fortællemæssig

Fortællemæssig is a Danish term used in literary theory to describe aspects of how a narrative is told. It designates the narratorial dimension of a text—the voice, perspective and consciousness through which events are presented to the reader. The term is closely related to narratology and to concepts such as focalisation, narrative voice and narrator type.

In practice, fortællemæssige analyser examine questions about the narrator’s position and reliability: through whose eyes is the story perceived? Is the narrator trustworthy or unreliable? Is the narration in the first person or third person? How much does the narrator know, and how immediately are events presented to the reader? These features influence what readers can know, when they learn it, and how characters and motives are interpreted. Fortællemæssig analysis thus addresses not only what is told, but how it is told.

The concept overlaps with fortællemåde (narrative mode), but fortællemæssig emphasizes perspective, voice and consciousness rather than narrative structure or stylistic technique alone. In Danish scholarship one may talk about fortællemæssig synsvinkel (narrative vantage) or fortællemæssig bevidsthed (narratorial consciousness). Related terms include focalization and narrator type. While primarily used in academic contexts, fortællemæssig remains a standard descriptor in analyses of prose across periods.