Two approaches to defining internal, external, and zero-focalization

Abstract

Abstract The paper discusses two approaches to defining internal, external, and zero-focalization. According to the first approach, the three types of focalization are defined in terms of a relation of a character’s knowledge to the narrator’s report. We argue that the definitions based on this approach are seriously flawed. According to the second approach, whether a narrative is internally, externally or zero-focalized depends on how the information that the reader gets about the fictional world is constrained. We discuss some ways of rendering these definitions more precise, and we point to a remaining problem of the definitions.