I'm going to admit: I'm a little lazy *g* but here goes.
I have to warn you in advance that most of my knowledge on the 4th wall comes from theatre and a little from film, but I assume that most of the concepts can be applied to writing as well.
Anywho, the 4th wall as a term comes from Stanislavsky, I believe. He's not the first to employ the technique (Aristophanes' plays had many a joke that acknowledged the audience and Shakespeare's soliloquies can also count as breaking down the 4th wall), but I'm fairly certain the term came from him. He was big into realism, and so would rehearse his plays in a room, without telling his actors which of the four walls he was going to remove during the performance so that the audience could see. That way it would feel to the audience like they were really watching a slice of life, as the blocking would not take them into consideration. And just to spice it up, he would often change which wall of the set he removed, just to make each performance original.
Stanislavsky's deciple Meyerhold began to wonder what the point of completely real theatre was, and decided to look more towards what was theatrical about theatre, and so he would highlight the elements of theatre that were less realistic (such as acrobatics, etc). From Meyerhold came a slew of "deconstructionists", who liked to remind the audience that they were watching a play. The one I just heard a lecture about (*g*) is Artaud, who was certifiable (and spent many years in a nut house), but since he was French he was a 'genius'. He believed in getting rid of ALL the walls, not just the fourth, and would stage plays amid the audience. The tradition of breaking the fourth wall is a great 20th century theatre staple. Stanislavsky put up the wall, and every subsequent director feels the need to tear it down. Right now Robert LePage and Peter Brooke are the theatre gurus. I've seen some LePage. It's...different.
For a great use of comedic 4th wall breaking, Aristophanes' The Frogs is awesome. Even today it's still funny. The entire play satirizes the works of tragedy by many a greek playwrite (especially Euripides...I don't think Aristophanes liked him very much). I prefer it to Lysistrada. At any rate, The Frogs has tonnes of moments where the characters talk to the audience, and a great joke with the Deus ex Machina that Euripides was so fond of. /theatre geekery
Anywho, as metatheatre applies to writing, well, I think one of the best in the field (and this is such an opinion, becuase so many would disagree with me) is Terry Pratchett. While you read one of his books it's like listening to a running commentary at the same time. He's not the only one who does it, but he's the one who does it well. He takes you out of the story and puts you back in at will, without disruption. On the same tolken, e e cummings is another example, as he draws attention to the mechanics of writing by disregaurding them.
The best pop culture example of breaking down the 4th wall is in Fresh Price of Bell Air (I spent my highschool carrer watching this show *g*). At the beginning of the 2nd or 3rd season, they re-cast Vivian, Will's aunt. The new actress looked NOTHING like the old one, and so to introduce her they had a small joke where Will mentions she looks different, and then turns to the camera and makes a goofy face. It was a moment of, "yes, we know, she looks different, we acknowledge that, and now back to suspending your disbelief."
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I have to warn you in advance that most of my knowledge on the 4th wall comes from theatre and a little from film, but I assume that most of the concepts can be applied to writing as well.
Anywho, the 4th wall as a term comes from Stanislavsky, I believe. He's not the first to employ the technique (Aristophanes' plays had many a joke that acknowledged the audience and Shakespeare's soliloquies can also count as breaking down the 4th wall), but I'm fairly certain the term came from him. He was big into realism, and so would rehearse his plays in a room, without telling his actors which of the four walls he was going to remove during the performance so that the audience could see. That way it would feel to the audience like they were really watching a slice of life, as the blocking would not take them into consideration. And just to spice it up, he would often change which wall of the set he removed, just to make each performance original.
Stanislavsky's deciple Meyerhold began to wonder what the point of completely real theatre was, and decided to look more towards what was theatrical about theatre, and so he would highlight the elements of theatre that were less realistic (such as acrobatics, etc). From Meyerhold came a slew of "deconstructionists", who liked to remind the audience that they were watching a play. The one I just heard a lecture about (*g*) is Artaud, who was certifiable (and spent many years in a nut house), but since he was French he was a 'genius'. He believed in getting rid of ALL the walls, not just the fourth, and would stage plays amid the audience. The tradition of breaking the fourth wall is a great 20th century theatre staple. Stanislavsky put up the wall, and every subsequent director feels the need to tear it down. Right now Robert LePage and Peter Brooke are the theatre gurus. I've seen some LePage. It's...different.
For a great use of comedic 4th wall breaking, Aristophanes' The Frogs is awesome. Even today it's still funny. The entire play satirizes the works of tragedy by many a greek playwrite (especially Euripides...I don't think Aristophanes liked him very much). I prefer it to Lysistrada. At any rate, The Frogs has tonnes of moments where the characters talk to the audience, and a great joke with the Deus ex Machina that Euripides was so fond of. /theatre geekery
Anywho, as metatheatre applies to writing, well, I think one of the best in the field (and this is such an opinion, becuase so many would disagree with me) is Terry Pratchett. While you read one of his books it's like listening to a running commentary at the same time. He's not the only one who does it, but he's the one who does it well. He takes you out of the story and puts you back in at will, without disruption. On the same tolken, e e cummings is another example, as he draws attention to the mechanics of writing by disregaurding them.
The best pop culture example of breaking down the 4th wall is in Fresh Price of Bell Air (I spent my highschool carrer watching this show *g*). At the beginning of the 2nd or 3rd season, they re-cast Vivian, Will's aunt. The new actress looked NOTHING like the old one, and so to introduce her they had a small joke where Will mentions she looks different, and then turns to the camera and makes a goofy face. It was a moment of, "yes, we know, she looks different, we acknowledge that, and now back to suspending your disbelief."