The narrative point of view: The eyes through which the story is being told. The story's narrative lens.
As a story unfolds, the narrator selects the perspective through which the audience or readers will experience its actions, thoughts, and feelings. The story may be one most personal, where the narrator is also the primary character of a scene. Or perhaps one step removed, where the narrator expresses the story through the eyes of someone else. The narrator may even inhabit a character representing the reader or audience themselves. We call these perspectives narrative points of view.
- First Person — The narrator as the lead character or characters of the story: I, we, us, our.
- Second Person — The reader as the lead character of the story: you.
- Third Person — Narration retold from another's perspective: he, she, it, they, by name.
- Limited — (character view) Narration as if looking through the eyes of a particular character.
- Omniscient — (god view) Narration with access to all characters thoughts, feelings, and backstories and delivered through the eyes of any character.
- Objective — (camera view) Narration with no access to the internal perspective of any character and delivered is if merely observing.
- Fourth Person Narration from the impersonal perspective of a vague collective or group, of which the narrator is not necessarily a member: one, people, they.
First Person POV (I, we, us, our)
The narrator as the lead character or characters of the story. Commonly used to convey intimacy with the character. Also lends itself well if your character is an unreliably narrator. Very common in young adult and romance genre.
Examples:
(singular) I stared down the bully, then walked away.
(plural) We stared down the bully, then walked away.
Second Person POV (you)
The reader as the lead character of the story. Adept at pulling the reader into the narrative since, the character is the reader. Excellent for dramatic shifts in perspective. Very challenging to write well. Easily drifts toward tiring for the reader and awkward.
Example:
You wouldn't let him intimidate you. You stared down the bully, then walked away.
Examples from famous works:
(Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney) You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you cannot say you are proud of that.
(If on a winter’s night a traveler, Italo Calvino, from the prologue, as you can imagine) You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino’s new novel, If on a winter’s night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade.
Third Person POV (he, she, it, they, by name)
Narration retold from another's perspective. It is further refined into three distances: Limited, Omniscient, and Objective.
Third-Person Limited (or, Close)
(character view) Narration as if looking through the eyes of a particular character. This is the most common perspective. The most flexible with clear delineation between dialogue and action. As intimate or as distant as you want. Easier to shift focus between characters.
Example:
She would not let him intimidate her. She stared down the bully, then walked away.
Third-Person Omniscient
(god view) Narration with access to all characters thoughts, feelings, and backstories and delivered through the eyes of any character. It offers quick and nimble storytelling, but distances the reader. The story can feel flat since there is less mystery. Juggling perspectives can be confusing.
Example:
Karen would not let him intimidate her. She stared down the bully, then walked away.
Jared watched her walk away and wondered what the heck that all was about.
Third-Person Objective
(camera view) Narration with no access to the internal perspective of any character and delivered is if merely observing. You are not in the action and therefore immediacy can be tough to control. Character thoughts and feelings have to be articulate through action, expression, and dialogue. Very hard to sustain with interest. Excells at developing mystery and suspence.
Example:
Karen lifted her chin as if in defiance. She stared down the bully, then walked away.
Jared watched her walk away. Then after appearing to search the room for answers, he threw up his hands and walked away.
Fourth Person POV (one, people, they)
Also called the Indefinite or Collective perspective.
Narration from the impersonal perspective of a vague collective or group, of which the narrator is not necessarily a member. Useful for commentary, sharing stories of folklore and collective memory. Can feel abstract and very distant unless the reader is tightly connected to the perspective in some way, or can be made to feel as such. Uncommon except in nonfiction or in short narrative digressions.
Example:
People often lift their chin in defiance, before staring down a bully and walking away. The target of the statement, though, may be confused at their action and throw up their hands, walking away as well.
Examples from famous works:
(Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen) It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
(The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus) One must imagine Sisyphus happy as he embraces his endless task
