POINT OF VIEW OR P.O.V.

Let's say we're examining a crime scene. The police may have 10 witnesses who all saw the same crime. Yet they may give 10 different descriptions of what happened. Because they saw the same crime from different angles and from different lengths of time, they may have different perspectives on what happened. These different perspectives are called "points of view."

In prose and poetry, fiction or non-fiction, someone is always between the reader and the events inside the writing. This "someone" is the author (as narrator), or the characters that the author creates. The narrator or the characters are the "witnesses," and you - the reader - are the police officer. You'll have to use your judgment to understand what exactly is going on.

There are different types of point of view. A story can be told from the first person ("I", "my") or from the third person ("she", "they"). We can get into the minds of the characters ("omniscient") or we can simply see them from the outside, like real life ("objective"). We can see the story from a main character who is central to the plot, or from a minor character who is largely just an observer.

TYPES OF POINT OF VIEW

1ST PERSON CENTRAL : This perspective is told from the p.o.v. of the main character. It allows the author to bring the reader closer to the character, and create more sympathy for the character's struggles. However, it also limits the reader to one person's perspective, and we don't have a broader, more balanced point of view. Nevertheless, this view grants a sense of immediacy: we see everything through this character's eyes

2ND PERSON : This is a relatively rare point of view and is difficult to sustain. It is based upon the address of one speaker to a second person. It uses the "you" and "your" pronouns throughout, which, as you can imagine, is difficult to maintain without sounding repetitive. Here's an example: You will receive the revised essay criteria by Tuesday, September 22. You will have an opportunity to respond to it in writing before October 17. In fiction, the "you" being addressed is often a central character, and the effect is to turn the reader into the character.

3RD PERSON OBJECTIVE Here the outside narration is completely bereft of (lacking) any interior thinking. The author, and the readers, can only observe exterior actions and dialogue, and from that infer a character's thoughts. In other words, the author must describe gestures and actions that indirectly show how a character feels, thinks and deals with internal conflict. Authors will use this p.o.v. to achieve a high degree of realism, since it mimics how we interact in real-life. It's also useful to shield the reader from the true thoughts and feelings of the characters, as in Shirley Jackson's suspenseful "The Lottery"

3RD PERSON LIMITED In order to limit the information, and focus the attention of the reader onto one character, the author will sometimes tell a story by entering the mind of one key character (usually the protagonist). As in all 3rd person p.o.v.'s, limited omniscience does not use "I" or "my"

3RD PERSON OMNISCIENT Told from the p.o.v. of an outside narrator, the "omniscient" author nevertheless gets inside the thoughts and feelings of any character he or she wishes (in other words, two or more characters). This p.o.v. offers a lot of information, and is suitable for large, complex novels. This was a common p.o.v. in 18th and 19th century novels [authors of the time often entered the story as all-judging moralists], but it's much less common today

POINT OF VIEW IS A MAJOR TOOL FOR AN AUTHOR. YOU CAN UNDERSTAND A LOT ABOUT THE CRAFT OF WRITING BY SEEING HOW AN AUTHOR CHOOSES HIS OR HER POINT OF VIEW. ASK YOURSELF IF THE STORY WOULD BE DIFFERENT IF IT WAS TOLD FROM ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW. HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOUR FEELINGS FOR THE CHARACTERS, OR YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS HAPPENING? DO YOU FEEL CLOSELY CONNECTED TO A PARTICULAR CHARACTER, OR CAN YOU UNDERSTAND MANY OF THE CHARACTERS, INCLUDING THE ANTAGONIST? YOU'LL BE SURPRISED BY HOW DIFFERENT A STORY MIGHT BE WITH THESE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.

1ST PERSON CENTRAL :  Told from the p.o.v. of the main character.  Allows author to bring reader closer to the character.  Creates more sympathy for character's struggles.  Also limits reader to one person's perspective.  Don't have a broader, more balanced point of view.  This view grants sense of immediacy.  Everything seen through this character's eyes

2ND PERSON :  Relatively rare p.o.v. - difficult to sustain.  Based upon address of one speaker to a second person.  Uses the "you" and "your" pronouns throughout, Difficult to maintain without sounding repetitive.  In fiction, the "you" being addressed is often a central character.  The effect is to turn the reader into the character.

3RD PERSON OBJECTIVE  Outside narration completely lacking any interior thinking.  Author, & readers, can only observe exterior actions and dialogue.  From that must infer a character's thoughts.  Author must describe gestures and actions that indirectly show how a character feels, thinks and deals with internal conflict.  Can achieve a high degree of realism, since it mimics how we interact in real-life.  Can also shield the reader from the true thoughts and feelings of the characters,  Does not use “I” or “my.”

3RD PERSON LIMITED  Author will sometimes tell a story by entering the mind of one key character (usually the protagonist).  Limits the information  Focuses attention of the reader onto one character.  As in all 3rd person p.o.v.'s, 3rd person limited does not use "I" or "my.”

3RD PERSON OMNISCIENT  Told from the p.o.v. of an outside narrator.  “Omniscient" author gets inside thoughts and feelings of any character he or she wishes (in other words, two or more characters).  Offers a lot of information, and is suitable for large, complex novels.  This was a common p.o.v. in 18th and 19th century novels.  Much less common today