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Literature vocabulary · Narration and Point of View

Implied reader

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In literature, implied reader means: The reader role a text appears to expect, including certain knowledge and responses.

In Turkish: örtük okur

How it is used

Use when a text assumes cultural knowledge or invites a certain response; it is not an actual individual.

Example sentences

  1. The implied reader recognizes the old myth without needing the narrator to explain it.

    The unexplained reference suggests knowledge expected by the text.

  2. The footnotes create an implied reader who is curious but unfamiliar with the region.

    Explanatory notes indicate the level of background knowledge assumed.

Common collocations

  • the implied reader's knowledge
  • construct an implied reader
  • narrateeThe person or figure within a narrative to whom the narrator seems to speak or address the story.
  • allusionA brief, indirect reference to a well-known person, place, event or text, such as the Bible, Greek myth or Shakespeare, that the writer expects readers to recognize.

More terms: Narration and Point of View

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