Choosing the right POV (point of view) for a new work of fiction has always been a matter of great importance in storytelling.
And, when you opt for a third-person omniscient narrator, you get what you wished for, an all-knowing narrative voice for your story taking your readers into every character’s head.
Related: What is Third Person Limited POV?
Contents
What is Third Person Omniscient Point of View?
In the third-person omniscient narrative the storyteller has complete access to all the character’s thoughts, emotions & feelings, the omniscient narrator knows everyone and everything. The third-person omniscient narrator is sometimes referred to as the god-narrator because they tell the story from their own god-like perspective.
- In this narrative the narrator uses third person pronouns such as ”he”, ”his”, ”she”, ”her”, ”it”, ”they”, ”them” or can refer to the characters directly by their names.
- The best part of third-person omniscient narrators is that they are reliable in telling the story.
- The readers can trust the omniscient narrator’s words and whatever they are depicted in the story as they are all-knowing, they know every character’s ins and outs and usually tell the story without showing any bias toward a specific character.
Understand the use of third-person omniscient point of view from sentence examples-
- Everyone in the group was so excited after visiting the old hotel, but Smith, Justin and Rachel were scared of some supernatural events which started happening after their arrival.
- After facing humiliation at the college Jim and Noah planned to take revenge on Benee but they didn’t know Benee had also planned to do something evil.
Examples of Third Person Omniscient (Point of View)-
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
Elizabeth was just thinking whether to tell of this engagement to her parents. Sir William Lucas himself arrived at Longbourn and formally told of the engagement. Bennets could not believe it and were amazed too much. Mrs Bennet and Lydia very awkwardly challenged this news to be true, but Elizabeth confirmed it which they could jealously believe it.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
Prince Vasili always spoke indolently, like an actor rehearsing an old part. Anna Pavlovna, on the contrary, in spite of her forty years, was full of vivacity and impulses. Being an enthusiast had given her a peculiar position in society, and sometimes, even when it was contrary to her own inclinations, she worked herself up to the proper pitch of enthusiasm, so as not to disappoint her acquaintances.
WAR AND PEACE
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.
The boy went out. They had eaten with no lights on the table, and the old man took off his trousers and went to bed in the dark….He was asleep in short time, and he dreamed of Africa when he was a boy and the long golden beaches and the white beaches, so white they hurt your eyes…
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Sometimes she did not know what she feared, what she desired: whether she feared or desired what had been or what would be, and precisely what she desired, she did not know.
ANN KARENINA
- The Hobbit by J. R. R Tolkien
The dwarves groaned and looked most distressed, and Bilbo wept. They had begun to think Gandalf was going to come all the way and would always help them out in difficulties.
THE HOBBIT
