Authors can narrate a story from different points of view.
To learn what this means,
let’s consider different versions of the balcony scene
from Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo was in Juliet’s garden.
He was on the ground, and she was in the balcony.
They looked at each other for a long time.
This point of view is “third-person observant.”
The narrator tells us what happens,
but he does not tell us what Romeo and Juliet think and feel.
He is only an observer, like a camera.
Sometimes, though, the narrator tells us more:
When Romeo saw Juliet on the terrace above him,
he thought she looked as beautiful as the sun.
This point of view is “third-person omniscient.”
This narrator shares both what happens and what characters think and feel.
He is “all-knowing,” like a god.
Finally, the narrator also can be a character in the story:
I looked up at the terrace and saw Juliet, my love,
as beautiful as the sun, looking down on me.
This point of view is “first person.”
Because the narrator is Romeo, he tells us what Romeo thinks and feels,
but he cannot know what other characters think and feel.
The narrator tells us only what Romeo experiences.
Which point of view works best for the balcony scene
from Romeo and Juliet?