Point of View

1
Point of View

• Once upon a time...

2
Who tells the story? How much is he/she allowed
to know?

• 1. Omniscient (Om-nish-ent)
• 2. Limited Omniscient
• 3. First Person
• 4. Objective

3
Omniscient

• Story is told by the narrator using third person
  point of view
• Authors knowledge is unlimited ( all-seeing,
  all-knowing)
• Free to peek inside hearts and minds of
  characters
• Narrator can say as much or as little as they
  would like
• What might be some disadvantages of omniscient
  point of view?

4
Disadvantages may include...

• Shifting viewpoints may get confusing
• The author may come between the reader and the
  story
• -information overload?

5
Limited Omniscient

• Told in third person Example He/She
• Told from the viewpoint of one character in the
  story
• Thoughts, feelings, possible reactions, what
  character sees or hears,
• Narrator knows everything about this character

6
First Person point of view

• Told in first person using the I pronoun
• Often the narrator is the protagonist in first
  person point of view.
• Immediate feeling, realness, intimacy,
• Disadvantage... No opportunity for direct
  interpretation by the author

7
Objective point of view

• Narrator silent moving camera
• Camera can only record what is seen and what is
  heard
• Also called the dramatic point of view
• Objective point of view cannot comment on,
  interpret or enter a characters mind.
• The reader is left to make inferences with no
  help from the narrator.