Theories
of Metafiction
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Spectrum: Metafiction is thus an elastic term which cover a wide range of fictions. There are those novels at one end of the spectrum which take fictionality as a theme to be explored . .. whose formal self-consciousness is limited. At the center of this spectrum are those texts that manifest the symptoms of formal and ontological insecurity but allow their deconstructions to be finally recontextualized or 'naturalized' and given a total interpretation . . .Finally, at the furthest extreme that, in rejecting realism more thoroughly, posit the world as a fabrication of competing semiotic systems which never correspond to material conditions, ...(Waugh 18-19)
Relevant terms:
Surfiction:Raymond Federman's book of that name discusses the mode in terms of overt narratorial intrusion so that, as in the 'self-begetting novel', the focus appears to be on the ironist him/herself rather than on the overt and covert levels of the ironic text. Telling as individual invention, spontaneous fabrication at the expense of external reality or literary tradition, is emphasized rather than . . . metafiction's continuous involvement in -- and meditation of -- reality through linguistic structures and preexistent texts.
General Issues and Signs of Metafiction
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--over-plotting to show
mysteries in "history" or its multiple interpretations;
--under-plotting, presenting the disfunctioning of language/communication or language games |
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--typographical marks and
the black page in Tristram Shandy
--labyrinth in "Lost in the Funhouse" --Pale Fire --Illustrations in Breakfast of Champion and Slaughterhouse-V |
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--the appearance of the
author in The French Lieutenant's Woman as a peck of
dust to be brushed off by Charles
--the god-game in The Magus --Vonnegut in Dresden in Slaughterhouse-V --the characters out of the author's control --the conflict (or struggle for power) between reader and author in Stephen King's Mystery and Rushdie's Midnight's Children |
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--the juxtaposition of
fictional characters and historical figures
--discussion of writing techniques, inclusion in the text of "external" elements of the text such as "preface," author, editor and advertisement. --the use of frames |
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--parody of realist texts or official history in Midnight's Children
--Tristram Shandy and Tin Drum as intertexts in Midnight's Children |
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--over-plotting --Forrest
Gump (overuse of coincidences and miracles);
Stuntman (acting/conspiracies as life, life as acting/conspiracies) --under-plotting, |
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--Drowning by Numbers
--labyrinth in "Lost in the Funhouse" --Pale Fire --Illustrations in Breakfast of Champion and Slaughterhouse-V |
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--the appearance of the
director in Icicle
Thief, Woody Allen's films, ¸«Lªü¹F¡A¨¿¬Â¥É
--the god-game in Stuntman |
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--the juxtaposition of
fictional characters and historical figures Forrest
Gump
--discussion of filmic techniques, inclusion in the text of "external" elements of the text such as studio, author, reviewers and advertisement. Icicle Thief --the use of frames |
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--parody -- Icicle
Thief
-- pastiche -- Hot Shot; David Lynch's Wild at Heart and Blue Velvet |
Waugh, Patricia. Metafiction: The Theory and Practice of Self-Conscious Fiction. NY: Routledge, 1984.¡@¡@¡@