narrated Form

This type of montage isn't set to music. As might be evident from the name, a character or background voice usually narrates the story. For instance, a veteran cop might be talking about their rookie year on the force, particularly how the higher-ups frowned upon some interrogation techniques sometimes. As the story is being told, the viewer would be shown a series of images in which the officer went a bit overboard with suspects in specific situations.

Musical Form

This type of montage includes images accompanied by a background score that goes well with the theme of the pictures. For example, a viewer might see a visual collage of a young couple enjoying multiple romantic dinners while an interesting love song plays in the background.

Photo / Photomontage

Lastly, we have a photomontage. This is typically created using a few still images instead of filmed shots. For instance, the entire life story of a character might be told through a succession of pictures, starting from when they were a toddler and ending with an image (or images) from their last years as a senior citizen. Such visuals are also frequently set to music, which results in a "musical photo montage."