Narrative technique

First-Person Narration

A narrative told by a character using I or we, from inside the events.

First-person narration gives direct access to one character’s thoughts and feelings while limiting readers to that character’s knowledge. Writers use it for intimacy and immediacy, and it naturally raises questions of reliability. What the narrator cannot see or will not admit shapes the reader’s experience.

Example

The secret journal entries in the first person let readers track the narrator’s decline from within, even as she loses her grip on reality.

The Yellow Wallpaper · Charlotte Perkins Gilman

See it in action

Analyses on StoryBites that use first-person narration:

The Pit and the PendulumEdgar Allan PoeEveryday UseAlice Walker

Related terms

Point of ViewThe perspective from which a story is told.Unreliable NarratorA narrator whose account cannot be fully trusted due to bias, ignorance, or instability.Stream of ConsciousnessA style that tries to capture the continuous flow of a character’s thoughts and impressions.

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