Meaning of metareference | Babel Free

Definitions

A technique in metafiction whereby a character displays awareness of being part of a dramatic work.

countable, uncountable

Examples

“The poem's second line, for example, concludes with the lament "but my nerves. Lord these pensive endings." The latter can be read as a play on words, as in "nerve endings"; as a metareference to the end of that particular line; or even against the very end of the poem itself: "the darkness now confronts me . . ."”

CEFR level