Elements of Literature
Understanding How Literary Elements Affect Text
Point of View Terms

Point of View - Who tells, or narrates, the story, and how the story is described or expressed.

First Person - mode of storytelling in which the narrator appears as the ‘I’ remembering his or her own part in the events, either as a witness of the action or as an important participant in it. Pronouns used by the narrator include not only ’I’, but also me, myself, we, and us.

Second Person - the narrator refers to the focal character as "you", making the reader feel as if he or she is a character within the story. Other pronouns used include your and yourself.

Third Person - the narrator describes what is going on around him/her, watching the action and referring to the focal character or characters as "he", "she", "it", or "they", but never as "I" or "we" (first-person), or "you" (second-person).


ELA.7.3.5. Contrast points of view (e.g., first and third person, limited and omniscient, subjective and objective) in narrative text and explain how they affect the overall theme of the work.