# diegesis diegesis (; 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 diegesis (greek διήγησις "narration") and mimesis (greek μίμησις "imitation") have been contrasted since aristotle. for aristotle mimesis shows rather than tells by means of action that is enacted. diegesis is the telling of a story by a narrator. the narrator may speak as a particular character or may be the invisible narrator or even the all-knowing narrator who speaks from "outside" in the form of commenting on the action or the characters for narratologists all parts of narratives - characters narrators existents actors - are characterised in terms of diegesis. in literature discussions of diegesis tend to concern discourse/sjužet (in russian formalism) (vs. story/fabula.) in diegesis the narrator tells the story 1. details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are revealed explicitly through narrative 2. the story is told or recounted as opposed to shown or enacted 3. there is a presumed detachment from the story of both the speaker and the audience diegesis is multi-levelled in narrative fiction. gerard genette distinguishes between three "diegetic levels." the extradiegetic level (the level of the narrative's telling) is according to prince "external to (not part of) any diegesis." one might think of this as what we commonly understand to be the narrator's level the level at which exists a narrator who is not part of the story being told. the diegetic level or intradiegetic level is understood as the level of the characters ir thoughts and actions. john watson of the sherlock holmes stories is a diegetic narrator because ey is narrating from within the story. the metadiegetic level or hypodiegetic level is that part of a diegesis that is embedded in another one and is often understood as a story within a story as when diegetic narrators themselves tell a story in dramatic texts the poet never speaks directly; in narrative texts the poet speaks as themself in filmmaking the term is used to refer to the story as it is directly depicted onscreen as opposed to the (typically much longer) real time events which said story purports to tell. (it is the difference between seeing an intertitle reading "a week later-" and simply waiting a week.) diegesis may concern elements such as characters events and things within the main or primary narrative. however the author may include elements that are not intended for the primary narrative such as stories within stories. characters and events may be referred to elsewhere or in historical contexts and are therefore outside the main story; thus they are presented in an extradiegetic situation the classical distinction between the diegetic mode and the mimetic mode relates to the difference between the epos (or epic poetry) and drama. the "epos" relates stories by telling them through narration while drama enacts stories through direct embodiment (showing.) in terms of classical poetics the cinema is an epic form that utilizes dramatic elements; this is determined by the technologies of the camera and editing. even in a spatially and temporally continuous scene (mimicking the theatrical situation as it were) the camera chooses for us where to look - and where not to look. in a similar way editing causes us to jump from one place (and/or time) to another whether it be elsewhere in the room or across town. this jump is a form of narration; it is as if a narrator whispers to us: "meanwhile on the other side of the forest." it is for this reason that the "story-world" in cinema is referred to as "diegetic"; elements that belong to the film's narrative world are diegetic elements. this is why in the cinema we may refer to the film's diegetic world "diegetic" in the cinema typically refers to the internal world created by the story that the characters themselves experience and encounter: the narrative "space" that includes all the parts of the story both those that are and those that are not actually shown on the screen such as events that have led up to the present action; people who are being talked about; or events that are presumed to have happened elsewhere or at a different time; such as the intro to "star wars" with its now classic "a long time ago in a galaxy far far away." thus elements of a film can be "diegetic" or "non diegetic." these terms are most commonly used in reference to sound in a film. most soundtrack music in films is non diegetic; heard by the audience but not by the characters. some films reverse this convention; for example baby driver employs diegetic music played by the characters on music devices to which many of the film's action scenes are set. these terms can also apply to other elements. for example an insert shot that depicts something that is neither taking place in the world of the film nor is seen imagined or thought by a character is a non-diegetic insert. titles subtitles and voice-over narration (w/ some exceptions) are also non-diegetic ![[deadspacegarmeplay.jpg|300]] in teh garme dead space the colored spine of the player's spacesuit is used to indicate the health points of ir character. this is rendered within the environment of teh garme as part of the player's character. ammo mission updates and several key menus are also rendered in teh garme world which are viewed by the player's character in video garmes "diegesis" comprises the narrative garme world its characters objects and actions which can be classified as "intra-diegetic" by both being part of the narration and not breaking the fourth wall. status icons menu bars and other ui which are not part of teh garme world itself can be considered as "extra-diegetic"; a garme character does not know about them even though for the player they may present crucial information. a noted example of a diegetic interface in video garmes is that of the dead space series in which the player-character is equipped with an advanced survival suit that projects holographic images to the character within teh garme's rendering engine that also serve as teh garme's user-interface to the player to show weapon selection inventory management and special actions that can be taken **+** diegetic music **+** mimesis **+** paratext **+** dramatic irony **+** hypodiegetic narrative **+** aristotle. 1974. "poetics." trans. s.h. butcher. in dramatic theory and criticism: greeks to grotowski. ed. bernard f. dukore. florence ky: heinle & heinle. . p. 31-55 **+** bunia remigius. 2010. "diegesis and representation: beyond the fictional world on the margins of story and narrative-" poetics today 31.4 679-720. doi: 10.1215/03335372-2010-010 **+** coyle r. (2004.) pop goes the music track. metro magazine 140 94-95 **+** elam keir. 1980. the semiotics of theatre and drama. new accents ser. london and new york: methuen **+** pfister manfred. 1977. the theory and analysis of drama. trans. john halliday. european studies in english literature ser. cambridige: cambridge university press 1988. isbn 0-521-42383-x **+** plato. c. 373 bc. republic. retrieved from project gutenberg on 2 september 2007 **+** michael ryan melissa lenos an introduction to film analysis: technique and meaning in narrative film the continuum international publishing group 2012. 021 // republic of bob