RELATED TERMS: Intradiegetic; Metalepsis; Diegesis; Diegese
The extradiegetic lies outside of the world of the story, the diegesis or diegese. Third person, sometimes omniscient, narrators, for example, the typical curatorial voice in museums and galleries, are extradiegetic.
The literary narrator (teller) and narratee (reader) are generally extradiegetic, except in the case of some experimental literature . However, in narrative environments the narratee will often be physically inside the elements that constitute the diegesis while remaining mentally and psychologically outside the story.
It is possible, given a certain arrangement of narrative and environmental elements, for a narratee-participant to be both intradiegetic and extradiegetic in the case of a narrative environment.
This double positioning can produce a useful instability, produced through metalepsis, a passing from one level of story (narrative level or diegetic level) to another, while remaining within the world of the story.