Point of View Definitions and Examples
Explanation of First Person, Third Person, Limited, Omniscient POV
Feb 26, 2009
First, second and third person Point of View (POV) specify through whose eyes the story is told. Limited or omniscient viewpoints, and subjective or objective modes, determine what details and thoughts the reader is allowed to know. Specific definitions vary slightly, but they generally fall into these categories:
First Person Point of View
First Person POV is a story told in the narrating character’s own voice. It uses “I” throughout, and the reader doesn’t know any more than the character does.
- Example: I was minding my own business when Mom burst in. “What’s with you?” I grumbled.
If the reader is to know that Mom is angry, it must be shown through her words and body language available to the “I” character, and not through Mom’s thoughts (unless psychic abilities are one of the narrator’s traits).
Second Person Point of View
Stories told in second person are told as if telling someone else what they are doing.
- Example: You walk into the cave and hear a low rumble. “What is it?” you wonder.
While second person POV is occasionally used in literary stories, and was successful in Jay McInerney’s Bright Lights, Big City, it is generally considered to distance the reader instead of drawing them into to identify with the character. One of its common uses today is in interactive fiction, such as the “Choose Your Own Adventure” stories.
Third Person Point of View
Third person is the familiar he said / she said story.
- Example: He gripped the dollar bill tightly. “You can’t have it,” he told her.
Depending on the author’s choice, it can be very limited, pulling the reader into the head of the narrator, or completely omniscient, letting readers see all the characters’ thoughts.
Limited Point of View
A limited POV keeps the narration to what that character can see or know. First person is obviously limited, but many third person stories are as well. Everything is seen through the narrator’s eyes, and the reader can only tell what other characters are thinking or feeling by their body language or what they say. The writer also can’t include description such as “the usual vase of flowers sat on the table,” unless the narrator knows that it is usual for flowers to be there.
Many books today are written with a limited POV, including:
- The Harry Potter books by JK Rowling
- Come to Grief by Dick Francis
- One True Thing by Anna Quindlen
Omniscient Point of View
An omniscient POV lets the author dip into the heads of various characters. When done well, it can be very effective, letting more characters’ thoughts, feelings, and background be shown. The disadvantage is that of a constant reminder of a constructed story, and so adds some distance between the reader and the characters.
When used by less-skilled writers, the result is often a muddled jumping-about of thoughts, creating discomfort for the reader.
Examples of stories with an omniscient POV include:
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
- The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
- The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (alternates limited and omniscient)
Multiple Points of View
A story with multiple points of view is not the same as omniscient. Multiple viewpoints let the reader into different characters’ heads by making complete narrative switches, usually in different sections or chapters. Within those sections, however, the narrator is held to a single, usually limited, viewpoint.
Stories using multiple POVs include:
- The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
- The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Objective and Subjective Modes
Within these categories, the writer can use an objective or subjective mode.
Subjective can include thoughts and internal reactions, such as “She ordered her favorite soup, remembering the weekend John had convinced her to try it.”
Objective keeps a camera’s view, showing the action but not the thoughts. “She ordered asparagus soup. John smiled. ‘Do you remember?’ he asked.”
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