metaleptically
- adverb
- /ˌmɛtəˈlɛptɪkli/
- Literature
- In the novel, the author metaleptically intertwines the protagonist's story with historical events, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.
Examples
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Though he metaleptically places himself within the diegesis, a stranger staring "cannibalistically" at his character from across the train carriage, the narrator not only admits but repeatedly underlines his extradiegetic position.
Academic text (2016) -
Narrative levels or narratological boundaries are erected by recourse to commonsensical realistic scenarios that have been metaphorically and perhaps metaleptically applied to narratological theorizing.
Academic text (2003) -
He metaleptically revises the biblical notion of innocence by comparing the return to innocence to a snake casting off its slough.
Academic text (1997) -
Likewise, the line metaleptically mixes tropes; "deepest" metaphorically operates on the metonymic "winter" (associated with empty, bare, cold).
Academic text (1997) -
The director metaleptically incorporates elements of the documentary genre, allowing the characters to comment on their own narratives.
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Through a metaleptically rich narrative style, the writer engages readers by connecting their experiences to the characters' fictional lives.
How Indirect
Surface Forms
Morphology
metaleptically = metaleptic (opaque) = metalept + ic + ly
The adverb is a regular -ly formation from the adjective 'metaleptic', but that adjective is a technical learned term whose meaning is not transparent to most learners.
Etymology
Metaleptically comes from meta- meaning 'beyond' and lepsis meaning 'taking' or 'seizing'. Imagine a story 'taking' a step beyond itself, like an author stepping into the tale, so metaleptically describes that crossing of narrative levels.