Story within a story
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A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a narrative device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story. Multiple layers of stories within s
In the Bible, Jacob has a dream about a ladder to heaven. Having a character dream is a common device for embedding one narrative or scene within another. (Painting by William Blake, 1805)
Cervantes finds the manuscript with the further adventures of Don Quixote. Illustration by Ricardo Balaca for the 1880 edition.
Unreliable narrator
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In literature, film, and other such arts, an unreliable narrator is a narrator who cannot be trusted or whose credibility is compromised. As a narrative technique, it can be found in a wide range from
Story within a story
…within another instead of being told as part of the plot, it allows the author to play on the reader's perceptions of the characters—the motives and the reliability of the storyteller are automatically in question. Stories within a story may disclose the background of characters or events, tell of myths and legends that influence the…
Illustration by Gustave Doré of Baron Munchausen's tale of being swallowed by a whale. Tall tales, such as those of the Baron, often feature unreliable narrators.