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Literature vocabulary · Narration and Point of View

Point of view

Meaning in literature, with examples

/ˌpɔɪnt əv ˈvjuː/nounCore term

In literature, point of view means: The position from which a story is told, which decides whose eyes we see events through and how much we learn, for example first-person or third-person.

In Turkish: bakış açısı, anlatım bakış açısı

How it is used

Often shortened to POV by writers and editors. Common types are first-person, second-person, third-person limited and third-person omniscient. You tell a story from someone's point of view, or shift and switch point of view between chapters.

Example sentences

  1. The story is told from the point of view of the family dog.

  2. Each chapter switches point of view between the two sisters.

Common collocations

  • first-person point of view
  • third-person point of view
  • shift point of view
  • from the point of view of
  • narratorThe voice that tells the story to the reader. It may be a character in the story or an outside voice, and it is not the same as the author.
  • first-person narratorA narrator who is a character in the story and tells it using 'I', so readers see events only through that character's eyes.
  • omniscient narratorA third-person narrator who knows everything about the story, including the thoughts and feelings of all the characters and events in different places and times.
  • narrativeA story or account of connected events, and the way it is told; also used as an adjective for anything that tells a story.

More terms: Narration and Point of View

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