Diegesen

Diegesen is a term used in film and narrative theory to describe the set of diegetic elements—the world and its contents as they are presented to the audience and, if applicable, to the characters within the story.

The diegetic world comprises the entities that exist within the narrative space: characters, objects, locations, events, and sounds that originate from within that world. Diegetic elements are those that can be perceived by the characters themselves, such as spoken dialogue, sound effects, and on-screen actions.

Non-diegetic elements are those that exist outside the diegesis and are not available within the story to the characters, such as the musical score, on-screen captions, or a narrator addressing the audience. The distinction between diegetic and non-diegetic elements is a central tool in analyzing how a film or text guides audience perception and indicates different narrative layers.

The term diegesis derives from Greek roots meaning “to lead through” or “to recount,” and it has been adopted across literary and film theory since the early 20th century. In practice, scholars use the distinction to discuss how information is presented to characters versus to viewers, and how that presentation shapes meaning and immersion.

The plural form diegesen is used in some languages, notably Dutch, to refer to multiple diegetic worlds or to the diegetic realm as a whole. In addition to film, diegesis remains a key concept in broader narrative theory, helping to differentiate the narrator or in-world speakers from the reader’s or viewer’s awareness of the story’s world.