Story within a story

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A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a narrative device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of an additional second story. Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes called nested stories. A play may include a brief play within it, as in Shakespeare's Hamlet (a "play within a play"); a film may show the characters watching a short film; or a novel may contain a short story within it. A story within a story can thus occur in any narrative forms, including poems and songs. If the majority of a story's content is introduced or presented using the device of embedded narrative (i.e. a less-detailed "outer" story that contains the main detailed story), this is also called a frame narrative. Stories within stories can be used simply to enhance entertainment for the reader or viewer, or can act as examples to teach lessons to other characters. The inner story often has a symbolic and psychological significance for the characters...

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