Narrative technique

Free Indirect Discourse

A third-person technique that blends a narrator’s voice with a character’s thoughts.

Free indirect discourse reports a character’s inner thoughts without quotation marks or tags like she thought, so the narration takes on the character’s wording and feeling. Writers use it to move fluidly between outside observation and inside experience. It creates intimacy while keeping the flexibility of third-person narration.

Example

As Louise whispers “free, free, free,” the narration slips into her exhilarated thoughts, blending her inner voice with the third-person account.

The Story of an Hour · Kate Chopin

See it in action

Analyses on StoryBites that use free indirect discourse:

The Story of an HourKate ChopinSoldier's HomeErnest HemingwayThe NecklaceGuy de MaupassantEdithaW.D. HowellsOdour of ChrysanthemumsD.H. LawrenceThe MetamorphosisFranz KafkaThe DeadJames JoyceEvelineJames JoyceThe Lady with the DogAnton ChekhovThe Death of Ivan IlyichLeo TolstoyThe DarlingAnton ChekhovThe Garden PartyKatherine Mansfield

Related terms

Point of ViewThe perspective from which a story is told.Stream of ConsciousnessA style that tries to capture the continuous flow of a character’s thoughts and impressions.First-Person NarrationA narrative told by a character using I or we, from inside the events.

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