NarratologyAdvanced
Metalepsis
A transgression between narrative levels.
Principle
Metalepsis breaks the border between frame and framed world.
Takeaways
- It can be playful, uncanny, comic, or philosophically destabilising.
- It often exposes narration as constructed.
- A small breach can reframe the whole work's reality rules.
Overview
Metalepsis occurs when a narrative crosses levels that normally remain separate: author and character, narrator and story-world, frame and embedded tale. It is a boundary violation that makes the act of telling visible.
Examples
- A character notices the narrator's description.
- A frame narrator appears to alter events inside the framed tale.