"What is a Vignette?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

What does vignette mean? How does it differ from flashbacks or anecdotes? What functions do vignettes serve in literature? What is an example of a vignette?

In this short lesson, Senior Instructor Kristin Griffin answers these questions through brief examples from film and museum studies, and a longer reading of a vignette in Sandra Cisneros' novel The House on Mango Street. The video is designed to help high school and college English students identify and analyze vignettes within and beyond their literature classes.

Spanish subtitles are now available for this video. To access these subtitles, click on the settings icon in the video.

The video is sponsored by the School of Writing, Literature, and Film at Oregon State University. For more discussions of literary topics and essay writing tips, please subscribe to the free SWLF YouTube Channel or visit https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf

Timestamps
0:00 Vignette Examples: Diaramas
0:28 Vignette Example: The Life Aquatic
1:20 Vignette Literary Definition
1:47 Vignettes vs Flashbacks and Anecdotes
2:22 Vignette Extended Example The House on Mango Street