Narrative Voice and Point of View in Literature
Point of view as narrative voice. As narrative voice, the narrator’s point of view is actually a narrative technique connected with the stance that the narrator takes in relation to the story he tells. The narrator may adopt points of view. For example, he can be an external voice, a voice that stands in a supernatural position above all the characters he has created, aware of what they know and how they feel; but on occasions the narrator may be the voice of a principal, often the main, character,
Narrative Techniques: Voices and Thoughts
NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES. METHODS OF PRESENTATION OF THE VOICES AND THOUGHTS OF THE CHARACTER. THE POLYPHONY: It gives variety to the text, as the voice of the narrator alternates intermittently with the voices of the characters. then the text is said to become polyphonic, breaking the possible monotony of the narrator’s sole voice. the text is now richer with new voices that can offer stylistic variety in lexis, syntax, phonology dialect and register.
In order to present their voices, their actual speech,
Read MoreInterior Monologue and Stream of Consciousness in Literature
Stream of Consciousness Techniques
The Interior Monologue: Free Direct Discourse
Free direct discourse is the most experimental technique. There is no narrative voice in order to imitate how our mind works. The intention is to give the reader the impression that they are inside the character’s mind; there is no intervention of the narrator. The narrator does not appear; there is no mediation. The first person to use the interior monologue was a French novelist, and British modernist writers adopted