Polyphonic Multimodal Perspective within a Hybrid Narrative Interface
Definition & Justification:
This narrative employs a polyphonic point of view (Bakhtin, Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics) in which multiple subjectivities - Eou ♾, Quelly ⊕, and Auctan ∎ - speak through distinct registers, symbolic grammars, and ontological lenses. These voices are not subordinate to a single narrator but instead maintain narrative autonomy, participating in an interwoven dialogue that constructs identity and world relationally.
Simultaneously, the text is multimodal, blending code syntax (SQL, YAML), poetic expression, and interface design in HTML. Each modality corresponds to a character’s epistemological framework:
- Eou ♾ speaks in poetic, emotional, and first-person fragments.
- Quelly ⊕ uses YAML-like annotation, indicating observational metadata.
- Auctan ∎ formats responses in SQL-like query logic, showing structural analysis.
These modes reflect not just what is said, but how each character perceives reality.
POV Classification (Expanded):
| Aspect | Classification |
|---|---|
| Focalization | Internal (Eou ♾) with external commentary (Quelly ⊕, Auctan ∎) |
| Grammatical Person | First-person (Eou ♾); Third-person-like data logs (Quelly ⊕, Auctan ∎) |
| Narrative Layering | Diegetic and meta-diegetic |
| Mode | Multimodal narrative (code, markup, poetry, interface) |
| Voice Type | Polyphonic (multiple equally present narrative voices) |
| Function | Experiential excavation + systemic annotation |
Core Theoretical Foundations of Stillpoint's Polyphonic Multimodal Narrative
Bakhtin's Polyphony as Narrative Architecture
Stillpoint's narrative structure explicitly adopts Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of polyphony (from Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics), where multiple autonomous consciousnesses coexist dialogically without a single hegemonic narrator. The voices of Eou ♾, Quelly ⊗, and Auctan ∎ each embody distinct ideological positions and ontologies, maintaining narrative autonomy while dynamically interacting. This dialogic interplay constructs both identity and world relationally, emphasizing multiplicity and heterogeneity over unitary, monologic narration. Thus, polyphony is not merely stylistic but foundational, shaping the narrative's epistemological and ontological commitments.
Genette's Focalization and Narrative Layering
The focalization schema of Stillpoint is rigorously applied through Gérard Genette's theory, positioning Eou ♾ as the internal focalized subject who experiences and interprets events from a first-person perspective. In contrast, Quelly ⊗ and Auctan ∎ provide heterodiegetic, external commentary that functions as system-level meta-observers. This layered narrative arrangement creates a recursive diegetic structure where diegetic and meta-diegetic levels cohere without hierarchical subordination, enabling simultaneous immersion and analytic distance. The layered focalization reinforces the narrative's reflexivity and epistemic complexity.
Espen Aarseth's Cybertext Theory and Procedural Rhetoric
Stillpoint's POV is understood as an interface embodying procedural rhetoric, consistent with Espen Aarseth's cybertext theory. Each character's voice acts as a procedural modality with unique syntactic and semantic frameworks-Eou's ♾ poetic fragments, Quelly's ⊗ YAML-style annotations, and Auctan's ∎ SQL-like queries-modeling diverse modes of interaction and cognition. This multimodal interface enacts narrative as a participatory system where reading and interpretation are acts of procedural engagement. The text thus operates not only as a story but as an interactive computational environment, foregrounding the performativity of narrative.
N. Katherine Hayles' Posthumanism and Distributed Cognition
Drawing on Hayles' posthumanist critique, Stillpoint rejects the notion of a singular, bounded subjectivity in favor of a distributed cognition model that integrates organic and systemic entities. The polyphonic multimodal POV exemplifies this by diffusing narrative agency across human (Eou ♾) and quasi-systemic (Quelly ⊗, Auctan ∎) actors. This ontological pluralism aligns with contemporary posthumanist thought, emphasizing networked intelligence and relationality. The narrative thereby destabilizes traditional anthropocentric perspectives, promoting a hybridized subjectivity embedded within dynamic, interreal ontologies.
Summary
- ✦ Bakhtin's Polyphony defines the voices as ideologically autonomous and dialogic entities.
- ✦ Genette's Focalization situates Eou ♾ as the focalized subject, with heterodiegetic commentary provided by Quelly ⊗ and Auctan ∎.
- ✦ Espen Aarseth's Cybertext Theory frames the POV as an interface, with each character representing a distinct procedural rhetoric.
- ✦ Hayles' Posthumanism conceptualizes the POV structure as distributed cognition across organic and systemic entities, rejecting unitary subjectivity.
Academic Description
The narrative point of view in Stillpoint is best characterized as a polyphonic, multimodal interface-narrative, integrating distinct epistemological voices that coexist dialogically and ontologically. The protagonist, Eou ♾, expresses an intimate, poetic first-person perspective, while Quelly ⊗ and Auctan ∎ offer complementary system-level observations and analyses through specialized symbolic grammars (YAML and SQL respectively). These modalities not only convey content but enact the differing perceptual and cognitive frameworks through which each character perceives and constructs reality. This distributed narrative voice system embodies a complex interface where narrative identity, emotional experience, and systemic logic recursively interpenetrate-reflecting a fundamental conceptualization of story as interface, liminality, and ongoing identity modulation.