Viewpoint Scope (literature)

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Viewpoint as a Function of Narrative Focus Distance

Literary viewpoint or point of view can be broken down further than 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person perspectives. It can alternately be considered a function of the focus distance of the narrative 'eye'.

The focus distance or 'narrative scope' is a meter of how closely linked the story-telling eye (or narrator) is with the protagonists of the story. The 'closest' focal point is 1st person, where the narrative reflects just what the viewpoint character perceives, thinks, and feels i.e. the narrator is the protagonist.

A Different '1st Person'

While similar to the conventional interpretation of 1st person viewpoint, the scope meter distinguishes between a past tense narrative and a present tense narrative. A past tense narrative is interpreted to be a story-teller in the present reflecting on past events. Thus the story narrator has cognizance and reflection upon those events that, in effect, distance or color the actual depiction of those happenings. Conversely, a present tense narrative, in the subjective sense, is narrated in the 'now'. It is essentially a stream of consciousness where events are depicted as they occur (as opposed to being described after they occurred). Thus, present tense 1st person viewpoint is considered the 'tightest' or 'closest' focal viewpoint.

Shades of Third Person

Viewpoint scope interprets the third person point of view in terms of the restrictions placed on the narrative and the detail in which narrator's thoughts, perceptions, and sensations are rendered. Third person limited is an objective viewpoint that accepts the limitations of a 1st person viewpoint i.e. the narrative never strays from the protagonist, and is limited to just the thoughts, perceptions, and experiences of that narrator. As the focus distance increases and approaches omniscience, more and more narrative freedom is exercised by the writer.