Talk about narrative perspective in detail

Narrative perspective, also called narrative aggregation, is a specific angle to observe and tell the content of a story with narrative language. The same event may present different faces from different angles and have different meanings for different people.

Three forms

It is the critics of structuralism who study narrative perspective in detail. They have studied the form of narrative perspective in many aspects. The Frenchman Tzvetan Todorov divided the narrative perspective into three forms:

Omniscient perspective

Omniscient perspective (zero perspective), narrator >; This character, that is, the narrator, knows more than any other character. He is fully aware and can't explain to the readers how he knows all this. As Wellek and Warren said in The Principles of Literature, "He can write in the third person and is an omniscient and omnipotent writer. This is undoubtedly a traditional and' natural' narrative mode. The author appears next to his work, just like a speaker explains it with slides or documentaries. " This kind of "explanation" can transcend everything. History, present and future are all in his field of vision. He knows everything that happens anywhere, even a few things that happen at the same time. In this case, the reader just passively accepts the story and tells it.

This "omniscient and omnipotent" narrative perspective is very similar to the storyteller in classical novels. Nothing is impossible as long as the narrator wants to do something. It is not difficult to hear, see and walk into the hearts of characters and know anything that happens at any time and any place. Therefore, the biggest and most obvious advantage of this narrative perspective lies in its infinite horizon, which is suitable for expressing themes with large time and space extension, complex contradictions and many characters, so it is favored by epic works. Secondly, it is convenient to describe people and things in all directions (inside and outside, horizontal, virtual and real, dynamic and static). In addition, the observation or narrative angle can be changed temporarily and flexibly, which not only increases the credibility of the work, but also changes the narrative form, thus strengthening its expressive force. It is also an advantage that the narrative is simple and clear, and the reader looks relaxed.

Because of its superiority, the omniscient perspective has always been regarded as outdated, but it still has vitality.

But the defects of this narrative perspective are also quite obvious. What is often criticized and doubted is the true credibility of narrative, that is, "omniscient". Von Maertel Ames said in Aesthetics of Fiction: "The general method is this: the omniscient author keeps inserting stories and telling readers what he knows. The unreality of this process often destroys the illusion of the story. Unless the author himself is extremely interesting, he is not welcome to intervene. " Because there is only one voice of the author here, everything is the embodiment of the author's consciousness. Furthermore, this narrative form is generally closed, its structure is relatively rigid, and time and space basically extend or change according to natural time series, without ups and downs; In addition, the "omniscient" narrative leaves readers very limited room for re-creation, forcing them to passively follow the narrative, which is obviously not in line with the taste of modern people.

Internal perspective

Narrator = character, that is, the narrator knows as much as the character, and the narrator only conveys everything from the perspective of his vision, hearing and feeling with the help of a certain character's feeling and consciousness. The narrator can't provide something that the characters don't know yet, and can't explain it in one way or another, such as "omniscient consciousness". Because the narrator enters the story and scene, has two jobs, or tells stories or experiences, the credibility and intimacy of his words naturally exceed omniscient narration, which is why it is often used in modern novels. This type is named "internal focus narrative" by French structuralist critic Genette. This internal perspective includes the protagonist perspective and the witness perspective.

The advantage of the protagonist's perspective is that when the characters tell their own things, they will naturally have a special sense of intimacy and realism. As long as he wants, he can reveal what is hidden in his heart. Even if his writing is exaggerated or self-deprecating, readers may regard it as the external appearance of his character, rather than being picky and questioning like an omniscient perspective. In addition, it absorbs the advantages of depicting characters in all directions from an omniscient perspective, which is especially convenient to reveal the deep psychology of the protagonist. For other characters, we can also use certain artistic techniques to describe them from the outside and contact their inner world. The main limitation of this perspective is the limitation of the person's own conditions, such as age, gender, education, ideological character, temperament IQ and so on. If it is not done well, it will easily lead to the dislocation of the protagonist's situation with his narrative discourse style and tone, and with his narrative theme, and the result will be as unreliable as the omniscient perspective. Another drawback is that it is difficult to describe the major themes of complex events in the background, and Natasha Rostova cannot be the overall narrator of War and Peace. But it is often handy to tell personal history, such as Robinson Crusoe and Forrest Gump. Third, it is difficult to describe the external image of the protagonist who acts as a viewpoint. Just like looking in the mirror, it is inevitable that there will be some posturing.

Witness's viewpoint is the viewpoint narrated by minor characters (usually clues), and its superiority is greater than the protagonist's viewpoint. First of all, as a witness, it is obvious that his narrative has shaped the complete image of the main characters more objectively and effectively. Secondly, when necessary, the narrator can make emotional reflection and moral evaluation on the characters and events described, which not only provides convenience for the author to intervene indirectly, but also brings a certain political color and lyrical atmosphere to the work. The Pushkin shooting and the postmaster case in Belgin's novels are representative witness narratives. Its third advantage is that the narrator can change the narrative angle flexibly and temporarily by listening to other people's reports, thus breaking through his own limitations in knowledge and experience. For example, in The Postman, the postman's daughter Dunia was kidnapped by hussars, which was told to me by the postman. Fourthly, when the witness narrates the story of the main character, because he enters the scene, they often form a set-off, contradiction and dialogue relationship, which will undoubtedly strengthen the performance of the characters and themes in the work and sometimes promote the development of the plot. However, the witness's point of view is also limited by the narrator's knowledge, personality and intelligence. The truth of some things, the innermost thing of the main character, can only be revealed by the above-mentioned main character's own words. If such words are written too long, it may dilute the basic plot and make the narrative dull.

From the concrete analysis, we think that the author is not more conscious than the protagonist. This is a narrative work based on reciprocity. The author never knows more than the characters or protagonists, but participates in the dialogue with equal strength. In contemporary novels, a large number of works are described from this narrative perspective. It strengthens the authenticity of the work and expands the expressive force of the work. In Feng Jicai's Tall Woman and Short Husband, the author chooses the eyes of the residents of Unity Building as the narrative perspective. This narrative perspective has always been difficult to see through the secrets between this disproportionate couple. The screenwriter stubbornly insists on this narrative perspective, so in the end we only get a few pictures of the residents of Unity Building: their looks are out of harmony, they are criticized and forced to leave, and they reunite or even say goodbye. The novel not only conquered the readers with these pictures, but also made our thoughts linger with the blank between the pictures.

External perspective

Narrator