POV/ Narration and Deeper Meaning

Point of view

the angle of vision from which a story is told

First-person point of view

the story is told by one of its characters, using the first person

Third person limited point of view

the author tells the story using the third person, but is limited to a complete knowledge of one character in the story and tells us only what that one character thinks, feels, sees, or hears

Omniscient point of view

the author tells the story using the third person, knowing all and free to tell us anything, including what the characters are thinking or feeling and why they act as they do

Objective point of view

(dramatic point of view) the author tells the story using the third person, but is limited to reporting what the characters say or do; the author does not interpret their behavior or tell the reader private thoughts or feelings

Stream of consciousness

narrative that presents the private thoughts of a character without commentary or interpretation by the author

Allegory

a narrative or description that has a second meaning beneath the surface, often relating each literal term to a fixed, corresponding abstract idea or moral principle; usually, the ulterior meanings belong to a pre-existing system of ideas or principles

Irony

a situation or use of language involving some kind of incongruity or discrepancy

Dramatic irony

an incongruity or discrepancy between what a character says or thinks and what the reader knows to be true (or between what a character perceives and what the author intends the reader to perceive)

Verbal irony

a figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant

Symbol

something that means more than what it is; an object, person, situation, or action that in addition to its literal meaning suggests other meanings as well

Theme

the central idea or unifying generalization implied or stated by a literary work