Focalization

Focalization is a term in narratology that designates the lens through which a narrative presents its events. It concerns who perceives or experiences the story and how that perception filters information for the reader. The focalizer can be a character, the narrator, or an external observer, and the same text may shift focalization across scenes.

The main types are:

- Zero focalization, where the narrator presents events with unrestricted knowledge, often an omniscient or godlike stance, not tied to any single observer.

- Internal focalization, where events are filtered through a character’s perceptions, knowledge, or consciousness; the reader learns only what that character would know and how they would interpret it.

- External focalization, where events are described from outside any character’s interior experience, often with minimal access to thoughts or motives.

Shifts between focalizers, or multiple focalization, can occur within a work, creating varying degrees of proximity and reliability. Focalization is distinct from but closely related to the overall narrative voice or point of view. It shapes what is known, what is withheld, and how readers interpret actions, motives, and tone. For example, internal focalization can produce biased or subjective readings if the focalized character misperceives events; external focalization can encourage a more objective or dilemmatic stance.

In analysis, focalization helps explain how authors control reader alignment, create irony, suspense, or sympathy, and reveal or obscure truth within the story world. See also: narratology, point of view, unreliable narrator.

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