hypodiegetic

comparative more hypodiegetic · superlative most hypodiegetic

1. human sciencesPertaining to a secondary narrative embedded within the primary narrative (a story within a story).

   In Jane Eyre this hypodiegetic level is only attained four times again, first in chapter fifteen, in which Rochester tells Jane about his mistress Celine Varens, second in chapter twenty-seven [...]

   1999, Esther Schönberger-Schleicher, Charlotte and Emily Brontë: a narrative analysis of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, →ISBN, page 182

   2 more examples

   Gretta's story, by contrast, has all the force of an authentic performance, a spontaneous speech-act that recreates its own referential validity. As such, it is the most coherent and integrated hypodiegetic act of narration in Dubliners.

   2004, Gerald Doherty, Dubliners' Dozen, page 132

   Continuing this issue of depth: backgrounds are also used throughout some issues of Sandman, for example in Sandman #6 (“24 Hours”) where they provide mood, or Sandman #3 (“Dream a Little Dream of Me”) where a hypodiegetic dream story underlies the pages (see for example page 22), with the diegetic narrative sequence overlaid.

   2014, Julia Round, Gothic in Comics and Graphic Novels, page 71

   Synonyms: metadiegetic