Fourth wall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The fourth wall refers to the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play.[1][2] The term also applies to the boundary between any fictional setting and its audience. When this boundary is "broken" (for example by an actor speaking to the audience directly through the camera in a television program or film), it is called "breaking the fourth wall."[1][3]
The term was made explicit by Denis Diderot and spread in nineteenth century theatre with the advent of theatrical realism.[4] The critic Vincent Canby described it in 1987 as "that invisible screen that forever separates the audience from the stage."[5]
The term "fourth wall" stems from the absence of a fourth wall on a three-walled set where the audience is viewing the production. The audience is supposed to assume there is a "fourth wall" present, even though it physically is not there.[2] This is widely noticeable on various television programs, such as sitcoms, but the term originated in theatre, where conventional three-walled stage sets provide a more obvious place for the "fourth wall".[3] The term "fourth wall" has been adapted to refer to the boundary between the fiction and the audience. "Fourth wall" is part of the suspension of disbelief between a fictional work and an audience. The audience will accept the presence of the fourth wall without giving it any direct thought, allowing them to enjoy the fiction as if they were observing real events.[2] The presence of a fourth wall is an established convention of fiction and drama, this has led some artists to draw direct attention to it for dramatic or comedic effect. This is known as "breaking the fourth wall". Breaking the fourth wall reveals to the audience that the characters know they are fictional.[1]
[edit] See also
- Box set (theatre)
- Corpsing
- Fifth wall
- Gaze
- Kayfabe
- Naturalism (theatre)
- Realism (theatre)
- Staging (theatre)
- Alienation effect
- Diegesis
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Bell, Elizabeth (2008). Theories of Performance. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-4129-2638-6. OCLC 166387386.[page needed]
- ^ a b c Wallis, Mick; Shepherd, Simon (1998). Studying plays. London: Arnold. ISBN 978-0-340-73156-7.[page needed]
- ^ a b Abelman, Robert (1998). Reaching a critical mass: a critical analysis of television entertainment. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp. 8-11. ISBN 978-0-8058-2199-4.[verification needed]
- ^ Stevenson, John (Spring 1995). "The Fourth Wall And The Third Space". Centre for Playback Theatre. http://www.playbackschool.org/articles/Stevenson_TH%E2%80%A6.pdf. Retrieved on May 4, 2009.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (June 28, 1987). "Film view: sex can spoil the scene". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/28/movies/film-view-sex-can-spoil-the-scene.html. Retrieved on May 4, 2009.
