Back to the lexicon
structuralist narratology/ˌdaɪəˈdʒiːsɪs/
Diegesis
Etymology: Ancient Greek 'diēgēsis' (narration, story), from 'diēgeomai' (to set out in detail).
Theorist Origin: Plato (Republic III), Aristotle (Poetics), Genette (1972)
Definition
The spatiotemporal world depicted within the narrative, encompassing all fictional events, characters, physical laws, and sounds experienced by characters within that reality.
Mathematical or diagrammatic model:
Universe_D = { x | x is ontologically real to intra-narrative agents }Example from literature
“Extradiegetic: The narrator speaking outside the story. Intradiegetic: Walton writing letters. Metadiegetic: Victor's story told to Walton. Metalepsis: A character stepping across levels.”
Related terms
FocalizationMetalepsisMise en AbymeChronotope