Referential density is a concept of ficto-narrative theory put forward by Thomas G. Pavel in his 1986 book, ''Fictional Worlds''. The concept refers to the referential relationship of a text to a fictional world, the

ontology Ontology is the philosophical study of existence, being. It is traditionally understood as the subdiscipline of metaphysics focused on the most general features of reality. As one of the most fundamental concepts, being encompasses all of realit ...

of which can be established by a possible worlds approach. A large text that refers to a small fictional world is said to have low referential density, whereas a small text referring to a large fictional world has high referential density. The size of the text is measured in abstract terms as amplitude, which in most cases will correspond to its physical length; exceptions to this may arise in cases of embedded discourses, such as metanarratives (or imaging digressions), which refer to the actual world. For this reason, the form and

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

of a fictional work provide only an approximate indication of its size; by the same token, it is possible to refer to the size and referential density of part of a fictional work. The size of a fictional world, in turn, is measured in terms of the sum total of properties applicable to the objects and agents inhabiting the fictional world.Ryan, Marie-Laure. ''Possible Worlds, Artificial Intelligence, and Narrative Theory''. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1991.

Relative density

Relative (referential) density builds upon the abstract definition of referential density by including context sensitive factors such as the degree of external information the reader has to import to his reconstruction of the fictional world, the text's narrative crowding, the ratio between action and description, and the epistemic paths chosen by the text. These factors will usually have more impact on the number of references in a text than its amplitude.

Significance

Referential density and relative (referential) density account for much of what makes fictional texts 'thick' or 'easy' reads. All other factors being equal, high density will make for difficult reading in that the reader is required to reconstruct the fictional world in a short space, whereas low density is characteristic of a high degree of action. An author may, however, focus on psychology and thereby have a static plot with low density. On the other hand, certain authors and genres make the reader's reconstruction of the fictional world the very point of the text's enjoyment, which is the case with most works of

science-fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

, and

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

References

Literary concepts Semantics {{lit-stub