Metafiction

Metafiction ( gr metά: in the midst of, behind, to Latin fictio Education, Design ) is a kind of fiction in literature, in which a work of his own fictional character theme aware. Metafiktional are self-reflexive statements and elements mainly from stories that are not aimed at substantive than apparent reality, but the reader or recipient textuality or fictionality of the work in terms of " artificiality ," " constructed nature " or " Invented awareness " and related phenomena aware making.

The since R. Scholes ( 1970) common terminus of metafiction has largely replaced the older, while the narrower concepts of " self-conscious narration " and the "fiction irony ". He is mostly limited to fictional narrative, but occasionally also used in connection with the drama (cf. J. Schlueter 1979). Metatextual phenomena in non- fictional narration are sometimes also referred to as instances of " Metanarration ," as G. Genette's terminology of " meta-narratives " or " metadiegetic " (1972 ) is not based solely on "embedded stories".

Accordingly Metafiktionalität is in contrast to literary works that try to make us forget the fictional nature of the work to the reader. Metafiction can thus be understood as literature that deals with literature. It usually involves irony and is self- reflective. In some ways it can be compared with epic theater; this lets not forget the audience that it looks a theater piece as metafiction the reader can not forget that he is reading a work of fiction. The term dates back to the American writer William H. Gass, who mentioned him in his essay Philosophy and the Form of Fiction for the first time.

Definition

It was not until the early 80s there were sporadic theming of metafiction in the literature. Patricia Waugh published the first complete presentation of metafictional literature and thus established the concept. You definitiert a meta-fictional narrative as follows: "the construction of a fictional illusion (as in traditional realism ) and the laying bare of illusion did " It is therefore in such cases to literature that exposes their own illusionary character aware of. For Waugh is also important that not only the nature of fiction is reflected by meta-fictional narrative, but is also noted within the meaning of constructivism to the construction of reality. It is therefore always asked the question about the relationship between art and reality. It distinguishes two main forms of metafiktionaler literature:

First self-conscious literature: The author reflects on the construction of your own novel or references to other works of his own

2 Reflection in a strange text: For the purposes of intertextuality is referred to another work in order to show that literature itself is in turn created from literature.

Another standard work is defined in the metafiction as a fiction about fiction, so as theming of literature in the literature comes from Linda Hutcheon. Also Hutcheon distinguishes two broad levels, which distinguishes them in diegetic and linguistic metafiction. In the diegetic metafiction, the reader is addressed directly or a literary genre parodies, in which linguistic metafiction find on the linguistic level, eg through word games, even references to the construction of language.

Examples

Metafiction is primarily associated with postmodern literature in conjunction, but can already be found in works such as Cervantes ' Don Quixote and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Groundbreaking for the popularization of metafiction was the work of Jorge Luis Borges. In the early 1960s, followed by authors such as John Barth, Robert Coover, William H. Gass and Vladimir Nabokov. Classic examples include the time Barth's Lost in the Funhouse, Coover's The Babysitter and The Magic Poker and Gass ' Willie Master's Lonesome Wife.

A more recent example from the German literature is the so-called Mythenmetzsche digression in Moers Walter 's novel Ensel and ridge ( 2000). The novel The Gap (2007) by Doris Lessing connects several meta-fictional artifices each other, inasmuch as in this work is a first-person narrator is portrayed to comment on the role of a historian, what he like doing while he pretends to tell an origin myth.

Some common tricks of metafiction are:

• A novel about someone who writes a novel.
• A novel about someone who reads a novel.
• A story that deals with the specific practices of stories about titles, paragraphs, or construction of the scheme of action.
• A non-linear novel, which can be read as from the beginning to the end in a different order.
• Narrative footnotes, which continue the story while commenting.
• A novel in which the author is one of the figures.
• A story that anticipating the reader's reaction to the story.
• Characters who do things because they would expect these actions of other characters in a story.
• Figures express the awareness that they are part of a fictional work.
• The mise en abyme.

Metafiction can either play for a brief moment in a story a role, such as when " Roger " in Roger Zelaznys The Chronicles of Amber occurs or Frodo Baggins is portrayed as the main author of the Lord of the Rings, or even be the central theme of the work, such as in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne or in forms or swim two birds by Flann O'Brien. In addition, the articles can be discriminated with this in mind, if it is a real world outside the text or not. In Jorge Luis Borges, for example, this remains doubtful.

A since the 1960s very popular variety is the historiographical metafiction, for the processing of the historical novel with metafictional agents is characteristic.

The literature referred to as meta-fictional authors writer if her life's work is dominated by metafictional elements. Examples include John Irving, Italo Calvino or Walter Moers.

Metafiction in Drama

Except in novels there are examples of self-referentiality in dramatic literature, such as in Woody Allen's one-act plays God (God ). The cross-genre character is also the thesis of Waugh (1984: 5) based on:

Metafiction in the film

Metafiction is found not only in fiction but also in film or television scripts, for example, in movies such as Charlie Kaufman's adaptation. or in TV series such as Scrubs - if there other series are explicitly characterized as fiction. Other films in which metafiction is used are Ferris Bueller's Day, the TV series Malcolm in the Middle, or - in trains - the series Boston Legal.

Metafiction is also a vested feature of parody or in a weakened form of homage or satire due to the transparent for the audience intertextual references. In recent times, have particularly newer animated series for adults like Family Guy, South Park, or American Dad a high degree of metafiktiven elements, self-reference and reflection, in-context Thematisiserung of film cliches and a consciousness of their own medium and its laws.

Metafiction in comics

Also, in some comics can be found metafiktive elements. For example in Japanese manga artist Osamu Tezuka as metafictional self-reference plays a central role in the work. His work is marked by a complex system of characters. For example, there is the familiar figure of the robot Astro Boy in several comics outside of the series in each others role again, he can be seen in Blackjack as a normal boy. In allusion to the practice of the classical Hollywood cinema, build selected actors as stars of a particular specialist role, he called this star system. Especially in the early work of Tezuka plays with the properties of his medium, by letting his characters break the panel or his characters can occasionally be aware that they are cartoon characters. He has also appeared in his own comics; either as a fictionalized version of himself or as part of the star system.

Metafiction in music

Eminem is due to its permanent role change as metafiktionaler musicians. Also in the song I love you J.B.O. the group is used when suddenly one of the guitarist stops playing his instrument and a table tennis game begins a metafiktionales method.

Functions of Metafiktionalität

The metafiction has many functions that can not be limited solely to the undermining or overriding the sense or credibility of the story and also, despite the often rational- distancing effect can not be understood solely as an illusion by refraction. Metafiction can also generate poetic reflection rooms or ästhetetische self or foreign commentaries offer or provide Verstehenshilfene, such as innovative works. Similarly, the metafiction can help to celebrate the narrative or the narrator, or to contribute to explore the possibilities of the literary medium playfully.