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Third Person Point of View: Definition, Types and Tips!

3rd Person Point of View

The third person point of view (or 3rd person point of view) is one of the oldest, and most common, forms of storytelling. Unlike first and second person, the reader is immersed in the story whilst remaining totally independent of any one character’s thoughts, feelings and experiences. They’re free to roam around, privy to any information the author chooses to disclose.

Third person point of view uses pronouns such as ‘he’, ‘she’ and ‘they’ to relate the action as it affects all characters. It’s such a broad means of storytelling that over the years it’s been separated into two distinct forms: Third person limited point of view, and third person omniscient point of view.

And for a bit of an extra tweak, there’s even the third person objective point of view.

 

The Different Types of Third Person Point of View

Third Person Limited

In third person limited point of view, the reader’s insight is confined to the thoughts, feelings and knowledge of one character as they follow them closely throughout the narrative.

Third Person Omniscient

In third person omniscient point of view, the reader has access to the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in the story. For clarity, this is usually limited to one character per chapter or scene. This is because it would be confusing and illogical to ‘hear’ multiple streams of thought at once.

Third person omniscient point of view is usually the widest perspective, since the narrator doesn’t exist as a character in itself and has a ‘God’s-eye’ view of events. The narrator generally has no partiality in the events taking place, and has unlimited access to characters’ private thoughts and feelings. Those, plus events past, present and future.

We say generally in the previous description because an omniscient narrator is not necessarily without their own opinions. They may indeed interject with their own observations or wisecracks (common in comedic writing), and have no problem revealing the workings of characters’ minds. In cases where this does not happen, the narration is considered to be in the third person objective point of view.

Third Person Objective

As you can expect from the name, in the objective point of view form the narrator relays solely the visible facts of the matter. They will not delve into the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters – remaining, instead, as a wholly impartial observer who is only capable of relaying what they observe.

The flexibility of the third person point of view form lends the ability to have a single narrator, as in first person, without the limitations of having to stay in that narrator’s head. The story may unfold from the perspective of one character, but be free of the biases and beliefs that would make the story unreliable if it were to be told by them personally.

 

 

A Third Person Point of View Example

A good example to demonstrate this difference would be if your protagonist has been in an accident and is experiencing amnesia. Telling their story using a first person narrative would limit the reader’s knowledge of that character’s past life to practically nothing. You would only learn about it as the character goes through picking up the pieces.

If, however, you told the story using the third person point of view, you could describe others’ feelings about the amnesiac. You can bring up conversations about them they couldn’t have heard, letting the reader discover more about their past life independent of the afflicted character requiring that knowledge.

As well-defined as these rules seem to be, like most rules, they can always be broken by a determined writer. Indeed, you shouldn’t treat the different iterations of third person point of view as exclusive. Think of your third person narrative like a camera in a movie. Sometimes, for better effect, you need to get up close. On the other hand, sometimes you need more distance.

If you’re writing in the third person point of view and you find yourself slipping in or out of third person omniscient – if your ‘camera’ is sliding away and you’re trying to keep it close – take a step back and think about what impression you want your reader to have of the scene.

Is it emotional? Action-driven? Is a character relating a back story where a fleshed-out flashback would be most effective?

As third person is so flexible, it lends itself very well to mixing with other perspectives. Charles Dickens wrote in alternating first and third person POV in Bleak House, which is a strong approach when your third person narration remains strictly objective. Many romance and young adult novels use a different character for their third person focus in each chapter.

The most vital thing is consistency – without it, your story can become a jumbled mess.

Writing in the third person point of view is a complex, limber and forgiving technique that suits any skill level from beginner to advanced, and can handle the most complex narrative requirements. Because of this, it is easy to master relatively quickly, allowing your best ideas to get off the ground with a minimum of fuss.

 

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