Narration and Point of View Tania Hines Arati Sharma

Narration Narration: –refers to the act of telling a story, whether in prose or in verse – And the means by which that telling is accomplished. Example 1: narrative forms in prose are the novel the novella, and the short story. Example 1: narrative forms in prose are the novel the novella, and the short story. Example 2: Narrative forms in verse are epic.

Narrator Narrator: of a literary work, of fiction, or poetry is the one who tells the story. The narrator is always in some sense the authors invention, one of the devices that he or she is using to shape the narrative.

Point of View  Point of view: can be identified by the pronoun that the narrator uses to recount events. “I”, “we”, “he”, “she” “you”.  Example: In Song of Solomon pg.333  “She came all the way down and he looked in her eyes and at her still mouth.”

First Person The first person invites the reader to engage with a speaker who seems to be reading first-hand experiences. The pronoun used is “I”, “We”.

Example 1: I have had an illustrious past. I have been a pirate, a knight and a Native American Princess. I have traveled to many lands, done great deeds, and witnessed incredible sights, while still eating home cooked meals and sleeping in my own bed. Adrienne Lee- Journeys from the Dress-Up Box Despite my kindergarten teacher’s warnings, I talk to strangers whenever I can- eighteen years of living have convinced me that chance encounters are simply too important to do otherwise. Joe Sullivan -Untitled

Third Person This is when the pronouns like “he” “she” “they” are used to tell the story. There are two types of Third Person Point of view Third Person Limited point of view- Narrator describes events only from the perspective and understanding of one or a few characters.

Third Person Omniscient Point of view- The narrator can enter into the consciousness of any character, evaluate motives, explain feelings, recount background and predict outcome. –Intrusive narrator- a third person narrator who offers philosophical or moral commentary on the characters and the events.

-- Objective narrator- a third person narrator whose presence is merely implied. We are left to infer the character’s feelings from the spare matter of fact report like dialogues

Examples: Third Person Limited- The black snake of wounded vanity had been gnawing at his heart all night. When he got out of bed, Pyotr Petrovitch immediately looked in the lookingg-glass. Fyodor Dostoevsky- Crime and Punishment Third Person Omniscent- “Exactly at midnight, when Anna was still sitting at her desk finishing a letter to Dolly, she heard the measured steps of slippered feet, and Alexei Alexandrovich, washed and combed, a book under his arm, came up to her.” “It's time, it's time,” he said with a special smile, and went into the bedroom. “And what right did he have to look at him like that?" thought Anna, recalling how Vronsky looked at Alexei Alexandrovich. Leo Tolstoy- Anna Karenina

Second person Point of view- The narrator addresses the audience directly using the pronoun “you” Example : You must write from what you know, from what has happened to you. He wants deaths, he wants camping trips. Think about what has happened to you. Lorrie Moore's -How to Become a Writer