In the previous chapter, I discussed the role of the antagonist and protagonist within most narratives, and how understanding these roles can help us understand a text as a whole. Just like the point of view of these leading characters, can the point of view of the narrator also tell the reader a lot about the narrative as a whole. There are several types of narrators, a few of which I will go over in this blog post.

By discerning the voice of the narrator, can we parse more about the tone, theme and mood that the text is going for. A serious novel usually has an omnipresent, implied narrator, while a comedic novel might choose a more  overtly present narrator that is able to discuss and comment on the plot of the text itself. Contemplating how these narrator voices are used and in which context, can also help you become a better writer yourself.

First, second and third person narrations

The first definition I will discuss is that of point of view. The point of view in this context refers to which kind of perspective we are getting from the narrator. First, and third person are the most common forms of narrative styles, but other narrative points of view, like second person does occur, if a lot less often.

In a first person narrative, is the tale told from one or several people, ei “I walked down the road”. The narrator and the protagonist of the narrative are the one and the same person. Travel journeys, horror stories and other narratives where the internal monologues and feelings of the main character are important often use the first person form of narration.

The second person narrative refers to the reader themself as the point of view character. In other words the narrator is addressing a “you” in the text, for example “you find yourself in a dark hallway”. This is not a very often used perspective, but one that can be effectively used in horror. It is mostly used in choosing your own adventure novels and visual novels and other kinds of interactive fiction.

Third person narrative refers to a narration where the explicit or implicit narrator is telling a story about someone else, more about this in a bit. Most modern fiction is told this way, where a narrating voice describes the narrative of one or more protagonists. For example “Tom walked through the door, he felt a rush of fresh air”.

In deciding which perspective to set the narratives, do you also in part decide what kind of relationship the reader will have to the characters in your text.

Reliable and unreliable, explicit and implicit, omnipresent or not.

The voice of the narrator is a strong tool in storytelling, and can tell the reader a lot about a text. Besides setting the narration in first, second or third person, can the writer also put different kinds of levels of involvement that the narrator has in the story, as well as how real they are within the narrative itself.

First let’s discuss how or if the narrator exists within the fiction itself. An implicit narrator often only exists as a tool to tell the narrative, and only the text itself implies its existence. They exist soely as a medium for the telling of the tale, the words themselves. It is also possible to view the implicit narrator as the voice of the author itself.

An explicit narrator exists as a character in the tale itself. One example is Dr Watson in Sherlock Holmes, where the books are supposed to be Watsons own notes and journals. The explicit author can have an active role in the tale or not. A first person narration always has an explicit narrator in the form of the character telling the story.

A narrator can be omnipresent, or only be able to present a certain point of view of a narrative. An omnipresent narrator is present everywhere, and can be used to tell a story from every single angle, as needed. Third person narratives are often presented as omnipresent, in order for the author to jump between settings and points of view. An omnipresent narrator is useful to tell a full story of many points of view. A first person narrator is by its very nature confined to the character that is telling the story, and as a result can only tell the things that this point of view character is purview to. It is common that a narrator only follows a few or only one character, and can as a result only present a narrative from their points of view in the narrative. This is an easy tool to create suspense and mystery, as the reader is only previewed to the information that these characters have.

Lastly is the question of the reliable vs the unreliable narrator. These terms relate to how trustworthy the narrator of a text is. Most narrators, especially those told in third person narration are to be viewed as reliable narrators. In short, are these narrators that can be trusted to tell a tale as it supposedly happened. Just as with being omnipresent, are implied narrators also reliable by their nature of nonexistent. Most modern novels you would read follow this trend, unless adding an unreliable narrator would make the tale more compelling or interesting. With a reliable narrator can you assume that the things it is telling is true.

An unreliable narrator on the other hand is a narrating voice that you can not trust to tell a tale truthfully. Or rather, contradictions and falsehoods are baked into the storytelling style, making it harder to discern what happened within the context of the story. First person narrators are unreliable narrators due to their highly subjective point of view. For example, many of Lovecrofts main characters are highly unreliable narrators, as many of them are at the brink of insanity and despair. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter, S Thompson is a great example of both a first person narrative, Hunter himself, and an unreliable narrator, due to the melding of time and space that comes from both the surreal location of Las Vegas and the many psychedelic drugs the main character uses during the story.

An unreliable narrator is great to create a sense of confusion and fear in the reader, as well as a heightened sense of suspense. After all, who can we trust, if we can’t even trust the one telling the story to us.

Final thoughts

I have in this text, tried to present a series of narrative points of view and discuss a few ways they are often used. These definitions are far from the only ways to break down the voice of the narrator, but they are ones that I have found useful myself.

By dissecting how and why a narrator is presented in a text in a certain way, can the reader dive deeper into the message and theme of the text. It is worth putting some extra time in choosing what kind of narration that fits your story the best. While the omnipresent, implicit and reliable narrator is one that most know, and use, playing around with the voice of your narrator really changes the perspective on your writing, and your stories.