Breaking the Fourth Wall: A Literary Term Defined

Sometimes, a term gets thrown in our direction and we are forced to take a step back and blink. "What exactly does that mean?" It happens to the best of us—even me.

This week's literary term is no exception. We're talking about breaking the fourth wall.

To put it simply, breaking the fourth wall is when the characters acknowledge the audience's presence, eluding to the fact that the characters know that they are in a book or a play.

It all starts with theater.

The concept of the fourth wall comes from theater, where the boundary between the players and the audience can be thought of as invisible wall. Traditionally, the audience can see through this wall, but those on stage can not. (And if you have ever been on stage yourself, you will know that this idea is not far from the truth. Those stage lights are often incredibly blinding, and you'd be lucky if you can see past the third row.)

The idea of the fourth wall is present in all forms of writing, from the stage, movie and television through to poetry and prose. And you can find examples of where the fourth wall is broken in all forms too.

At any point when a character talks directly to the audience, that fourth wall barrier comes crashing down.

How and when to break that fourth wall.

Within theatrical forms, particularly stage and TV with a live audience, when the fourth wall is broken, you're typically dealing with a comedy of sorts. This is because there is no way to know for certain how your audience is going to react, and more often than not, you're dealing with complete hilarity as a result.

Gilbert and Sullivan operettas (e.g., HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado) frequently break the fourth wall. It's often a character facing the audience, saying something like, "Can you believe this?" or "Do you think we should fight again?" It's all scripted, and the answer is anticipated to escalate the action, increasing the audience's enjoyment and laughter, but that simple act of acknowledging the audience is what breaks the invisible barrier that divides the stage from the auditorium.

However, dramas and larger than life action films, where audience reaction is irrelevant, have also been known to break the fourth wall. The main character will face the camera and talk directly to the viewer about whatever frustrations they might have.

The movie Fight Club has a perfect example of this, where the narrator (played by Edward Norton) is explaining who Tyler Durden (played by Brad Pitt) is and the job that Tyler has. The narrative style used within this film is perfectly suited to this breakout exposition.

Breaking the fourth wall in the written form.

Breaking the fourth wall within the written form will depend entirely on the type of story that you are writing AND the voice that you are using for the narrative. It will be largely dependent on the nature of the narrator themselves. If that narrator is a character within their own right, then breaking that fourth wall can be achieved.

Before I go too much further, I should point out that "the narrator is a character" concept is not restricted to first-person narratives. Omniscient narrators could be character narrators too.

Let's consider the following passage written in third-person limited (where the POV is restricted to a single character's perspective that is in the scene).

Sally did the best she could to tiptoe in the door, just as the clock struck midnight. She was a little late. Okay, she was more than a little late—much more—but if she could sneak in quietly...

"Do you have any idea what time it is, young lady?"

She winced as she turned around to stare at her father's scowl and red face. That was when the rant about the stupidity of her actions began.

That passage doesn't acknowledge the audience in any way. However, we can shift this into omniscient voice, where the narrator knows everything, everywhere, and break the fourth wall while doing it.

As Sally tiptoed through the door, doing the best she could to lift the door back into place, avoiding the squeaks, she had no idea that her father was standing in the threshold into the living room. He might have experienced that initial hint of relief at seeing her home safe, but those thoughts quickly shifted to images of rape, torture and murder. Anything could have happened to her.

"Do you have any idea what time it is, young lady?"

Now, at this point Sally just knew she was in big trouble. She didn't need to be a mind reader to know she was going to be grounded for life the moment she looked up at his scowl and red face. You don't want to know the expletives that were coming out of his mouth. Let's just say that Sally wished she had earmuffs to protect her delicate ears from such words.

Within this passage, it's the explicit use of the word you is what acknowledges the reader. However, what would this look like in first person? We'll keep Sally's POV, because we can.

The clock struck midnight and I knew that this was going to be bad news if my father heard me coming in. He was always so protective, never giving me the space I needed to breathe. You know the type of parenting that I mean. Sometimes, a girl just needs to spread her wings and fly.

Anyway, that door had a bad habit of squeaking, so I did the best I could to lift it slightly as I opened it far enough for me to sneak in.

"Do you have any idea what time it is, young lady?"

Game over. So much for ever wanting a life.

I turned around, about to spout off some excuse about the car breaking down, but was quickly silenced by that red face with smoke coming out of his ears.

I think at this point I'll just skip ahead to my day of punishment. No need to relive all of the torture.

Within that last passage, the usage of the word you near the beginning, when Sally discusses the parenting style her father uses, but the fourth wall is broken for a second time in the final line, when she elects to just skip ahead in her narrative.

The first instance explicitly acknowledges the reader directly. The second instance acknowledges the fact that Sally knows this is a story being told. Both are examples of breaking the fourth wall.

Each of the examples above provide a different reader experience, dictated by the nature of the narrator. This includes the first example where the fourth wall remains intact.

Sometimes, the fourth wall is needed.

Not every story should break the fourth wall. Sometimes, that invisible barrier can help create a security buffer, providing a sense of distance from a situation within a story. It can also provide a sense of continuity.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins would have been odd had it recognized the fictitious nature of the story at any point.

The question of whether you should or shouldn't acknowledge your reader/viewer at any point within your story is entirely up to you, but now you know that it's called breaking the fourth wall.

 

Copyright © 2019 Judy L Mohr. All rights reserved.

This article first appeared on blackwolfeditorial.com

Posted in Terminology, Writing and Editing and tagged , , , .

3 Comments

  1. Woody broke the wall recursively in The Purple Rose of Cairo, when a character in a b/w movie of the same name that Mia Farrow’s character is watching breaks out of the proscenium in full Technicolor to talk to her. He doesn’t address the viewer of Allen’s movie, just her.

  2. A very interesting post and something I have not considered in my fiction writing so far. I love it in “House of Cards” when the main characters turn around and speak directly to the audience – it makes me feel like I’m right there with them.

    • I think that’s exactly the feeling that you’re supposed to get with this device: feeling like you’re there. It definitely does add to the intimacy of the story. However, I don’t think all stories should take advantage of this. It’s something that will be driven by the narrative voice used.

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