Fourth wall

The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates the actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes that the actors behave as if they cannot. From the 16th century onward, the rise of illusionism in staging practices—culminating in the realism and naturalism of the theatre of the 19th–century—which led to the development of the fourth wall concept.[1][2]

The metaphor relates to the mise-en-scène behind a proscenium arch. When a scene is set indoors and three of the room's walls are depicted onstage—forming what is known as a box set—the "fourth" wall lies along the line (technically called the proscenium) dividing the stage from the auditorium, effectively where the audience sits. However, the fourth wall is a theatrical convention, not a feature of set design. Actors ignore the audience, focus entirely on the fictional world of the play, and maintain immersion in a state that theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski called "public solitude"[3] —the ability to behave privately while being observed, or to be "alone in public." This convention applies regardless of the physical set, theatre building, or actors' proximity to the audience.[4] In practice, actors often respond subtly to audience reactions, adjusting timing—particularly for comedic moments—to ensure lines are heard clearly despite laughter.

Breaking the fourth wall refers to any moment where this convention is violated. This may include actors speaking directly to the audience, acknowledging the fiction of the play, or referencing themselves as characters. Such moments draw attention to the otherwise invisible wall, making them a form of metatheatre. A similar metareference occurs when actors in television or film make eye contact with the camera, momentarily suspending the usual convention of ignoring it. The phrase "breaking the fourth wall" is now used broadly in reference to similar moments across various media, including video games and books.

  1. ^ Bell, Elizabeth S. (2008). Theories of Performance. Sage. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-4129-2637-9.
  2. ^ Wallis, Mick; Shepherd, Simon (1998). Studying plays. Arnold. p. 214. ISBN 0-340-73156-7.
  3. ^ Gray, Paul (1964). "Stanislavski and America: a critical chronology". Tulane Drama Review. 9 (2): 21–60. doi:10.2307/1125101. JSTOR 1125101.
  4. ^ Hornby, Richard (1986). Drama, Metadrama and Perception. Associated University Presses. ISBN 9780838632718. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.