Point of View | Definition & Examples
The noun phrase point of view has several common uses. It is used in everyday language to indicate a person’s position or perspective (e.g., “I tried to see things from his point of view”). In literature it is used to describe the standpoint of the narrator of a work (e.g., “The novel relies on the third-person narrative point of view for its sense of balance”).
In trying to see my opponent’s point of view, I realized I had lost sight of my own principles.
The Waste Land’s working title was “He Do the Police in Different Voices,” which accurately reflects how rapidly and often the point of view changes in the poem.
What is point of view?
Point of view has several different applications and meanings, but they are all related. The literal meaning of point of view refers to how something looks from a specific physical place. If you think of the related word “viewpoint,” which often refers to a place you stand in order to enjoy a particular view, you’ll understand the literal meaning of point of view.
Understanding someone else’s point of view means trying to see things the way they do, with the implication that things look different for each of us (as is the case with a physical point of view). Sometimes it is synonymous with “opinion” (e.g., “We all have our own point of view on the subject, but let’s try to agree”).
This is also the case with another synonym that is widely used—“perspective.” Although the strict definition of perspective relates to how three-dimensional objects can be represented in two-dimensional media, it is also commonly used to mean point of view (e.g., “Try to see things from my perspective”).
With the point of view of an unknown, possibly unreliable narrator, Heinrich Böll’s The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum deliberately frustrates the reader’s attempts to know what is going on.
Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to make extensive use of a shaky camera to communicate the point of view of the soldiers in the action.
First person point of view
In literature, a first-person point of view describes a work where the narrator tells the story from their own perspective. Occasionally, the point of view is from the first person plural (i.e., “we”), but more often it is singular (e.g., the eponymous hero of Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy begins his tale very clearly from the first person: “I wish either my father or my mother, or indeed both of them, as they were in duty both equally bound to it, had minded what they were about when they begot me”).
A first-person point of view allows the author to limit the reader’s knowledge of what is happening to that which can be known by the narrator. This can help control the narrative and keep certain events from the reader. It also allows access to the narrator’s (but only the narrator’s) thoughts and feelings.
“This was very uncomfortable, and I was half afraid. However, the only thing to be done being to knock at the door, I knocked, and was told from within to enter. I entered, therefore, and found myself in a pretty large room, well lighted with wax candles. No glimpse of daylight was to be seen in it. It was a dressing-room, as I supposed from the furniture, though much of it was of forms and uses then quite unknown to me. But prominent in it was a draped table with a gilded looking-glass, and that I made out at first sight to be a fine lady’s dressing-table.
…
“It was when I stood before her, avoiding her eyes, that I took note of the surrounding objects in detail, and saw that her watch had stopped at twenty minutes to nine, and that a clock in the room had stopped at twenty minutes to nine.
…
“It was then I began to understand that everything in the room had stopped, like the watch and the clock, a long time ago. I noticed that Miss Havisham put down the jewel exactly on the spot from which she had taken it up. As Estella dealt the cards, I glanced at the dressing-table again, and saw that the shoe upon it, once white, now yellow, had never been worn. I glanced down at the foot from which the shoe was absent, and saw that the silk stocking on it, once white, now yellow, had been trodden ragged.”
Second person point of view
It is relatively uncommon to find a literary work written from a second-person point of view. It is a tricky perspective because, even as a narrator is saying “you,” we are conscious of them saying it—in effect producing an inadvertent first-person point of view.
“You are not unfamiliar with the anxieties that precede armed conflict, you say? Aha! Then you have been in the service, sir, just as I suspected! Would you not agree that waiting for what is to come is the most difficult part? Yes, quite so, not as difficult as the time of carnage itself—said, sir, like a true soldier. But I see that you have paused in your eating; perhaps you are waiting for fresh bread. Here, have half of mine. No, I insist; our waiter will bring us more momentarily.”
Third person point of view
The most common point of view in novels is the third-person point of view. It allows the reader to feel that they know all the important details, giving an overview of the action. A third-person narrator has lots of potential for variety, allowing the author to achieve diverse purposes. A narrator can be omniscient, limited, or unreliable.
Omniscient narrator
This point of view makes the narrator a godlike entity. They know everything that happens in the world of the work; they are party to the characters’ thoughts, feelings, and motivations. And they are free to pass this information on to the reader to the extent necessary to achieve the story’s purpose.
“Driving had been a nightmare for a year. Holes in the road, gravel trucks, concrete trucks, blacktop spreaders. The man with the rifle lifted his hand off the wheel.
Pulled back his cuff. Checked his watch.
Eleven minutes.
Be patient.” [James Barr’s point of view]
…
“James Barr’s sister was younger than him and unmarried and living in a rented downtown condo. Her name was Rosemary. Like the rest of the city’s population, she was sick and shocked and stunned. She had seen the news Friday night. And she caught it again Saturday morning. She heard a police detective say her brother’s name. At first she thought it was a mistake. That she had misheard.” [Rosemary Barr’s point of view]
…
“Gary had got to work at eight and had found himself really short-staffed. There was still no sign of Jeb Oliver and Sandy didn’t show, either. At first he had been annoyed. He had called her apartment and got no reply. On her way, he had assumed. Late. But she never showed.” [Gary’s point of view]
In film and television, similar point-of-view characteristics can be found. In these cases, of course, there is a literal point of view—the camera. Again, the omniscient third-person narrator is the most common, allowing the audience to see multiple locations and characters as the narrative builds
Limited narrator
A narrator with a limited view might typically follow the actions of a particular character so that the reader’s insights are limited to what happens to that character and what they see, feel, and experience. It’s very close to a first-person point of view, but it can feel less like the claustrophobic experience of being trapped inside a first-person’s viewpoint.
This approach also allows for speculation on the protagonist’s and reader’s part as to the motivations of characters. This makes it well-suited to crime stories.
“The heat wrapped itself around him, and the air seemed to nibble at his eyes. There was no breeze, not the slightest current; the day lay like a filthy blanket upon the city. Cars sneaked past the Questura, their horns bleating in futile protest against changing lights or crossing pedestrians. Whirls of dirt and cigarette packages flying back and forth across the street marked their passing. Brunetti, seeing it, hearing it, and breathing it felt as though someone had come from behind and wrapped tight arms around his chest. How did human beings live like this?”
Unreliable narrator
There is often an unspoken contract between author and reader that what the narrator tells you is true—is reliable. This contract is at times exploited by authors who use what is called an “unreliable narrator.” As the name suggests, this narrator might not tell you the whole truth or nothing but the truth.
Sometimes, as in Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, the narrator’s unreliability is prompted by a desire to excuse their behavior or to present themselves in a better light.
In The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll, the narrator gives the appearance of a trustworthy source, but Böll is just playing with us. All the uncertainty created by the narrator is undone in the final pages with the verbatim account of events from Katharina herself. The purpose of the doubtful narration has been to express the book’s subtitle, “How violence develops and where it can lead.”
In visual media we also encounter unreliable narrators. In the case of Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects, we have a third-person narration that turns out to be unreliable because it is, in effect, an entirely false first-person point of view told by Roger Kint. The twist at the end exposes Kint as being totally unreliable.
Frequently asked questions about point of view
- What is an objective point of view?
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An objective point of view is a perspective that claims (or attempts) to have no bias. It is the opposite of a subjective point of view.
Taking an objective point of view is desirable in legal judgments and other rulings. It attempts to remove emotion and bias from any decision.
In truth, an objective point of view is extremely difficult to achieve as human beings. This can be seen in the original Star Trek television series, where we see Mr. Spock making purely “logical” (i.e., objective) judgments and the passionate Dr. McCoy making subjective judgments. Captain Kirk’s task is frequently to find the middle ground between these two sources of counsel.
Want to know what point of view is in another language? Try the free QuillBot translator.
- What is a limited point of view?
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A limited point of view, often found in literature or film, usually describes a narrator who has limited knowledge of the action being described.
A first-person narrator is an example of a limited point of view, as the reader or viewer only knows what the character in question knows.
Often, even a third-person narrator will offer a limited point of view, depending on what the author’s intentions and needs are.
If you want to make sure your own writing is grammatically correct, try the free QuillBot Grammar Checker.
- What is an omniscient narrator?
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An omniscient narrator knows everything that is taking place in a creative work, including the actions, thoughts, and feelings of characters.
“Omniscient” comes from the Latin prefix “omni-,” meaning “everything,” and “scientus,” meaning knowledge.
An omniscient narrator is very common in fiction, as it allows the author to give all the information they feel necessary to understand the actions of the characters in the work.
You can use the free QuillBot Paraphrasing Tool to find new ways of saying “omniscient narrator” (or anything else!)
- What are some point of view quotes?
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Because of the importance of understanding someone else’s point of view, there are many excellent quotes on the topic. Here are some notable ones:
“You never really understand a person until you consider things
from his point of view.” Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird“Empathy begins with understanding life from another person’s perspective. Nobody has an objective experience of reality. It’s all through our own individual prisms.” Sterling K. Brown
“A little perspective, like a little humor, goes a long way.” Allen Klein
“It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view.” George Eliot, Middlemarch
If you need to check that work is properly cited, you can use the free QuillBot Plagiarism Checker to make sure.
- What are some synonyms for point of view?
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Some synonyms for point of view include “perspective” and “viewpoint.” Other options include “standpoint,” “way of looking at things,” and even “opinion.”
A great way of finding synonyms or new ways of saying something is to use the free QuillBot Paraphrasing Tool.
