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metafictive

metafictive

9.9
A story that shows it is made up and points to how it is told
  • adjective
  • /ˌmɛtəˈfɪktɪv/
  • Literature
translation icon : metafictivo
  • In her novel, the author uses metafictive elements to remind readers that they are reading a story.
  • metafictive devices
  • metafictive picturebooks
  • metafictive nature

Examples

  • Following an overview of postmodern picturebooks and metafictive devices, the author provides an analysis of the metafictive devices evident in the picturebook NO BEARS (McKinlay & Rudge, 2012).

    Academic text (2014)
  • Through their experiences with picturebooks with metafictive devices, students can grow in their abilities as readers.

    Academic text (2014)
  • As discussed previously, metafictive devices distance readers from texts.

    Academic text (2014)
  • As discussed previously, metafictive texts draw attention to their status as fiction and text through the use of a number of devices or techniques.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Christopher Robin is a metafictive character in the sense that he appears on two different diegetic levels.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Data analysis revealed how the students were able to identify, understand, interpret, and create narratives that were ambiguous, complex, and metafictive in nature.

    Academic text (2014)
  • The oral and written responses of students in grades 3-7 also demonstrated the development of a metalanguage to talk about the metafictive devices.

    Academic text (2014)
  • The article concludes with a discussion of how postmodern picturebooks with metafictive devices can contribute to students' development as readers, writers, and creative thinkers.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Patricia Waugh includes fantasy among metafictive devices (Waugh 108-14).

    Academic text (2001)
  • The inclusion of visual images and graphic elements, metafictive devices, nonlinear structures, and multiple narrators signals postmodern and avant-garde influences on contemporary novels.

    Academic text (2012)

Synonyms

metafictional
vsmetafictive
  • Literature
1 9.6

A story or film that shows it is made up

is the alternative adjective used interchangeably to name the same quality

How Self-Aware

metafictive
  • Literature
9.9
self-referent
  • Specialized
9.6
self-aware
10 5.2
conventional
175 2.8

Surface Forms

metafictive positive

Morphology

metafictive = fictive (semi-transparent) = meta + fictive

The word is built transparently from meta- plus 'fictive', but the self-referential literary sense is somewhat specialized.

Etymology

The word metafictive comes from the prefix meta- meaning 'about itself' and the part fictive, from the same root as fiction, meaning 'made up'. So a metafictive work is a made-up story that shows it is a story and makes the reader notice the act of telling.