Narrative voice

Also called First person, Third person, Omniscient narrator, Unreliable narrator

Who is telling the story, and how much they know or admit.

What it is

First person narration uses "I" and is limited to what that character knows. Third person limited follows one character closely; third person omniscient knows everything, including what characters are thinking.

An unreliable narrator is one the reader has reason to distrust — because they are lying, self-deceiving, very young, or unwell.

Where it applies

Prose set texts and English Language reading questions.

How it works

Voice controls sympathy. A first-person narrator gets the reader inside their reasoning, which is why unpleasant characters narrated in the first person are so uncomfortable to read.

Omniscience allows irony: the reader knows what a character does not.

How to use it in your work

Ask what the voice hides as well as what it tells you. With an unreliable narrator, the essay is usually about the gap between what they say and what the reader works out.

Note where the voice shifts. A novel that changes narrator, or a moment where a close third person slips into a character's own words, is doing something worth a paragraph.

Where to get help

Your teacher and your set-text notes.