The metaphor of the fourth wall has been applied by literary critic David Barnett to `` The Harvard Lampoon '' 's parody of `` The Lord of the Rings '' when a character breaks the conventions of storytelling by referring to the text itself .
The metaphor of the fourth wall has been used by literary critic David Barnett to `` The Harvard Lampoon '' 's parody of `` The Lord of the Rings '' . He says a character breaks the rules of storytelling by referring to the text itself .