As I was mulling over the genre for my next project, I got to thinking about points of view in literature. Basically, point of view is who is telling the story. So, before I set down those first few keystrokes for the novel, I need to decide who will relate the tale.
There are two points of view that are most common today: first person and third person. Since point of view does not technically affect "what" happens, as much as "how" it happens, I need to weigh the limitations and advantages to each view to make an informed decision.
In "first-person," the narrator, or the person telling the story, is actually part of the story either as the main protagonist or a minor character. A flag that a story is in first-person is when the story is told through the "I" of the story and the narrator uses words like "my" and "we" when relating the story to the reader.
There are two types of "first-person," the reliable first-person narrator and the unreliable. These sub-types are pretty self-explanatory. A reliable narrator will be straightforward and non-biased about what he or she is experiencing. His or her world view has yet to be tainted by what is happening. It can be said that a reliable narrator is objective.
An unreliable narrator would be the opposite; at some point the story has made it so that he or she might lie, make mistakes and subjective observations. The story then is seen through the lens of the narrator tainted by his or her experiences. It would be up to the reader to come to conclusions based on what the narrator experiences and relates.
One advantage of first-person, be it reliable or unreliable, is that it affords a tighter focus. With this point of view, the reader can vicariously experience the story along with the narrator. The story becomes more intimate and personal as the reader is able to access the internal thoughts and feelings of the narrator.
The benefit of first-person, though, is a two-edged sword. Though the reader is in the narrator's head space, it also means the reader can only experience the story through that narrator's perspective. Only the narrator can move the plot forward because he or she has to witness and be part of everything that happens. Thus, the wider scope of the world and characters is limited to the narrator's experience, resulting in only indirect knowledge of those other story elements beyond the narrator's scope.
In third-person, the most common point of view in use, the narrator persona is outside the story. Words like "her, she, their, and them" are used by the narrator to relate the story and refer to the characters.
As with first-person, there are two sub-categories in third-person: limited and omniscient. Limited third-person can be seen as a more flexible first-person. The story view is still from basically one character's point of view, but that character is not the one doing the relating. This point of view preserves some of the intimacy of first person because the character still must be present for action and dialogue. In third-person limited, though, there is more flexibility when it comes to physical and emotional description of both the narrator and the other characters around them. The narrator, a persona existing outside the story, can describe the world and other characters without having to filter it through the character who is experiencing the story.
The omniscient third-person effectively brings in the thoughts and views of more than one character point of view. It is a "God-view" that is better for complicated plots. In this point of view, the narrator knows more about the story than the characters do. The narrator and the reader are on equal or nearly equal footing above the characters, knowing more about their word than they do.
Omniscient is more versatile than the other views thus discussed because it allows for disembodied description of a world, when there are no characters to experience it. This view also allows for a dispassionate, analytical telling of a story which can be desirable in some circumstances. Additionally, the reader can view all the characters in the novel inside and out through a non-biased, objective narrator.
On the other hand, omniscient can distance readers from the protagonist. It can also lead to "head-hopping," namely cramming too many points of view into a single scene. This doesn't provide the reader with a character with whom he or she can identify, alienating the reader.
These are not all the points of view that can be utilized. Some others include the less used second point of view, a technique using multiple points of view and variations and combinations of POVs mentioned. Overall, the choice of point of view needs to be a conscious decision because the narrator chosen will affect the tone of the story.
Whew. That's a lot to consider before I start writing, but it's an important decision that will color the entire world I'll be inhabiting as I move about and tell their story. Any thoughts about what point of view you personally enjoy reading? Perhaps which point of view vexes you? Please feel free to comment!
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Resources referenced for this article:http://www.easywaytowrite.com/articles/pov.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/first-person-narrative
A few links from About.com
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingexercise1/ht/ptofview.htm
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/glossary/g/unreliablenarr.htm
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/crafttechnique/a/pointofview.htm
Great collection of essays:
http://books.google.com/books?id=oTkePfrUnOcC&lpg=PA96&ots=YvMntlVs0r&dq=which%20is%20the%20preferred%20point%20of%20view%20in%20contemporary%20fiction&pg=PA96#v=onepage&q=which%20is%20the%20preferred%20point%20of%20view%20in%20contemporary%20fiction&f=false
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