Point of View
- Point of View
In narrative writing and poetry, the point of view is the lens through which readers "see" the characters and events. Most stories and poems are written in either first-person point of view or third-person point of view, although some are written in second-person point of view. To determine a text's point of view, you must first determine who the narrator, or storyteller, is.
Point of View: FIRST PERSON
When a story or poem is written in the first person —
- The narrator is telling the story from his or her own point of view. All information available to the reader is through the "eyes," or perspective, of the narrator.
- The narrator is most often a character in the story, usually (but not always) the main character. Everything shared with the reader carries the biases and mind-set of this one character. Only the narrator's thoughts and feelings are directly shared with the reader.
- The story is told with first-person pronouns like I, we, me, us, my, our, mine, ours, and ourselves even outside of dialogue. Names, descriptions of characters, and third-person pronouns (e.g., he, she, they, him, her, them) are used for any other characters the narrator describes.
The pronouns our, I, my, us, we, and ourselves are used by the narrator.
The narrator is an unnamed character from whose point of view the story is told.
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Point of View: SECOND PERSON
When a story or poem is written in the second person —
- The story is told from the reader’s perspective.
- The author makes the reader—"you"— a character in the story.
- The story is told with second-person pronouns—you, your, and yourself.
The pronouns your, you, and yourselves are used by the narrator.
The reader is a character in the story whom the narrator addresses as you.
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Point of View: THIRD PERSON
When a story is written in the third person —
- The narrator is not a character in the story, but an unnamed speaker telling the story of a character or characters and the events that happen to him/her or them.
- The narrator could be omniscient, or "all-knowing"—aware of all the characters' thoughts, feelings, actions and all past and concurrent events and experiences. Or, the narrator could have limited knowledge—knowing the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of only one main character or some of the characters.
- The story is not told with first-person pronouns like I, although these pronouns are often used in the dialogue of specific characters. Instead, it is told with the names or descriptions of characters and pronouns like he, she, they, him, her, them, his, their, himself, herself, and themselves.
The narrator uses names (Karl, Mrs. Leonard), descriptions (the fifth graders), and pronouns like he, his, them, they, themselves, and her to tell the story.
The narrator is not a character in the story. He or she shares the thoughts and feelings of only one character, Karl. Up to this point in the story, it is written in third-person limited point of view.
The narrator shares the thoughts and feelings of
all the characters—
- Karl is nervous.
- Everyone in the class is also nervous, and they all think Mrs. Leonard is the nicest teacher.
- Mrs. Leonard was worried that the students would strain themselves without her study tips.
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5th Grade Reading - Point of View Lesson