Narrative technique

Unreliable Narrator

A narrator whose account cannot be fully trusted due to bias, ignorance, or instability.

An unreliable narrator distorts the story through limited knowledge, self-interest, or a troubled mind, so readers must read between the lines. Writers use this technique to create irony, suspense, and psychological depth. The gap between what the narrator claims and what readers infer becomes a source of meaning.

Example

The narrator insists he is sane while describing an irrational murder, so his very protests reveal the madness he denies.

The Tell-Tale Heart ยท Edgar Allan Poe

See it in action

Analyses on StoryBites that use unreliable narrator:

The Yellow WallpaperCharlotte Perkins GilmanThe Tell-Tale HeartEdgar Allan PoeLigeiaEdgar Allan PoeWhy I Live at the P.O.Eudora Welty

Related terms

First-Person NarrationA narrative told by a character using I or we, from inside the events.Point of ViewThe perspective from which a story is told.Dramatic IronyWhen the audience knows something important that one or more characters do not.

← All literary terms