ellauri118.html on line 418: ²Focalisation is a term coined by the French narrative theorist Gérard Genette. It refers to the perspective through which a narrative is presented. Genette focuses on the interplay between three forms of focalization and the distinction between heterodiegetic and homodiegetic narrators. Homodiegetic narrators exist in the same (hence the word 'homo') storyworld as the characters exist in, whereas heterodiegetic narrators are not a part of that storyworld. The term 'focalization' refers to how information is restricted in storytelling. Genette distinguishes between internal focalization, external focalization, and zero focalization. Internal focalization means that the narrative focuses on thoughts and emotions while external focalization focuses solely on characters' actions, behavior, the setting etc. Zero focalization is seen when the narrator is omniscient in the sense that it is not restricted. Focalization in literature is similar to point-of-view (POV) in film-making and point of view in literature, but professionals in the field often see these two traditions as being distinctly different. Genette's work was intended to refine the notions of point of view and narrative perspective. It separates the question of “Who sees?” in a narrative from “who speaks?”
1