On Points-of-View (POVs)

[TidalDragon]

As authors most of us have written from different perspectives, but unless we press ourselves it can prove more difficult to write from different POVs. This guide is designed to help you step outside of your existing POV comfort zone by: (1) presenting the nine (9) – that’s right nine (9) – POVs and (2) arming with some of the pros and cons of each.

 

Note: The terms POV and perspective are often used interchangeably by writers or by one group that ascribes one set of meanings to the two and the other swapping those meanings. This article makes no judgment about that running battle – but you’ll see which way I’m defining each shortly

 

THE POVs

 

As mentioned above, there are nine (9) POVs. Typically, they are classified first according the three major categories – first person, second person, and third person – and then subcategories. For ease of reference, our brief rundown of each POV will proceed in the same fashion.

 

First Person

 

The first person POV tells the story from narrator’s perspective, using I/we language and effectively placing you inside the narrator’s head.

 

First Person Protagonist

 

This is the most commonly understood use of the first person, so common in fact that this subcategory actually isn’t typically given its own name. Nevertheless, it refers to stories where the narrator is the central character in the story and is essentially telling his/her/their own story.

 

EXAMPLE: Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)

 

First Person Peripheral

 

This is the oft-ignored version of the first person and refers to stories where the narrator is still speaking from their own perspective, but the story is actually about another character – the true central character of the piece.

 

EXAMPLE: Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

 

First Person Omniscient

 

By far the rarest of the first person POVs, the first person omniscient can be narrated by the protagonist or by a peripheral figure. Often the First Person Omniscient narrator is either God or a being/entity believed to have god-like qualities or a character who has died.

 

EXAMPLE: Susie Salmon, The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)

 

First Person Multiple

 

While some debate whether this POV truly deserves independence or whether it is merely a variation of other forms of the first person, it deserves mention. Essentially, it is characterized by use of one or more of the foregoing first person POVs, but includes changes in perspective by the author.

 

EXAMPLE: Nick Dunne; Amy Dunne, Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)

 

Second Person

 

The second person POV (also rare in fiction), tells the story using “you” language. Interestingly whose head it places you in is quite dependent on the subcategory being employed and in some cases arguably creates a mixture of perspectives.

 

Second Person Protagonist

 

This iteration of the second person is identifiable by the narrator speaking about themselves as if they are observing themselves and is also hallmarked by the narrator addressing (or seeming to) the reader directly.

 

EXAMPLE: Unnamed Male, Bright Lights, Big City (Jay McInerney)

 

Second Person Omniscient

 

This adaptation of the second person is not well-recognized and can be destabilizing as to who the narrator truly is in the tale. In essence, the Second Person Omniscient is a story either told in the past tense by a peripheral character (as in First Person Peripheral) or in the present tense by a deceased individual or god-like being/entity (as in First Person Omniscient). The blurring or destabilization can occur when the narrator stops appearing to speak directly to the reader and instead appears to be speaking to the actual central character of the piece, often by way of a question, command, or accusation. No prominent published examples of this POV exist.

 

Third Person

 

The comfort zone of most authors, the third person tells the story using he/she/they language. Here the narrator is not an actual character in the story and may not be a character at all. If I/we or you language appears in such a story, it is only in dialogue.

 

Third Person Limited

 

This POV is distinguishable from other manifestations of the third person in that the narrator’s knowledge is restricted to one particular character’s perspective

 

EXAMPLE: For Whom the Bell Tolls (Ernest Hemingway)

 

Third Person Omniscient

 

This POV is readily identifiable by the he/she/they language of the third person in conjunction with story-telling that indicates knowledges of the actions, thoughts, and goings-on of all characters and locations in the story, whether or not the narrator appears to be present with those characters or during those events or not.

 

EXAMPLE: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)

 

Third Person Multiple

 

Like its first person companion it is debated whether this is in fact merely a less strict version of the Third Person Limited, because it is typified by all the characteristics of that POV save one – it frequently switches perspectives between characters.

 

EXAMPLE: The A Song of Ice and Fire Series (George R.R. Martin)

 

PROS AND CONS

 

First Person Protagonist

[+] Creates intimacy between reader and protagonist

[+] Enables greater sense of immediacy and impact when coupled with present tense

[–] Locks reader into single perspective

[–] Increases demand on author to have great-not-good protagonist to sustain reader interest

 

First Person Peripheral

[+] Allows author to create distance and objectivity re: central character

[+] Alternatively, allows author to manipulate reader perceptions of central character using reliability of narrator

[–] Locks reader into single perspective

[–] Keeping peripheral character close enough to protagonist to be effective can strain credulity

 

First Person Omniscient

[+] Increases ability to assess aftermath of major character death, especially protagonist

[+] Increases scope of first-person narration without sacrificing intimacy with protagonist

[–] Locks reader into single perspective

[–] Necessitates narrator be dead or a supernatural being/entity

 

First Person Multiple

[+] Creates intimacy between reader and central characters

[+] Allows readers to see multiple facets of same story while concealing motivations from each other

[–] Forces author to balance multiple central characters

[–] Increases demand on author to differentiate multiple voices in first person

 

Second Person Protagonist

[+] Allows author to create distance re: central character

[+] Allows author to speak directly to reader

[–] Locks reader into single perspective

[–] Difficult to sustain over longer length works

 

Second Person Omniscient

[+] Allows author to create distance re: central character

[+] Allows author to attack or question central character explicitly

[–] Can destabilize reader

[–] Difficult to sustain over longer length works

 

Third Person Limited

[+] Most familiar POV to readers

[+] Allows for better definition of authorial voice

[–] Locks reader into single perspective

[–] Diminished intimacy with character versus first person

 

Third Person Omniscient

[+] Allows author to maximize coverage of multiple characters, events, locations without changing perspective

[+] Allows for better definition of authorial voice

[–] Diminished ability to conceal information from readers

[–] Diminished intimacy with characters versus first person

 

Third Person Multiple

[+] Allows author to show different angles of character or plot development without total loss of limited perspective

[+] Increases objectivity of character renderings

[–] Increased demand on author to differentiate multiple characters and maintain consistent authorial voice

[–] Diminished intimacy with characters versus first person

[Shadowkat678]

What about Deep POV? Or does that deserve its own category? If so, I could probably write on that one.

[TidalDragon]

Personally, I've viewed deep as more of a sub-POV of third person limited or third person multiple that helps reduce the intimacy issue those POVs otherwise tend to create. Now that you bring it up though, I think it is still worth adding - especially given that it's a lot more common than some others than got play. I'll take a look at modifications to include it soon! Thanks!

[Jo Raskoph]

Hi TidalDragon

 

Thank you for this article, I find it very helpful and interesting.

 

I have a question about first person peripheral. I am curious about your personal opinion: Would you find it wrong or irritating if the degree of involvement of the narrator in the narrative varried significantly during the course of a story?

In a current story the plan was to reveal gradually who the narrator is and how they're involved in the plot. Now in the first draft the difference is such that during the first quarter the narrator is almost absent whereas in the last quarter the narrator is very prominent so that it could be viewed as a first person protagonist POV.

 

I'm unsure if this is a valid device or if it would be better practice to go back and make everything more consistent.

[TreacleTart]

It's nice seeing all the POVs broken down so clearly. I often struggle with knowing which is which. I tend to use 2nd person most frequently for really prose-y or descriptive pieces, where as I tend to use third for plot driven pieces. I struggle most with 1st person in general.