# Focalisation > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Focalisation > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Focalisation.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focalisation > Source revision: 1344391266 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{use dmy dates|date=December 2024}} {{Short description|Term in narrative theory}} In [narratology](/source/narratology), '''focalisation''' (also '''focalization''') is the perspective through which events in a narrative are perceived and presented to the reader.{{sfn|Genette|1980|p=189}} The concept was introduced by French narrative theorist [Gérard Genette](/source/G%C3%A9rard_Genette) to replace the vaguer notion of "[point of view](/source/Point_of_view_(literature))" by separating the question of ''who sees'' (the focaliser) from ''who speaks'' (the narrator).{{sfn|Genette|1980|pp=188–189}} Genette distinguished three types: ''zero focalisation'' (an [omniscient narrator](/source/omniscient_narrator) whose knowledge exceeds that of any character), ''internal focalisation'' (the narrative is filtered through a character's consciousness), and ''external focalisation'' (the narrator reports only what is externally observable, knowing less than the characters).{{sfn|Genette|1980|pp=189–190}} The concept was substantially refined by [Mieke Bal](/source/Mieke_Bal), who recast focalisation as a relationship between a ''focaliser'' (the agent whose perception orients the narrative) and the ''focalised'' (the object of that perception).{{sfn|Bal|2009|loc=ch. 3}} Focalisation has become one of the central analytical categories in narratology, with applications in literary criticism and [film studies](/source/film_studies). ==Genette's typology== Genette proposed focalisation as part of the category of ''mood'' (''mode'') in his systematic framework for narrative analysis.{{sfn|Genette|1980|p=161}} He distinguished three types based on the relationship between the narrator's knowledge and the characters' knowledge: *'''Zero focalisation''' (or ''non-focalised'' narrative): The narrator knows more than any character and can move freely between characters' minds. This corresponds to the traditional "omniscient narrator".{{sfn|Genette|1980|p=189}} *'''Internal focalisation''': The narrative is restricted to what a single character perceives, knows, or thinks. Genette further distinguished ''fixed'' internal focalisation (consistently through one character, as in [Henry James](/source/Henry_James)'s ''[The Ambassadors](/source/The_Ambassadors_(novel))''), ''variable'' internal focalisation (shifting between characters, as in [Gustave Flaubert](/source/Gustave_Flaubert)'s ''[Madame Bovary](/source/Madame_Bovary)''), and ''multiple'' internal focalisation (the same event seen through different characters, as in [epistolary novel](/source/epistolary_novel)s).{{sfn|Genette|1980|pp=189–190}} *'''External focalisation''': The narrator reports only externally observable actions and speech, without access to any character's thoughts. Genette compared this to a "camera eye" perspective, as in [Dashiell Hammett](/source/Dashiell_Hammett)'s novels and many of [Ernest Hemingway](/source/Ernest_Hemingway)'s short stories (e.g., "[The Killers](/source/The_Killers_(Hemingway_short_story))").{{sfn|Genette|1980|p=190}} Genette noted that these types rarely appear in pure form throughout an entire work; most narratives involve shifts or combinations of focalisation, and "any single formula of focalization does not, therefore, always bear on an entire work, but rather on a definite narrative section."{{sfn|Genette|1980|p=191}} ==Bal's refinement== [Mieke Bal](/source/Mieke_Bal) argued that Genette's typology conflated the ''subject'' and ''object'' of perception. In her reformulation, focalisation is a relationship between two entities:{{sfn|Bal|2009|loc=ch. 3}} *The '''focaliser''' (or '''focalizing agent'''): the entity whose perception orients the narrative—who sees, hears, or otherwise senses. *The '''focalised''' (or '''focalised object'''): what is perceived—a character, setting, event, or idea. Bal further distinguished between a ''character-bound focaliser'' (internal to the story, yielding a subjective perspective) and an ''external focaliser'' (outside the story, producing a more detached view). This two-level model allows analysts to ask not only ''through whom'' the reader perceives, but also ''what'' is being perceived, and with what degree of subjective colouring.{{sfn|Bal|2009|loc=ch. 3}} Bal's refinement has been influential but also debated. Genette himself responded critically in ''[Narrative Discourse Revisited](/source/Narrative_Discourse_Revisited)'' (1988), defending his original categories while acknowledging some of Bal's points.{{sfn|Genette|1988|pp=72–78}} ==Focalisation and related concepts== Focalisation overlaps with but is distinct from several related narratological concepts: *'''[Point of view](/source/Point_of_view_(literature))''': The broader, more traditional term. Genette introduced focalisation specifically to disambiguate point of view, which had been used inconsistently to refer to both perception and narration.{{sfn|Genette|1980|pp=188–189}} *'''[Free indirect speech](/source/Free_indirect_speech)''' (or [free indirect discourse](/source/free_indirect_discourse)): A narrative technique in which a character's thoughts or speech are rendered in the narrator's voice without explicit attribution. Free indirect speech often signals internal focalisation, blending the character's subjectivity with the narrator's discourse. [Virginia Woolf](/source/Virginia_Woolf)'s ''[Mrs Dalloway](/source/Mrs_Dalloway)'' exemplifies a "roving trajectory of focalisation" achieved partly through free indirect discourse.{{Cite book |last=Parker |first=Jo Alyson |title=Narrative form and chaos theory in Sterne, Proust, Woolf, and Faulkner |date=2007 |publisher=[Palgrave Macmillan](/source/Palgrave_Macmillan) |isbn=978-0-230-60721-7 |edition=1st |location=New York |pp=91–92}} *'''[Unreliable narrator](/source/Unreliable_narrator)''': When a first-person narrator's account is not to be trusted, the reader must distinguish between the narrator's focalisation and the implied author's perspective. == See also == * [Gérard Genette](/source/G%C3%A9rard_Genette) * [Mieke Bal](/source/Mieke_Bal) * [Narratology](/source/Narratology) * [Point of view (literature)](/source/Point_of_view_(literature)) * [Free indirect speech](/source/Free_indirect_speech) * [Unreliable narrator](/source/Unreliable_narrator) * [Narration](/source/Narration) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Bibliography== * {{Cite book |last=Bal |first=Mieke |author-link=Mieke Bal |title=Narratology: Introduction to the Theory of Narrative |publisher=[University of Toronto Press](/source/University_of_Toronto_Press) |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4426-9222-0 |edition=3rd |orig-year=1985}} * {{Cite book |last=Genette |first=Gérard |author-link=Gérard Genette |url=https://archive.org/details/NarrativeDiscourseAnEssayInMethod |publisher=[Cornell University Press](/source/Cornell_University_Press) |year=1980 |isbn=9780801410994 |location=New York |translator-last=Lewin |translator-first=Jane E. |title=Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method |orig-year=1972}} * {{Cite book |last=Genette |first=Gérard |author-link=Gérard Genette |title=Narrative Discourse Revisited |publisher=[Cornell University Press](/source/Cornell_University_Press) |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-8014-1758-0 |location=Ithaca |translator-last=Lewin |translator-first=Jane E.}} * {{Cite encyclopedia |last=Niederhoff |first=Burkhard |title=Focalization |encyclopedia=The Living Handbook of Narratology |publisher=Hamburg University |year=2011 |url=https://www-archiv.fdm.uni-hamburg.de/lhn/node/18.html |access-date=2026-03-17}} {{Authority control}} Category:Terms in literary theory Category:Narratology --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Focalisation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focalisation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focalisation?action=history)). 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