Fokalizacja

Fokalizacja is a term used in narratology to describe the perspective through which events in a narrative are presented. It concerns the lens or focal point that filters the narrative world for the reader, indicating whose knowledge, perception, and experience shape what is shown. Fokalizacja differentiates what the narrator or focalizer can know and reveal from what remains outside their reach.

The concept originated in Western narrative theory and is closely associated with theFrench term focalisation and with Gérard Genette’s work on narratology. In Polish scholarship, it is used to analyze how information is distributed within a text and how the reader experiences the story, including the degree of knowledge and emotional access granted to characters or the narrator.

Types of focalization are commonly distinguished in literary analysis. Zero focalization (also called omniscient or zero focalizer) occurs when the narrator knows more than any character and presents events without being filtered through a specific character’s consciousness. Internal focalization occurs when the narrative is filtered through a character’s thoughts, feelings, and perceptions, giving insight into that character’s consciousness. External focalization limits the presentation to observable actions and dialogue, with little or no access to internal states. Mixed or variable focalization shifts between different characters or between internal and external lenses, altering what the reader is allowed to know at any given moment.

Understanding focalization helps explain reliability, interpretation, and emotional distance in a text. It is used to study literature and has applications in film and other narrative media, where the camera or voice can function as a focalizer, shaping the viewer’s or reader’s alignment with characters and events.