Diegesis (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. In fiction, diegesis is the (fictional) world in which the situations and events narrated occur; and telling, recounting, as opposed to showing, enacting. In diegesis the narrator tells the story. The narrator presents to the audience or the implied readers the actions, and perhaps thoughts, of the characters. Sound in films is termed diegetic if it is part of the narrative sphere of the film. For instance, if a character in the film is playing a piano, or turns on a CD player, the resulting sound is "diegetic." If, on the other hand, music plays in the background but cannot be heard by the film's characters, it is termed non-diegetic or, more accurately, extra-diegetic. The score of a film is "non-diegetic" sound. As with film, the term "diegetic" refers to the function of the music within a work's theatrical narrative, with particular relevance to the role of song. Within the typical format of opera/operetta, characters are not "aware" that they are singing.