Focalisation

In narratology, focalisation (also focalization) is the perspective through which events in a narrative are perceived and presented to the reader. The concept was introduced by French narrative theorist Gérard Genette to replace the vaguer notion of "point of view" by separating the question of who sees (the focaliser) from who speaks (the narrator). Genette distinguished three types: zero focalisation (an omniscient narrator whose knowledge exceeds that of any character), internal focalisation (the narrative is filtered through a character's consciousness), and external focalisation (the narrator reports only what is externally observable, knowing less than the characters).

The concept was substantially refined by Mieke Bal, who recast focalisation as a relationship between a focaliser (the agent whose perception orients the narrative) and the focalised (the object of that perception). Focalisation has become one of the central analytical categories in narratology, with applications in literary criticism and film studies.