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Narration Styles and Techniques Guide

The document discusses different types of narration in stories including first person narration where the narrator is a character with a limited point of view, interior monologue which presents a character's thoughts in a non-chronological way, third person limited narration where events are presented from one character's perspective, and third person omniscient narration where the narrator can access all characters' thoughts across time. It also discusses reported thought which presents thoughts without attribution and stream of consciousness which conveys unstructured thoughts in a story.

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82 views2 pages

Narration Styles and Techniques Guide

The document discusses different types of narration in stories including first person narration where the narrator is a character with a limited point of view, interior monologue which presents a character's thoughts in a non-chronological way, third person limited narration where events are presented from one character's perspective, and third person omniscient narration where the narrator can access all characters' thoughts across time. It also discusses reported thought which presents thoughts without attribution and stream of consciousness which conveys unstructured thoughts in a story.

Uploaded by

mkwryhkbpp
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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First-person narrator / limited point of view (Ich-Erzähler): The narrator is a character in the

story and uses the first-person singular (“I”). This narrator may be either the protagonist or
a minor character, who is just a kind of observer. As first-person narration presents the
action through the eyes of only one character, the narrator has a limited point of view. The
reader tends to identify with the narrator. Narrative distance can be created if the narrator
tells a story that happened years ago (for example in his or her childhood)  that means the
narrator can reflect on that event in a different way than if they are right in the middle of it.

Interior monologue: A particular form of first-person narration, which presents a character’s


thoughts, associations and memories. Interior monologues often do not follow
chronological order, since, when people think, their thoughts jump from one subject to
another.

Third-person limited narrator / limited point of view (personaler Erzähler):


The narrator stands outside the story and uses the third person (“he”, “she” or “they”) to
refer to the characters but presents the events mainly from the perspective of only one
character, i.e. he “limits” himself to the perspective of this character.

Third-person omniscient narrator / unlimited point of view, often called omniscient narrator
[from Latin omnis: everything, scire: to know] (allwissender Erzähler): The narrator can (at
least theoretically) look into the minds of all characters and tell us about their thoughts and
feelings. He can look into the past, tell about the present and also anticipate the future.
However, there is a certain distance between the characters and the reader.

Reported thought (erlebte Rede): Thoughts, memories, associations, etc., are presented as
reported speech (third person, past tense) but without common phrases like “she thought”,
“he wondered”, “she asked herself” etc. This technique creates the illusion of intimate
access to a character’s mind.

Stream of consciousness (Bewusstseinsstrom): An attempt to convey the continuous, often


unstructured or even chaotic flow of thoughts and emotions in the human mind. Typical
characteristics of this technique are incomplete sentences, sudden jumps or even complete
lack of any traditional syntactical structure and punctuation.

- That represents a trustworthy tone / a calm mood / a relaxed situation …


- This shows that
- This emphasizes how …
- Furthermore, as the reader we begin to question…
- The content is supported by the language, especially by the rhetorical devices
- On the one hand, the anaphora [“…”] illustrates …
- This emphasizes the idea that…
- The writer evokes a mood of
- This encourages the reader to imagine / feel / believe
- This effectively creates the impression of …
Rhetorical devices and language

- Simile, metaphor  This image shows …


- Use of words from the world field X
- This sentence structure depicts how accustomed the character has become to using
fewer words

Register
- Changes between formal and informal tone

Sentence structure
- Exclamation, short and incomplete sentences
- Long sentences that portray the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist

Essay

- In this essay, I will address the question of […] by looking at [aspects mentioned].
- One argument against; One argument in favor of […] is that […]
- In conclusion, it can be said that
- For this reason
-

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