Literary TermsLiterary TermsNarrative Voice and Point of Narrative Voice and Point of

ViewView

By Abby, Patty, and JanaeBy Abby, Patty, and Janae

Narrative VoiceNarrative Voice

NN

arrationarration: refers to the act of telling a story or describing a

situation and the means by which that telling is accomplished.

NN

arrativearrative: the three main narrative forms in prose are the novel,

novella, and the short story.

VV

oiceoice: the form of various convictions and values by which the

author judges characters and events, as well as evokes

judgments of the reader.

Point of View:Point of View:

t

he pronoun that the narrator uses to recount events, describe

situations and/or express feelings. (I or him)• I felt upset about the situation.• It’s as if you were flying through the air.• He loved his new haircut.

11

st Personst Person: has the advantages of

personal accounts and directness.

Uses pronoun “I/We”

22

nd Personnd Person: The narrator addresses

the audience directly using the

pronoun “you”. It is the least used of

the different points of view.

“

“Yes, Baba jan,” I muttered, marveling, not

for the first time, at how badly Baba could

sting me with so few words.” Khaled

Hosseini The Kite Runner

Y

ou can’t imagine what it’s like! Jumping

from an airplane hundreds of feet in the air

felt like you were actually flying!

11stst and 2 and 2ndnd Person Person

Definitions Examples

33rdrd Person: Person:

has a much broader view and usually an objective perspective on characters and events. Uses pronouns him, they…etc.

can either be omniscient or limited

Omniscient writings can either contain an intrusive or objective narrator

OO

mniscienmniscient: a narrator not only

describes the facts but may also

interpret events and/or relate the

thoughts and feelings of the other

characters

LL

imitedimited: a narrator reports the facts

and interprets events from the

perspective of a single character

J

ohn felt so hurt when Samantha dumped

him, but she did it because she hated how

lazy he was.

“

Her name was Phoenix Jackson. She was

very old and small and she walked slowly

in the dark pine shadows…” Eudora Welty,

A Worn Path

33rdrd Person Person Omniscient and LimitedOmniscient and Limited

Definitions Examples

II

ntrusiventrusive: a character who offers philosophical or moral

commentary on the characters and the events he depicts.

OO

bjectivebjective: a third-person narrator whose presence is

merely implied

Intrusive and Objective Intrusive and Objective

Definitions