Narrative DeliveryFoundational
Indirect Discourse
Speech or thought reported by the narrator rather than quoted directly.
Principle
Indirect discourse compresses utterance while preserving its narrative function.
Takeaways
- It is useful when the content matters more than the exact wording.
- It increases narrative distance compared with direct quotation.
- Too much reported speech can flatten dramatic immediacy.
Overview
Indirect discourse reports what a character said or thought through the narrator's grammar: he said that he would leave, she wondered whether the door was locked. It trades surface immediacy for economy, control, and distance.
Examples
- He told her he was leaving in the morning.
- She wondered whether anyone had noticed the missing key.