This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2009) |
Diegesis (/ˌdaɪəˈdʒiːsɪs/; from Ancient Greek διήγησις (diḗgēsis) 'narration, narrative', from διηγεῖσθαι (diēgeîsthai) 'to narrate') is a style of fiction storytelling in which a participating narrator offers an on-site, often interior, view of the scene to the reader, viewer, or listener by subjectively describing the actions and, in some cases, thoughts, of one or more characters. Diegetic events are those experienced by both the characters within a piece and the audience, while non-diegetic elements of a story make up the "fourth wall" separating the characters from the audience. Diegesis in music describes a character's ability to hear the music presented for the audience, in the context of musical theatre or film scoring.