point of view

POVPoint of View

POVUnderstanding Point of View

It is all about the narrator.In a narrative, the point of view refers to who is telling the story.The point of view is mainly determined by the narration, with some help from the dialog.

First Person Third Person

Types of POV:

There may be a Second Person POV; it only exists, however, when the narrator addresses the reader to involve him/her in the story.

It’s all about me!

POV 1The First Person POV

When a story is told in first-person point of view,▶ the narrator is a participant

in the story,▶ the narrator is telling a story

about himself/herself,▶ and the narrator uses mainly

the pronouns: I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours, etc.

POV 1The First Person POV

Look, I didn’t want to be a half blood.If you’re reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life. …My name is Percy Jackson. I’m 12 years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York. Am I a troubled kid?Yeah. You could say that.


POV 2The Second Person POV

When a story is told in second-person point of view,▶ the narrator is a participant

in the story,▶ the narrator is addressing

the reader to involve him/her,

▶ and the narrator uses mainly the pronouns: I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours, you, your, yours, etc.However, the second person POV does not stand alone; but is usually

part of the first person POV.

POV 2The Second Person POV



POV 3The Third Person POV

When a story is told in third-person point of view,▶ the narrator is not a

participant in the story,▶ the narrator is telling a story

about other people,▶ and the narrator uses only the

pronouns: it, he, him, his, she, her, they, them, their, theirs, etc.

POV 3The Third Person POV

'Harry had taken up his place at wizard school, where he and his scar were famous … but now the school year was over, and he was back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something smelly. The Dursleys hadn't even remembered that today happened to be Harry's twelfth birthday. Of course, his hopes hadn't been high… .'

'Harry had taken up his place at wizard school, where he and his scar were famous … but now the school year was over, and he was back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something smelly. The Dursleys hadn't even remembered that today happened to be Harry's twelfth birthday. Of course, his hopes hadn't been high… .'


But wait! There’s more!

3rd Person3rd Person

1st & 3rd Person

They know everything about the characters and events in the story; they know the character's thoughts, feelings, and motives.They never need to say “maybe” or “perhaps” a character feels something. They always know.

They know only what is experienced, thought, or felt by a single character, or at most a limited number of characters.They do not seem to be certain of what every character is feeling.

They know only what can be seen or heard. They cannot know anyone’s thoughts or feelings.We are all objective observers. We only know what we see or hear. We cannot know the thoughts or feelings; we can only guess.

OmniscientLimitedObjectiveUnlike the first person, the third person is subdivided into 3 types:


Which person of the 3 types can be described as the following?

Third Person

Second Person

First Person

Lilly shivered and sobbed while sitting alone under the tree. Janet felt a pang of pity for her, and though she worried what the others might say, she walked to Lilly, sat beside her, and put her arms around Lilly.

OmniscientLimitedObjective

Unlike the first person, the third person is subdivided into 3 types:


Guess the narrator.

Third Person

Limited

Third Person

Second Person

First Person

Lilly shivered and sobbed while sitting alone under the tree. Janet gazed at her with a stare suggestive of pity, and her lips tightened as though she debated something of importance. Janet gave one timid glance back at the others, and then walked boldly over to Lilly and sat beside her and put her arms around Lilly.




Guess the narrator.

Third Person

Objective

Third Person

Second Person

First Person

‘When in the world are you going to do anything, Rudolf?' asked my brother's wife one morning at breakfast.'My dear Rose,' I answered, 'why Should I do anything? My position is a comfortable one. I have enough money ─or nearly enough─ for my needs (no one ever has quite enough you know); I enjoy a good social position. I am brother to Lord Burlesdon and, through him, to that lovely lady, his wife. Surely it is enough!'




Guess the narrator.

First Person Objective

Third Person

Second Person

First Person

Lilly shivered and tried unsuccessfully not to sob while sitting alone under the tree. She was more embarrassed and miserable than she had ever been. Janet felt a pang of pity for her, and though she worried what the others might say, she walked to Lilly, sat beside her, and put her arms around Lilly.




Guess the narrator.

Third Person

Omniscient

Third Person

Second Person

First Person

Lilly shivered and sobbed while sitting alone under the tree. Janet felt a pang of pity for her. Janet gave one timid look back to the others. They were playing keep-away with the small boy’s wallet. She could not tell if any of them were paying attention to her now. Regardless, she walked to Lilly and put her arms around Lilly.




Guess the narrator.

Third Person

Limited

▶ Point of View by tfingerhttp://www.slideshare.net/tfinger/point-of-view-7901150?qid=6a187e21-bfbd-43f4-9fb9-3e08369e07cd&v=&b=&from_search=7

▶ Point of View by Emily Kissnerhttp://www.slideshare.net/elkissn/point-of-view-41236427?qid=6a187e21-bfbd-43f4-9fb9-3e08369e07cd&v=&b=&from_search=3



References:

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