Literally Studying’s Guide to Types of Narration
One of the first things to ask when you read a novel/poem for the first time is “who is the narrator?” But simply saying “Nick Carraway” isn’t enough - we need to know what type of narrator he is. How is the story conveyed to the reader? Is it stream of consciousness? Character voice? An unreliable narrator? Third person? First person? Subjective? Objective? Omniscient? Seriously, there are a lot of options, and the author will have chosen their narrative voice carefully, in order to convey meaning to the reader.
Here is my - hopefully! - handy guide to the different types of narration in literature.
First Person: a narrative point of view where the story is narrated from the viewpoint of a character writing or speaking to the audience directly, i.e. told by an ‘I’. Often used to convey the internal thoughts and emotions of the narrator. The narrator might be the protagonist, or a secondary character that simply witnesses events.
Unreliable Narrator: a first-person narrator who we cannot trust to truthfully convey the story. Their telling of events may be skewed by their opinions on certain characters and events, and they may big up particular events, or gloss over others, to suit their own agenda. Example: Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby.
Homodiegetic Narrator: a first-person narrator who is a character within the novel itself.
Naive Narrator: a first-person narrator who reveals the faults and flaws of the world he/she inhabits because of their own youth or inexperience. The narrator often doesn’t understand the implications of events going on around them. Example: The Canterbury Tales.
Conscious Narrator: a first-person narrator that is aware that they are telling the story, sometimes at a specific time or place. Example: Jane Eyre (’Reader, I married him.’)
Unconscious Narrator: a first-person narrator that is unaware that they are telling the story to anyone. Example: Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games.
Frame Narrators: usually first person narrators, who frame the narrative, and potentially reports the narrative of someone else. Example: Lockwood, Wuthering Heights.
Third Person: where the narrative comes from a third-person viewpoint, i.e., every character is ‘she’, ‘he’, ‘they’. Often considered the most flexible form of narration. Usually an unspecified entity, who conveys the story without taking any part in it.
Subjective Narrator: a third-person narrative that describes one or more characters’ feelings or thoughts. Example: The Harry Potter Series. A narrator that does not describe a character’s thoughts or feelings is objective.
Omniscient Narrator: a third-person narrator that has knowledge of all times/places/events/characters within the story.
Limited Narrator: may know every piece of knowledge within one character’s mind, but is “limited” to that character - they cannot describe things unknown to their focal character.
Intrusive Narrator: usually a third-person narrator, who, instead of simply narrating the story, provides further comments on the characters and events of the novel. They can sometimes be unreliable. Example: Pride and Prejudice.
