Elements of Literature: Point of View

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Elements of LiteraturePoint of View

• Through Whose Eyes?

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Omniscient Point of View

• The all-knowing point of view
• ( In Latin, omnis means all and sciens means
  knowing)
• The narrator is above the action, looking down on
  it like a god
• This narrator can tell you everything about all
  the characters, even their most private thoughts

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First-Person Point of View

• In the first person point of view, the narrator
  does participate in the action of the story
• When reading stories in the first person, we need
  to realize that what the narrator is recounting
  might not be the objective truth
• We should question the trustworthiness of the
  accounting

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First-Person Point of View

• I couldnt believe that my parents were actually
  going to make me marry a slimy, ugly, bulgy-eyed
  frog! They didnt feel sorry for me at all! All
  they cared about was a stupid promise I never
  thought Id have to keep.

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Third-Person Limited Point of View

• A narrator zooms in on the thoughts and feelings
  of just one character in the story
• This point of view helps us share that
  characters reactions to the storys events

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Third-Person Limited Point of View

• The princess tried desperately to get out of
  her promise. It was all her parents fault, she
  thought. They were so unfair. But she had only
  herself to blame- and the frog. I wonder if the
  royal chef knows how to cook frogs legs? she
  said to herself.

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Point of ViewExperiment With It!

• As you read a piece of fiction think about these
  things
• How does the point of view affect your responses
  to the characters?
• How is your response influenced by how much the
  narrator knows and how objective he or she is?

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Essential Question

• How does an individuals point of view affect
  perspective and interpretation?