Comparison workshop
Point of ViewversusFree Indirect DiscourseWhat's the Difference?
Point of view is the broader narrative perspective; free indirect discourse is a specific way third-person narration can blend with a character's idiom.
Read the pair
How They Differ
First idea
Point of View
Point of view governs the narrator's position and access across a narrative.
versus
Second idea
Free Indirect Discourse
Free indirect discourse colors third-person narration with a character's thought-language without a thought tag.
See the signal
Examples
Point of View
I watched the lights disappear beyond the hill.
Free Indirect Discourse
Mara checked the empty road. Of course he had forgotten.