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What is this point of view stuff anyway?



What is this point of view stuff anyway?

So a person who shall remain nameless, recently told me that they were confused about the different kinds of points of view in writing. This seemed like a good topic for my first blog post, so here goes:

First Person: The narrator is telling you his or her personal story. This has the advantage of letting the audience make a personal connection with the main character, to really get inside his/her head. The disadvantage is that you only get the point of view of one character. The reader only gets to see what that character has seen and can remember. Often uses the pronouns: I, me, we.
Example: Moby Dick: “Call me Ishmael . . .”

Second Person: The narrator is telling you what you did or what you want to do, or will do. This is almost never used in novels, more often in advertising copy. The disadvantages to this are obvious as it can be very limiting and awkward. Often uses the pronouns: you, your, our.
Example: Winnie the Pooh

Third Person Omniscient: The narrator knows everything about the story, everything about what all the characters are going to do and think and say. But the narrator only reveals what he wants to, when he wants to. The narrator can make judgments about the characters or situations. This has the advantage of letting the story switch to wherever it needs to, whenever it needs to. It also allows the reader to see more than what the characters are seeing. Often uses the pronouns: he, she, they.
Example: A Christmas Carol by Dickens

Third Person Limited: The narrator is telling the reader what is seen and heard and felt by one character. The narrator may switch characters at the start of a new scene or chapter, but the reader only sees the scene from that character’s point of view. This has the advantage of getting inside the head of multiple characters. The narrator cannot offer comment or judgement. Same pronouns as Omniscient.
Example: Game of Thrones

That is the basics. If you need more details,  I have found Youtube to be helpful. Just remember that not everything on Youtube is correct. 

Comments

  1. Deb ParrMay 6, 2018 at 1:07 PM

    Well you certainly did a good job explaining all the nuances of
    "View Point" --And something I never really thought about -- except when you hear someone's "point of view" that is vastly different from the facts YOU witnessed !

    ReplyDelete
  2. SangCasterApril 3, 2024 at 6:17 AM

    It was a good and short post!
    Thank you

    ReplyDelete

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