Perspective
All stories come from some perspective. This guide will describe all of the types of perspectives listed below:
- First person omniscient
- First person limited omniscient
- Third person omniscient
- Third person limited omnicient
- Second person
- Multiple perspectives
First Person Omniscient
First person omniscient story is told from a first person perspective - the perspective of a single character - and the reader is aware of all details that the narrator is aware of
This perspective can best be described as what it would be like if YOU were telling a story about one of your own experiences. You would include any important details and information that you know about and would tell everything exactly as you saw it. That is what first person omniscient is.
The easiest way to point out first person is that the story will use many first person pronouns like "I," "me," and "my."
After the race was over and the adrenaline passed, the feeling of exhaustion overtook me. I walked to the bench where my teammates sat and quickly and quietly dozed off. Once I had awoken, I noticed that it had become dark and that everyone was gone. "Those bastards," I said aloud, "how did no one notice me sitting here and not think to wake me up?" What surprised me most is that my parents had left without me. One would think that they especially would have noticed my absence in the car ride on the way home of all of the people at the meet, they would have been the most likely to wake me up. Jim knew I hated to be woken up for a nap, even as a joke, and I'm sure he and my other teammates would be completely content with letting me sleep. But my mother, she would absolutely refuse to sit idly by to let me snooze.
The paragraph above uses all three pronouns. The story is told from the narrator's perspective. He is the one who was left sitting on the bench after the meet. If this were third person, the narrator would be telling a story about a person falling asleep on a bench after a track meet. It is also omniscient because you are experiencing the confusion of the narrator along with the narrator. If it were limited omniscient, the narrator might be aware of what is going on, but you, the reader, are not.
In FPO, you are aware to the narrator's thoughts and emotions. As in the paragraph above, the character is confused and you are allowed to know that. You are also unaware of another character's thoughts. You only get to see what the narrator thinks and sees.
Sometimes, FPO is considered unreliable because you are seeing something from a person's perspective. People can be wrong. The narrator thinks that the meet ended and everyone left as normal, but the narrator was asleep, so anything could have happened. Aliens could have abducted everyone except the narrator.
Some other examples of first person omniscient:
In FPO, you are aware to the narrator's thoughts and emotions. As in the paragraph above, the character is confused and you are allowed to know that. You are also unaware of another character's thoughts. You only get to see what the narrator thinks and sees.
Sometimes, FPO is considered unreliable because you are seeing something from a person's perspective. People can be wrong. The narrator thinks that the meet ended and everyone left as normal, but the narrator was asleep, so anything could have happened. Aliens could have abducted everyone except the narrator.
Some other examples of first person omniscient:
First Person Limited Omniscient
First person limited omniscient will still use first person pronouns such as "I," "me," and "my."
What separates this from first person omniscient is that it will leave out certain details to enhance the story. The narrator will be aware of certain things that the reader is not. For instance, the narrator could be an escaped convict, running from the law, but we may be kept in the dark about what crime he actually committed. When the National Guard shows up in trying to capture him, then it lends to the suspense, "What did this man do that he is now being chased after by the military? It must be terrible." It is meant to create suspense for the reader.
A strong example of first person limited omniscient would be in the video game, Red Dead Redemption. The game is set from the perspective of John Marston, an old west outlaw trying to escape his past and live a clean life. In a grand plot of extortion, he is sent on a mission by the US government to kill or capture his old gang members to avoid jail for his past actions. Though the perspective is through his eyes, the audience knows little to no information about John's past, only that he was a criminal. Slowly throughout the story, information is revealed about John's life and a full picture of who he is comes to be.
Now, I want to note that Red Dead Redemption is a third person shooter, but it is a first person narrative. I am saying this to avoid e-mails telling me to check my information on the difference between first and third person.
What separates this from first person omniscient is that it will leave out certain details to enhance the story. The narrator will be aware of certain things that the reader is not. For instance, the narrator could be an escaped convict, running from the law, but we may be kept in the dark about what crime he actually committed. When the National Guard shows up in trying to capture him, then it lends to the suspense, "What did this man do that he is now being chased after by the military? It must be terrible." It is meant to create suspense for the reader.
A strong example of first person limited omniscient would be in the video game, Red Dead Redemption. The game is set from the perspective of John Marston, an old west outlaw trying to escape his past and live a clean life. In a grand plot of extortion, he is sent on a mission by the US government to kill or capture his old gang members to avoid jail for his past actions. Though the perspective is through his eyes, the audience knows little to no information about John's past, only that he was a criminal. Slowly throughout the story, information is revealed about John's life and a full picture of who he is comes to be.
Now, I want to note that Red Dead Redemption is a third person shooter, but it is a first person narrative. I am saying this to avoid e-mails telling me to check my information on the difference between first and third person.
Third Person Omniscient
Third person omniscient is a perspective most like an unseen observer, watching a story play out. Unlike in first person, third person is not from the perspective of an actual character. Rather, it is a story told by an unnamed narrator.
You won't see much use of "I," "me," or "my" in third person, but instead you will see the use of "he/she" and "they," third person pronouns.
In a third person narrative, the narrator tells the story of a person or group of people. The narrator is aware of all of the characters' thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It is undoubtedly the most reliable of all of the perspectives because it gives us a full understanding of all characters. If a character is mentioned as being sad or conflicted, it is because they are sad or conflicted, not because the narrator perceives things that way like in first person, but because that character is actually sad or conflicted.
Now, I do want to clarify that this does not always apply to all of the characters. Protagonists/main characters should be fully open and none of their thoughts and actions will be hidden. Minor characters' thoughts won't be as visible, nor will antagonists.
You won't see much use of "I," "me," or "my" in third person, but instead you will see the use of "he/she" and "they," third person pronouns.
In a third person narrative, the narrator tells the story of a person or group of people. The narrator is aware of all of the characters' thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It is undoubtedly the most reliable of all of the perspectives because it gives us a full understanding of all characters. If a character is mentioned as being sad or conflicted, it is because they are sad or conflicted, not because the narrator perceives things that way like in first person, but because that character is actually sad or conflicted.
Now, I do want to clarify that this does not always apply to all of the characters. Protagonists/main characters should be fully open and none of their thoughts and actions will be hidden. Minor characters' thoughts won't be as visible, nor will antagonists.
Third Person Limited Omniscient
Third person limited omniscient is like third person omniscient except not all characters' thoughts will be visible. Like first person limited omniscient, this is used to create suspense. Often a single character is picked as the focus, and everything they know will be known to the reader.
Now, this may sound a lot like first person, but it does have differences in how thoughts and actions are addressed. In the story, The Most Dangerous Game, the character Rainsford is the focus of a third person narrative.
Now, this may sound a lot like first person, but it does have differences in how thoughts and actions are addressed. In the story, The Most Dangerous Game, the character Rainsford is the focus of a third person narrative.
Rainsford sprang up and moved quickly to the rail, mystified. He strained his eyes in the direction from which the reports had come, but it was like trying to see through a blanket. He leaped upon the rail and balanced himself there, to get greater elevation; his pipe, striking a rope, was knocked from his mouth. He lunged for it; a short, hoarse cry came from his lips as he realized he had reached too far and had lost his balance. The cry was pinched off short as the blood-warm waters of the Caribbean Sea dosed over his head.
If this were in first person, it would look like this:
I sprang up and moved quickly to the rail, mystified. I strained my eyes in the direction from which the reports had come, but it was like trying to see through a blanket. I leaped upon the rail and balanced myself there, to get greater elevation; my pipe, striking the rope, was knocked from my mouth. I lunged for it; a short, hoarse cry came my lips as I realized I had reached too far and had lost my balance. The cry was pinched off short as the blood-warm waters of the Caribbean Sea dosed over my head.
We are still seeing all of Rainsford's thoughts, but the pronoun use is different. Rather than seeing the events as an observer, we're experiencing them as Rainsford.
It is still quite similar, but a difference is there.
It is still quite similar, but a difference is there.
Second Person Perspective
Second person perspective is the least common and I only add it in because I often get asked, "If there's first and third person, what would second person be?"
Second person is defined by the use of the word "you." This appears more in a create-your-own-adventure story, in which the narrator is narrating what you do. An example is below:
Second person is defined by the use of the word "you." This appears more in a create-your-own-adventure story, in which the narrator is narrating what you do. An example is below:
You walk into the kitchen from the backdoor of the house. The appliances are old and outdated, and it appears that no one has lived in this house for some time, save one piece of evidence of people: the room is dimly lit by a small gas lantern in the corner. It is a sad looking lantern, but it is the only source of light, so you pick it up and use it to illuminate your way through the house. Exiting the room, you enter the foyer, where a large staircase leads up to the second floor. Suddenly, you hear a knock on the door.
What do you do? Go upstairs or answer the door?
The word "you" is used repeatedly. The story is telling what you are doing. You are the main character. This perspective only focuses only on the action of the story. Character thoughts, motivation, emotions, and conflict, are completely ignored. Because you are the main character, you create those thoughts, motivation, emotions, and conflict, rather than having the story do it.
Multiple Perspectives
In some cases, books will use multiple perspectives, a subset of first person perspective. In this perspective, we are given the first person perspective of multiple characters, giving us the view and authenticity of first person perspective, but benefiting readers with the all-knowingness of third person.
The book The Killer Angels is a good examples of this perspective. The book chronicles the events of the Battle of Gettysburg through the eyes of multiple important figures there such as Robert E. Lee. Readers are exposed to each individual's thoughts and experiences, and get to see this one event from the eyes of a variety of people, all with their own thoughts and feelings.
This perspective is most useful in giving the reader a chance to see a story from multiple perspectives. In first and third person, we often see things only from a single perspective. When we get to see multiple perspectives, we experience more of the characters and their personalities. This form of storytelling makes conflict a little more interesting because as two characters are in conflict with each other, we can see their thoughts and rationale for their views while the characters are unaware of what the other thinks.
The book The Killer Angels is a good examples of this perspective. The book chronicles the events of the Battle of Gettysburg through the eyes of multiple important figures there such as Robert E. Lee. Readers are exposed to each individual's thoughts and experiences, and get to see this one event from the eyes of a variety of people, all with their own thoughts and feelings.
This perspective is most useful in giving the reader a chance to see a story from multiple perspectives. In first and third person, we often see things only from a single perspective. When we get to see multiple perspectives, we experience more of the characters and their personalities. This form of storytelling makes conflict a little more interesting because as two characters are in conflict with each other, we can see their thoughts and rationale for their views while the characters are unaware of what the other thinks.