POINT OF VIEW

Point of view establishes the distance between the reader and the characters in the story
and offers them a lens by which to view the events of the story. It is sometimes called the
narrative viewpoint or narrative perspective. There are four main points of view.

First Person Point of View

Narrator Pronouns Description

It presents the events from the perspective of one

The
character and privileges their viewpoint over others.
narrator is
The narrator is an eyewitness to the events making
usually the
I, me, my, readers feel as if they are there. It personalises the
protagonist
we, our story and brings the reader closer to the character.
but can be
The narrator cannot know everything about the other
another
characters and can really only know his or her own
character.
mind.

Second Person Point of View

Narrator Pronouns Description

It is an unusual form of storytelling that is not used

The
very often. It addresses the reader directly and the
narrator is
reader becomes a character in the story. This draws
an You, your,
the reader into the action. You sometimes see this
observer or yourself
technique used with ‘choose your own adventure’
participant
novels. It is very difficult to keep writing in this way
in the story.
throughout an entire story.

Third Person Point of View

There are two different styles of third person narration. They are third person omniscient
point of view and third person limited point of view.

A third person omniscient narrator knows all and sees all. Lots of information provided
about all characters’ feelings, desires & motivations.

A third person limited narrator focuses on the thoughts and feelings of one character.
Their perspective is privileged over others.