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Literary Devices

Narrative Technique

Point of View

Point of view refers to the perspective from which a story is told. It determines the narrator's relationship with the characters, events, and themes of the story. There are several types of point of view in literature, including first-person, second-person, and third-person, which can be further divided into limited or omniscient perspectives. Each point of view has its own advantages and disadvantages, and authors may choose a particular point of view based on the needs of their story.

Point of view determines who tells a story and what that narrator can know or reveal. Track pronouns, access to characters' thoughts, and limits on information before deciding whether narration is first person, second person, third-person limited, or omniscient.

I kept the letter hidden because I knew what Mara would say.
The first-person narrator reports personal action, motive, and prediction through I.

See it in language

Examples of Point of View

  1. I kept the letter hidden because I knew what Mara would say.

    Instructional example

  2. Leah feared her brother had missed the train; in the final carriage, he wondered whether she had seen him wave.

    Instructional example

    The third-person narrator reveals the private thoughts of both Leah and her brother, demonstrating omniscient access.

  3. You enter the empty hall and hear your own footsteps return from the dark.

    Instructional example

    The narrator addresses the story's experiencing figure as you, creating second-person point of view.

Show more examples
  1. Stream of consciousness: This is a narrative technique that attempts to replicate the flow of a character's thoughts and perceptions in real time. It is often used in first-person point of view to immerse the reader in the character's mind. Examples include "Ulysses" by James Joyce and "Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf.

    Instructional example

  2. Unreliable narrator: This is a narrative technique where the narrator's credibility or knowledge is called into question. It can create suspense and intrigue for the reader, as they try to discern the truth from the narrator's perspective. Examples include "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger and "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn.

    Instructional example

  3. Foreshadowing: This is a literary device where hints or clues are dropped about future events in the story. It can be used to create tension and anticipation for the reader, or to add layers of meaning to the story. Foreshadowing can be employed in any point of view, but is often used in third-person omniscient. Examples include "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare and "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

    Instructional example

  4. Tone: This refers to the attitude or emotion conveyed by the narrator or characters in a story. It can influence how the reader interprets events and characters, and can be used to create irony or humor. Tone can be conveyed through any point of view, but is often associated with first-person or third-person limited. Examples include "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain.

    Instructional example

Read like an editor

How to recognize it

  1. Mark the pronouns used for the narrating and experiencing figures.
  2. Track whose thoughts and private knowledge the narration can access.
  3. Separate point of view from reliability: a first-person or third-person narrator may be reliable or unreliable.

Meaning and effect

Why writers use Point of View

Control narrative perspective
Point of view governs which experiences and information reach the reader.
Create interpretive depth
Limited access can make readers infer what lies outside a narrator's understanding.
Engage readers
A chosen perspective can create intimacy, distance, curiosity, or dramatic irony.

Common confusion

Point of View vs. Free Indirect Discourse

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.

Point of View

Point of view governs the narrator's position and access across a narrative.

“I watched the lights disappear beyond the hill.”

Free Indirect Discourse

Free indirect discourse colors third-person narration with a character's thought-language without a thought tag.

“Mara checked the empty road. Of course he had forgotten.”

What's the Difference?

Follow the idea

Related devices

Questions readers ask

Frequently asked questions

Is first person always unreliable?

No. First person limits access to one narrator's perspective, but limitation does not automatically make the account untrustworthy.

What is third-person limited?

Third-person limited narration generally restricts access to the thoughts and perceptions of one focal character at a time.