POV

Point-of-View

First Person

“I”

I walked down the alley.

I told myself I didn’t care when the police told me to stay in town.

I had an alibi, didn’t I?

You mean I might be arrested for the murder just because my pink wool signature scarf was found at the murder site?

Third Person - Limited

Third person limited point of view is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character, while other characters are presented only externally.

Third person limited grants a writer more freedom than first person, but less than third person omniscient.

Third Person - Limited

For example, For Whom the Bell Tolls sticks firmly with one character's consciousness, that of Robert Jordan:

"This Anselmo had been a good guide and he could travel wonderfully in the mountains. Robert Jordan could walk well enough himself and he knew from following him since before daylight that the old man could walk him to death. Robert Jordan trusted the man, Anselmo, so far, in everything except judgment. He had not yet had an opportunity to test his judgment, and, anyway, the judgment was his own responsibility."

Third Person Limited

The reader will only know Anselmo's thoughts and responses insofar as he reveals them through his actions. But Robert Jordan's thoughts will be shared throughout the story. It's his reactions and his interpretations of events that the reader will understand and follow.

Because third person limited is defined mostly by what it doesn't do, it may help at this point to read an example of third person omniscient for comparison.

Third Person, Omniscient

Narrative form – writing from the omniscient POV.

Use the he/she form.

She walked down the alley, mumbling about the police lineup.

Drew shook his head at the news of the arrest.

Detective Rick just sat there in a daze, knowing his grade school buddy would be devastated from the arrest.

Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice, like many classic novels, is told from the third person point of view:

When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him. "He is just what a young man ought to be," said she, "sensible, good humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners! -- so much ease, with such perfect good breeding

Continue 3rd, Omniscent

Jane Austen's clear prose provides a perfect sample of third person. Though Pride and Prejudice is very much Elizabeth Bennet's story, the narrator is not Elizabeth Bennet. "I" or "we" would only occur within quotations:

Second Person

Least used POV in novels usually because it reads awkwardly.

“You” POV, imperative (command) form.

If you are looking for the FBI office nearest you, consider looking up the FBI in the yellow pages under government.

Then call to schedule an appointment.

Second Person

For example, to open a paper on personal safety and ethics, you might begin with:

"You are cruising a parking lot looking for a parking place, when you see two men struggling with a young woman in the back of a van. What should you do? It's hard to know what to do when your personal safety is at risk if you act, knowing that the woman's safety is in jeopardy if you don't."