Point of view (literature)

Point of view is the position and perspective from which a literary work presents events and information, shaping what its narrator can know and how readers encounter the story.

Narrator: A voice or agent that presents a story’s events and information. The narrator’s identity and knowledge establish the work’s presenting position.
Omniscient narrator: A narrator with broad access to characters’ thoughts, events, or information beyond any one character’s knowledge. Omniscience permits movement across minds and situations within one telling.
Second-person narrative: A narrative that addresses a character or audience as “you.” Direct address offers a distinct alternative to first- and third-person presentation.
Heart of Darkness: Joseph Conrad’s novella framed as Marlow’s account of a journey into the Congo Free State. Its nested telling makes the account’s mediation part of the work’s perspective.
Unreliable narration: A narrative effect in which the telling’s credibility is compromised or requires critical interpretation. A restricted or distorted perspective can make the account’s reliability uncertain.
Narrative voice: The distinctive verbal manner through which a narrative is told. Voice shapes how a chosen perspective sounds on the page.
Limited third-person narration: Third-person narration restricted largely to one character’s perceptions or knowledge. Its selective access creates closeness while withholding what the focal character cannot know.
Objective narration: Narration that reports observable actions and speech while withholding direct access to private thoughts. It contrasts with perspectives that disclose a character’s inner life.
The Great Gatsby: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel narrated by Nick Carraway, who recounts his connection to Jay Gatsby. Nick’s limited, retrospective account shapes what is known about Gatsby.
Narrative empathy: A reader’s emotional engagement with a character shaped by narrative representation. Access to a character’s perceptions can invite emotional alignment.

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