Point of View:
The relationship of the
storyteller to the story
Point of View:
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First person
Second person
Third person limited
Third person omniscient
Third person objective
First Person:
the narrator, a character in the story, refers
to himself or herself as “I,” “me,” “myself,” or
similar words.
I walked up to the door of the
dark, ominous castle. I heard
strange noises from within the
castle, yet I was compelled to
continue on. Though I could hardly
believe I was doing it, I turned the
knob of the door and slowly,
cautiously entered.
Second Person:
A story in which you the reader are
made a character.
You walk up to the dark, ominous castle.
You hear rumblings, whispers from within,
but continue on anyway. Your curiosity is
getting the better of you, and it draws you
on to either satisfaction or doom. Though
rational thought and common sense tell
you otherwise, you turn the knob, edge
open the door, and slowly, cautiously
enter.
Third Person Limited:
The story is told by a detached narrator
(one who is not a character in the story),
but we the readers are only given insight
into the mind of a single character.
Think of the narrator as a movie camera
following only the life of one character in a
story, and when other characters are not
immediately present, we know nothing of
their actions or whereabouts.
Creeping up to the door, he heard
strange noises radiating from
within. Though frightened, he
continued on. Still unsure, and
incredulous that he might actually
be doing this, he turned the knob
and slowly, cautiously entered.
Third Person Omniscient:
The story is told by a detached
narrator who knows the thoughts,
feelings, actions, and whereabouts of
everyone and everything in the story at
all times.
Creeping up to the door, he heard from
within the castle the strange sounds of the
tortured souls which haunted it. He knew
nothing of the folkloric legends
surrounding this place, and he quickly
dismissed the howlings as a noise merely
created by the wind rustling through the
old mortar bricks and rotted wood. Slowly,
cautiously, he turned the knob, oblivious
to the disaster awaiting him beyond the
door.
Third Person objective:
also referred to as the camera's eye
because in this point of view the narrator
describes only what can be seen, not what
is going on inside the heads of the
characters.
The narrator also makes no judgments
about characters or their actions, so
characters are not described as sad, happy,
or annoying, for example. Those judgments
could only be inferred by the reader based
upon the actions or dialogues of characters.