What is Audience? (Briefly)
Audience is an individual or group of people for whom a work of art/literary work is written, composed or performed.
Definition of Audience
An Audience is the person or persons for whom a writer writes, or composer composes. A writer uses a particular style of language, tone, and content according to what he knows about his audience. In simple words, audience refers to the spectators, listeners, and intended readers of a writing, performance, or speech. For instance, Stephenie Meyer’s novel series, Twilight, has targeted primarily younger female audiences. Similarly, J. K Rowling’s Harry Potter series became a blockbuster hit, with a target audience of youth, and adult fantasy fiction lovers.
Function of Audience
Since the term audience refers to the readers, many writers prefer to adopt different styles of voice – mixed, formal, or casual – depending upon their intended audience. Knowing his audience helps the writer to determine what level of details he should provide, and what type of word choices he may make, because the word choice and tone should match the expectations of the audience.
The role of the audience in dramas and stage plays is unique, as the audience members transmit their energy and emotion to the players and actors through their responses during the performance. In this example, the function of the audience is to respond to the performance of the work.