Introduction to Point of View
Point of view in literature refers to the perspective from which a narrative is presented to the reader. It includes vantage point and narrator’s position, influencing the reader’s understanding of events, characters, and the overall story. It choice significantly impacts a narrative’s tone, reliability, and emotional engagement, making it a critical element in storytelling.
Using Point of View in Writing
| Step | Explanation | Practical Example |
| 1. Select the Appropriate View: | Choose the point of view (first-person, second-person, or third-person) that aligns with the narrative’s requirements and the desired level of reader engagement or detachment. | In a deeply personal memoir, the author employs a first-person point of view to intimately share their life experiences, allowing readers to connect with their emotions and thoughts. |
| 2. Establish a Consistent Perspective: | Maintain a consistent point throughout the narrative to avoid confusing readers and ensure a coherent reading experience. | The novel consistently uses a third-person limited view, enabling readers to access the inner thoughts and feelings of the protagonist while maintaining narrative consistency. |
| 3. Consider the Narrator’s Knowledge: | Reflect on the narrator’s knowledge and their role within the story to determine how much information should be revealed to the reader. | In a mystery novel, the third-person limited narrator only reveals information known to the detective protagonist, creating suspense and allowing readers to piece together the puzzle alongside the character. |
| 4. Create Unique Character Voices: | If multiple first-person narrators are used, ensure that each character’s voice is distinct, reflecting their personality and worldview, to provide authenticity and depth to the narrative. | In an ensemble cast novel, each first-person narrator has a unique voice, with one character using humor, another being introspective, and yet another exhibiting a cynical outlook, giving readers insight into the diverse perspectives of the characters. |
| 5. Use First-Person for Intimacy: | Utilize first-person point of view to grant readers direct access to a character’s innermost thoughts, emotions, and experiences, fostering a profound sense of intimacy with the character. | The protagonist’s first-person narration in a romance novel allows readers to intimately connect with their emotions, making them feel as though they are experiencing the highs and lows of love firsthand. |
| 6. Employ Third-Person Limited for Depth: | Opt for third-person limited perspective to delve deeply into the thoughts and emotions of a single character while maintaining some narrative distance, offering readers an intimate yet controlled perspective. | In a coming-of-age story, the third-person limited narration follows the main character’s inner journey, providing insights into their growth and development while still preserving an element of objectivity. |
| 7. Use Omniscient for Broader Insights: | Choose third-person omniscient perspective when the narrative requires a narrator with knowledge of multiple characters’ thoughts and feelings, providing readers with a comprehensive view of the story’s events and characters. | In a sprawling epic novel, the third-person omniscient narrator seamlessly transitions between the thoughts and experiences of various characters, offering readers a panoramic understanding of the interconnected lives and events within the story’s rich tapestry. |
| 8. Experiment with Unreliable Narrators: | Employ unreliable narrators to add complexity and intrigue to the narrative, prompting readers to question the narrator’s credibility and engage with the story on a deeper level. | The protagonist in a psychological thriller serves as an unreliable narrator, blurring the lines between reality and delusion, inviting readers to unravel the mystery while questioning the narrator’s version of events. |
| 9. Explore Second-Person for Engagement: | Experiment with second-person point of view to directly engage readers, making them active participants in the story or providing a unique and immersive perspective. | A choose-your-own-adventure book employs second-person narration, placing readers in the protagonist’s shoes and allowing them to make critical decisions that shape the course of the story, creating a highly interactive reading experience. |
| 10. Understand the Impact on Reader Perception: | Be mindful that the chosen point of view significantly shapes how readers perceive characters, events, and themes in the narrative. Carefully select the point of view to align with your storytelling goals and desired reader experience. | Choosing a third-person objective point of view in a dystopian novel allows readers to observe the world without accessing characters’ thoughts, fostering a sense of detachment and emphasizing the bleakness of the environment, a deliberate choice to convey the story’s themes of isolation and dehumanization. |
These steps provide guidance on effectively utilizing point of view in writing to enhance narrative depth, engagement, and impact.
Benefits of Point of View
Using a point of view in a work of fiction has several benefits, including:
- Building a connection between the reader and the character
- Creating suspense
- Developing multiple perspectives
- Fostering empathy
- Enhancing the overall narrative
Overall, using point of view can help writers create a more engaging and immersive experience for readers, while also providing opportunities for exploring different perspectives and themes.
Point of View and Literary Theory
| Literary Theory | Critique of Point of View | Practical Example | |
| Reader-response Literary Theory | Emphasizes the reader’s role in interpreting the text. Critiques point of view by analyzing how the reader’s interpretation is influenced by the narrator’s perspective. | In a reader-response analysis of a first-person narrative, the critique would focus on how different readers interpret the story based on their own experiences, biases, and emotions, thus highlighting the subjectivity of point of view and the role of individual readers in constructing meaning. | |
| Feminist Literary Theory | Focuses on gender and power dynamics. Critiques point of view by examining how the narrator’s gender and perspective shape the representation of characters and experiences. | Applying feminist theory to a novel, the critique of point of view would analyze how the male narrator’s perspective may privilege or marginalize female characters, perpetuating or challenging gender stereotypes and power imbalances. | |
| Psychoanalytic Literary Theory | Emphasizes unconscious motivations and desires. Critiques point of view by exploring the narrator’s repressed desires and how they manifest in the story. | In a psychoanalytic critique, the analysis of point of view would delve into the hidden desires and unresolved conflicts reflected in the narrator’s perspective, revealing subconscious motivations and providing insight into their actions and interpretations. | |
| Marxist Literary Theory | Focuses on social, economic, and political contexts. Critiques point of view by examining how the narrator’s class, race, and social position influence their perspective and portrayal. | Employing a Marxist critique, the analysis of point of view would scrutinize how the narrator’s social class and economic circumstances shape their worldview and representation of social relationships, exposing any biases or ideologies embedded in the narrative. | |
| Postcolonial Literary Theory | Focuses on the effects of colonialism and imperialism. Critiques point of view by analyzing how the narrator’s cultural background and perspective shape the representation of characters and experiences. | Applying a postcolonial critique, the analysis of point of view would explore how the narrator’s cultural heritage and colonial history inform their interpretation of events and characters, shedding light on power dynamics, cultural clashes, and the influence of colonial legacies in the narrative. |
Suggested Readings
- Booth, Wayne C. The Rhetoric of Fiction. University of Chicago Press, 1983.
- Cohn, Dorrit. Transparent Minds: Narrative Modes for Presenting Consciousness in Fiction. Princeton University Press, 2008.
- Fludernik, Monika. The Fictions of Language and the Languages of Fiction: The Linguistic Representation of Speech and Consciousness. Routledge, 1993.
- Genette, Gérard. Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method. Translated by Jane E. Lewin, Cornell University Press, 1980.
- Hühn, Peter et al., editors. The Living Handbook of Narratology. Hamburg University Press, 2014. www.lhn.uni-hamburg.de. Accessed 5 July 2023.
- Rimmon-Kenan, Shlomith. Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2002.
- Sternberg, Meir. The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading. Indiana University Press, 1987.
- Toolan, Michael. Narrative: A Critical Linguistic Introduction. Routledge, 2015.