PROSE

A prose is any kind of literary work that uses the direct narrative form as distinct from verse or
play format. In other words, a prose refers to the direct narration of a story in the ordinary
everyday spoken language without following any metrical or rhythmical pattern. In view of this,
prose does not adhere to any particular formal structure other than simple grammar.

Prose is often used synonymously with novel. Hence, another name for prose is called novel and
a person who writes novel/prose is known as a Novelist. Examples of prose include; novels,
novellas, novelettes and short stories. Other examples are; the Newspapers we read and the
compositions we write or read.

Characteristics/Features of Prose
a. Prose is a direct narrative form of a story
b. It is written in chapters and paragraphs.
c. It is meant to be read privately.
d. It is very voluminous or lengthy in terms of words as compared to poetry which tries to
economise words.
e. It easily makes use of non-human characters. E.g. fables.

Types of Prose
Based on the number of words used in the work of a prose, we have four (4) main types of prose.
These are:
1. Novel 3. Novelette
2. Novella 4. Short story

Novel: A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, normally in prose, which is usually
published as a book. A novel often involves multiple major characters, connected sequence of
events (plot), conflicts, points of view and often deals with human experience with a
considerable length in terms of words. The word count of a novel is really debatable because
many people have different views as to the exact word count of a novel. However, a novel is
usually not shorter than 40,000 words.

Novella: The term novella refers to a short story or novel especially one that teaches moral
lesson. The novella also has multiple characters but it often focuses on one character's personal
and emotional development rather than large-scale issues. Unlike novels, novellas are usually not
divided into chapters and it is usually possible to finish reading it in a single sitting. In terms of
length, the novella is usually longer than the novelette but shorter than a novel. In terms of word
count, the novella is generally thought to be between 17,000 and 40,000 words.
Novelette: This is a short prose or story that is usually based on romance. A novelette is usually
shorter than a novella but longer than a short story. The word count of a novelette is usually
between 7,500 to17, 500 words, and just like the novella, the novelette can also be read in a
single sitting.

Short Story: A short story is basically a fictional prose written in a narrative style. It is often
used to describe a single event, a single episode or a tale of a particular character. In view of this,
a short story does not involve multiple characters, conflict and sub-plots development. Like the
novella and the novelette, a short story can also be read in a single sitting. An average short story
usually has at least 3,500 words but not more than 7,500 words.

NB: The main difference between a novel, novella, novelette and a short story is usually based
on word count or length. In terms of words and length, the novel is longer than the novella, the
novella is also longer than the novelette and the novelette is in turn longer than the short story.

Classification of prose
Prose as a literary work is classified into two major types namely:

1. Fiction

2. Non-fiction.

Fictional Prose/Novel
A fiction is a story that is primarily imaginative. A fictional prose/novel therefore refers to the
imaginative works of art. Fictional prose/novels are usually based on the imaginations of writers
hence; they are not real life stories or events. An example of fiction is the novel and fictional
novels include; Things Fall Apart, Faceless, African Child, Weep Not Child, Money Galore,
Great Expectations, Gulliver's Travels, Purple Hibiscus, The Concubine etc.

Types/Forms of Fictional Prose/Novel

Prose fiction or fictional prose is classified into the following types or forms:

1. Fable 5. Epistolary novels

2. Allegory 6. Adventure stories/novels
3. Parable 7. Gothic novels
4. Picaresque novels
Fable: This refers to a story with animal characters that teaches a moral lesson. In fables,
animals are given human characteristics and intelligence so they behave like human beings. This
is done so that human weaknesses are brought out. A story is therefore said to be didactic when
it teaches moral lessons. A good example of a fable is the novel, Animal Farm by George
Orwell.

Allegory: This is a story in which characters are used as symbols or used to represent virtue
(goodness) or vice (evil) to teach a moral lesson.
Also, it is a type of writing in which animals are made to represent some types of people in the
society the writer wants to write about.
In other words, an allegory refers to a story in which characters and actions symbolise or
represent abstract ideas or qualities. These abstract ideas or qualities may include; faithfulness,
loyalty, honesty, truthfulness, contentment, love, envy, cruelty, corruption, pride, etc.
An allegory usually has two levels of meanings namely; the superficial meaning and the
deeper meaning; in other words, the literal meaning and the symbolic meaning. The most
notable allegory in English include; John Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress, George Orwell's Animal
Farm and Idylls of the King.

Epistolary: The term epistolary is derived from the root word "epistle which means "letter." the
term epistolary, therefore, refers to a novel that is written in the form of a letter. Some writers
sometimes decide to write their novels in the form of a letter or in a series of letters and when a
novel is written in this manner, then the novel is said to be an epistolary novel. In the epistolary
novels, writers write by exchanging letters. Epistolary novels include; So Long a Letter by
Mariama Ba, Pemella and Clarissa both by Samuel Richardson. The narrative technique used in
Epistolary novels is the first person narrator.

Adventure Stories: These are stories that talk about the escapades (dangers or risks) of people.
Examples of adventure stories (novels) are; Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, King
Solomon's Mines by Sir Henry Rider Haggard (Popularly known as H. Rider Haggard) and Heart
of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

Picaresque: This is a story or novel that talks about the adventures of a rogue. The main
character in a picaresque is usually a rogue. A rogue is usually a hero of low social class who
lives a dishonest or mischievous life style in a story of a novel. An example of a picaresque
novel is Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.

Gothic Story/Novel: This is a story with magical acts, horrors, mysteries and frightening plots
and scenes. A gothic novel/story is often characterised by the theme(s) of fear, horror, violence
and supernatural events. Examples of gothic novels include; The Castle of Otranto by Horace
Walpole, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, A Quarter Past Midnight by Faith Ben-
Daniels, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
Parable: A parable is short fiction that elicits or illustrates an explicit moral lesson. In order
words, it is a short narrative story that teaches moral or religious lesson. E.g. the parables told by
Jesus in the Bible: "The parable of the sower", "The parable of the Good Samaritan", "The
parable of the Prodigal Son", etc.

Non-Fictional Prose/Novel
A non-fiction is a story that is based on factual of events. Non-fictional prose/novels deal with
true or real life stories of people or events that have taken place and have been documented
rather than an imaginary point of view.

Types/Forms of Non-Fictional Prose/Novel

The various forms of non-fictional literary works include:

1. Biographies 4. History

2. Autobiographies 5. Chronicles

3. Memoirs 6. Essays

Biography: This is the story of a person written by another person. In biographical novels,
authors explicitly tell or narrate the true life stories of other people but not themselves. So the
narrative technique used in telling these types of stories is the third person narrator. An
example of a biographical novel is the novel, Journeys of an African Father by Lawrence
Darmani.

Autobiography: The word 'auto' means 'self.' An autobiography therefore refers to a story of a
person's life written by the person himself or herself. Novels that tell the true life stories of the
authors themselves are referred to as autobiographical novels. These types of novels are usually
told or written using the first person point of view. Autobiographical novels include; The
African Child by Camara Laye, Black Boy by Richard Wright etc.

Memoir: A memoir is a type of an autobiography. It is a written account of significant or

important places, events or people. The memoir usually gives an account of the life experience of
a writer or reveals the experiences within the writer's life time. Memoirs mostly talk about
important historical events like attainment of independence or a political struggle that took place
in the life time of the writer of which he himself took part. Richard Wright's novel, Black Boy
and John Dramani Mahama's My First Coup D'état are typical examples of a memoir.

Chronicles: This refers to a historical account of events in a chronological order (thus, in the
order in which they occurred).
Essay: This simply refers to a piece of writing on a particular subject or topic. The person who
does this work is called an Essayist.

Elements of Novel
To create a fictional story that may appear real to readers, novelists put together some key
elements. These elements are called elements of a novel and they include the following:

1. Conflict 5. Subject matter

2. Suspense 6. Theme

3. Plot 7. Character & Characterisation

4. Setting 8. Narrator & Narrative Technique

Conflict: This refers to the struggle or disagreement between two opposing forces. Conflict
could be internal or external.

Internal Conflict: The internal conflict takes place within the mind of a character. Thus, when a
character fights against himself or herself.

Man vs. self/Character vs. self: This is an internal conflict, meaning the opposition the
character faces is coming from within. Tis may entail a struggle to discern what is moral or right
choice. It may also encompass mental health struggle.

External Conflict: The external conflict, on the other hand, occurs when a character struggles or
fights against some outside forces such as another person (character), nature or the society.
External conflict usually takes the following forms:

Man vs. Man/ Character vs. character: This form of conflict occurs when a character fights
against another character. The fight could be physical or spiritual.

Man vs. Nature/Character vs. nature: This form of conflict occurs when a character struggles
against some natural forces, phenomena or happenings of which man has no control over.
Examples of these natural forces or occurrences or happenings include; storm, rainfall, draught
and others such as fate, barrenness, impotence or a natural spirit.

Man vs. Society/Character vs. society: With this form of external conflict, man (character)
struggles against some elements of the society. It could be the culture (traditions, customs and
beliefs) of the society or some other institutions like; schools, courts or the prison services in the
society.

Man vs. supernatural/Character vs. supernatural: Pitting characters against phenomena like
ghosts, gods, dwarfs, monsters raises the stakes of a conflict by creating an unequal playing field.
Ex: Harry potter, Odysseus etc.
Man vs. technology / Character vs. technology: This type of conflict is the hallmark of science
fiction, which explores the problems that arise when technology grows beyond its intended use.
Here, a character faces technology (such as a robot, a machine, or a mechanical failure) and must
prevail against it. This type of conflict lends itself well to existential conflicts, since it raises the
question of the hubris of mankind and how we might be defeated by the inventions we create
ourselves.
Suspense
This is a device that is used to sustain the interest of audience or readers. In other words, it is a
device that is used to put the audience or readers in the greatest expectation of the outcome of
story. In stories, suspense is usually used to delay the expectations audience or readers so as to
make them anxious of the outcome of the story.

In fact, suspense is the most essential "ingredient" in every story so without it, the story will be
like "tea without sugar." This is because suspense puts much quality in the works of art
(especially drama or novel), in that it makes the audience or readers want to read or watch a story
further to find out what will happen next or how the story will end. So, it usually makes the
audience or readers ask questions such as; "what will happen next?" or "What will be the
outcome of the story" or" How will the story end?"

Plot
In writing interesting essays, plays, novels or stories, writers usually arrange their ideas in a
sequential or chronological order in order to avoid jumbling of ideas or events in the stories. This
orderly arrangement of ideas is called plot. In Literature, the term plot, therefore, refers to the
chronological order or the sequence of events in a literary work. In other words, it is the
sequential arrangement of events, actions, incidents or ideas in a story. Plot is the most essential
element of the novel.

Stages of plot
The development of the plot of every good story comes in stages. For example, according to
Aristotle a plot as a narrative structure has three main parts or stages namely; beginning, middle
most stories and these end. Days However, is the most common plot structure used in Gustav
Freytag's plot structure. According to Gustav Freytag, a plot as a narrative structure is divided
into five stages and they are; exposition rising action, climax, falling action and the denouement
or resolution. These stages are illustrated in the diagram below.

Exposition/Introduction: the introduction of This characters, is the first events stage and of the
conflict plot and that it refers to are about to be unfolded in the story of a novel or play. The
exposition usually comes at the beginning of a story and the conflict of most stories begins to
unfold at this stage (exposition).
Rising Action: The rising action is the part that builds up to the climax of the plot. The rising
action, therefore, refers to the new events or situations that occur in a story to complicate the
conflict of the story. At this stage, new issues or events are introduced into the conflict of a story
to make it complex or serious and also build more suspense into the audience or readers.

In some cases, where the conflict of a story does not begin at the exposition stage, then, it is
brought at the rising action and begins to complicate as the story continues to unfold. The rising
action is also referred to as complication and it often comes immediately after the exposition.

Climax: After the rising action, the next stage that follows is the climax. The climax refers to the
most intense part of the conflict of a story. In other words, it is the point or moment of greatest or
highest intensity or interest or excitement or anxiety in a play or novel. The climax is usually
considered as the turning point of a literary work. In other words, it is the peak of the conflict of
a literary work and whatever outcome is achieved here usually leads to the next stage called the
falling action.

Falling Action: This comes next after the climax. It usually brings the conflict of a story to the
resolution stage. Unlike the rising action where new events are introduced into a story to
complicate the conflict, in falling action, the new events are introduced into the story to resolve
the conflict.

Denouement: This is the term used for resolving the conflict in a literary work. The denouement
is usually the final or last stage of the plot. It is where the conflict in a novel/play is resolved and
peace and order is restored in the noel/play. The denouement is also referred to as resolution and
it can be on a happy note or on a sad note.

Setting: This refers to the time, place, weather and cultural background in which the events or
actions of a story take place. In other words, it is the physical background of a literary work.
Whenever the setting of a literary work is mentioned, two elements come to mind namely;
"Time" and "Place." The "place" here refers to the location or geographical area the events of a
story take place whilst the "time" may refer to the century or historical period or the season or
the climatic condition of the atmosphere at the time the events or actions of a story is taking
place. The place, time and cultural background in which a character grew up can affect his/his
behavior. The setting of a story could be urban or rural. A story that is set in a village is referred
to as a pastoral whilst the one that is set in an urban area is called "urban lit" or "urban
fiction."

Subject matter: This refers to the general idea of any piece of literary work. The subject matter
of a story refers to what the story is actually talking about. Most themes of stories are usually
derived from the subject matter of the stories.
Theme: This refers to the main or central or dominant idea in a literary work or story. The theme
is the underlying meaning of a literary work It is the message the author shares with the
readership, audience of mankind. The theme of a literary work may be explicit or implicit. It is
explicit if it is directly stated by the author in the work. However, it is implicit if it is not stated
directly in the work by the author but it is suggested by some elements of the work. This
theme(s) is usually derived from a literary work by the audience or readers. Hence, it is often
referred to as "reader's response" or "reader's derived theme(s)." 'Theme' and 'Subject matter'
have sometimes been confused and, therefore, need to be clarified here. The 'subject' is the topic
on which the author has chosen to write; whereas the 'theme' makes a statement or an opinion on
the topic.

Also, a literary work or text usually borders on only one subject matter but it can have more than
one theme - a major theme and sub-themes or minor themes. The major theme is the most
important idea in the literary work. This theme runs through the entire work or text. The sub
themes or minor themes, on the other hand, are the themes that do not run through the entire
work. These themes are developed in some sections of the literary work.

Lastly, the subject matter of a literary work is usually expressed in the form of a word or a phrase
but a proper theme is normally expressed in the form of a complete statement - having a subject
and a predicate. E.g.

Subject matter - War

Themes- War is futile.

- Fighting resolves nothing.

Character & Characterisation

Character: In Literature, the term character(s) refers the person or animal that takes part in the
actions of a literary work. In other words, a character is a person or an animal that performs
certain well- defined role(s) in a play or novel.

Types of Character

There are two main types of Characters in literature. These are: Major character and Minor
character.

Major Character: This is a character on whom the actions of a story are built or centered. This
character flourishes or appears in almost all the actions of the story.
Minor Character: This refers to a character who is not the focus of story but plays important
role(s) in the story. Unlike the main character, the minor character does not appear in all the
actions of the story. He/she is sometimes seen only at the beginning or at the middle or
sometimes only at the end.

Categories of Major & Minor Characters

Characters are given certain well-defined roles to play in literary works or stories. In view of
this, a character (major or minor) in a novel/play may be; flat or round, a protagonist or an
antagonist, a villain, a jester/clown, or a foil to another character.

Round Character: This refers to a character that develops in the course of the work or events of
the novel/play. This type of character changes in behaviour or attitude before the novel/play
ends. Another name for round character is called dynamic character. Examples of round
characters include; Aloho in Harvest off Corruption by Frank Ogodo Obeche and Mrs. Brofosem
in The Blinkards by Kobina Sekyi.

Flat Character: A flat character, on the other hand, is a character that does not develop or
change in behaviour or attitude in the course of events and situations in a novel/play. For
instance, if the character is wicked, then she/he will remain wicked from the beginning to the end
of the story. A flat character is also referred to as static or stereotyped character and examples of
such characters include; ACP Yakubu and Ogeyi both in Frank Ogodo Ogbeche's Harvest of
Corruption, Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Mr. Onyimdzi in Kobina
Sekyi's The Blinkards.

Hero/Heroine: This refers to a person who is admired for doing something extremely brave or
good. In Literature, a hero/heroine is usually a character who possesses admirable qualities and
also does good things in a story. The hero/heroine may also be the chief character in a story.

Protagonist: This is a term used to refer to the main character in a novel/play around whom the
action centres or revolves. The protagonist may also be referred to as hero if he is male character
or heroine if she is a female character.

Antagonist: An antagonist is the character who opposes the main character (protagonist) in a
novel/play. Ina novel/play, the antagonist always fights against the protagonist who is often
considered as his opponent or "enemy". For example, in a "war film" situation, the "Jack" is
usually considered the protagonist whilst the "Killer" is considered as his antagonist.

Foil: Foil in literature refers to a character whose behaviour or attitude contrasts that of the main
character. In other words, the foil is a character whose actions or qualities are the direct opposite
of that of the main character. For example, if the main character is humble, the foil will be
arrogant, or if the main character is patient, the foil will be very temperamental. A vivid example
of this is seen in the characters of Odewale and Ojuola in Ola Rotimi's The Gods are Not to
Blame where Odewale, the protagonist is arrogant and very quick tempered, Ojuola, the foil, is
humble and very patient. Also, in the play, Harvest of Corruption, the Commissioner of the
Police is a foil to ACP Yakubu whilst Ogeyi is also a foil to Aloho.

Villain: This refers to a character who does wrong or evil or wicked things in a novel/play
which consequently affects the plot of the novel/ play. In other words, the villain is a character
who works against the interest of other characters in a literary work. In most stories, the villain is
often a bad character or an evil plotter and he/she always plans evil towards the protagonist and
sometimes other characters. A good example of a villain is Iago in Shakespeare's play Othello.

Clown: A clown, also known as a jester, refers to a humorous character that does or says silly
things in a novel/play purposely to create humour or laughter. The major role of the clown in a
literary work is to cause amusement or laughter or humour. So in a literary work, the clown
normally creates comic relief.

Rogue: A rogue refers to a dishonest or mischievous or worthless character in a story. A rogue is

usually the protagonist or the main character in the picaresque novel.

Characterisation
In simple terms, characterization refers to how character is depicted in a story. It is the portrayal
of human traits in novel/day. Characterisation is a method used by an author to develop the
qualities or the personality of a character in a story. These human traits or personality of a
character(s) can be developed by an author through one or more of the following ways:

a. What the character says.

b. What the character does in a story.

c. What people or other characters say about the character.

d. What the author/narrator says about the character. (Thus, the author's comments on the
personality of the character as in the case of a novel). These kinds of comments are called
authoritative comments.
e. What the character thinks. In a play, this is usually known when the character is
soliloquising.

f. How the character is introduced into the story by the author.

g. How the character changes as in the case of a round character.

 h. How the character reacts under certain circumstances such as extreme emotion, anxiety,
provocation or desperation as in the case of Aloho in Harvest of Corruption.

i. What the character wears. Thus, the dress code (physical appearance) of a character
gives readers a clue of what the character's personality or behaviour is most likely to be.
For instance, the dress code or physical appearance of Ochuole as described at the
beginning of scene one of Frank Ogodo Obgeche's Harvest of Corruption portrays her
behaviour in the play.

j. The name of the character. There are instances where a character's name may have a
link with his behaviour to portray the meaning of his name. When this happens, the term
used to refer to it in literature is known as Aptronym or Charactonym. An example is
the names of some of the characters in The Blinkards by Kobina Sakyi where names such
as; Mrs. Brofosem, Mr. Onyimdze, Mr. Okadu, Mr. Tsiba, etc. correspond to the
behaviour and nature of these characters in the play.

Types of Characterisation
There are two methods that can be used by an author to develop the personality of a character in
a story. These methods are:

1. Direct/Explicit characterization

2. Indirect/Implicit characterisation.

Direct/Explicit Characterisation

This type of characterisation uses a direct approach to build the personality of a character. In this
type of characterisation, the author/writer uses the narrator or other characters to provide the
readers or audience with information about a character's personality (i.e. who/what the character
is) in a story.

Indirect/Implicit Characterisation

This type of characterisation uses an indirect approach to build the personality of a character. In
this type of characterisation, the author/writer does not provide the readers or audience with
information about the personality of a character. It is rather the readers or audience who deduce
for themselves the personality of the character by observing the character's thought process,
behaviour, speech, actions and reactions in different situations.
 Narrator & Narrative Technique /point of view
Who is a narrator?
A narrator refers to the person who tells the story in a novel/ Depending on the position or
perspective from which an author to present his story, the narrator of a story could be a first
person, a third person narrator, an omniscient narrator or a naive narrator.
A narrator may also be objective or subjective narrator.
The objective is a reliable narrator and often feeds readers with information on facts but not
based on personal opinions, feelings, or sentiments. The objective narrator usually allows events
to speak for themselves.
The subjective narrator, on the other hand, is an unreliable narrator. The subjective narrator is
biased in his/her narration so he/she does not allow events to speak for themselves. The
subjective narrator normally feeds readers with information based on his/he personal opinions,
feelings or emotions but not based on facts.

Narrative Technique versus Point of view

Narrative technique

A narrative technique refers to the method an author uses to tell or narrate a story. In other
words, it is the author's way or manner of telling or presenting his/her story. A narrative
technique may also be referred to style. That is, the style a writer employs in presenting his/her
work that distinguishes it from the work of other writers.

Point of view

Point of view, on the other hand, refers to the angle of vision or the position or perspective from
which a story is presented or told. Even though narrative technique and point of view differ
slightly, they are sometimes used interchangeably. Hence narrative technique is sometimes
called point of view.

Types of Narrative Techniques/Points of view

The different angles or perspectives from which authors tell their stories lead to the different
types of narrative techniques/points of view. In telling a story, an author may choose to use the
first person narrator, the third person narrator, the omniscient narrator or the naive narrator. This
choice of a narrator for a story depends on the person from whom the author wants his story to
be presented or told and the kind of information he wants to put across. The different types of
narrative techniques/points of view are as follows:
The First Person Narrator: The first person narrator also known as the first person point of
view or the 'I' or personal or self-narrator refers to the type of narrative technique/point of view
in which the story of novel is told by one of the characters in the story. Writers use this point of
view when they want their story to be told by one of the characters in the story. So in this point
of view, the character (who is usually a first person narrator) narrates or tells what happened to
him/her and other characters in the story. The dominant pronouns used in this type of narrative
technique are the first person pronouns such as; I, We, Me, Us, My and Our. Examples of
novels written in this point of view include; Treasure Island, Purple Hibiscus, The Kaya-Girl,
Moll Flanders, Gulliver's Travels, Sinbad the Sailor and Black Boy.

Third Person Limited Point of View: This is also called the limited third person narrator and it
refers the narrative technique in which the story of a novel is told by a narrator who does not take
part in the action of the story. In this point of view, the narrator acts as an outside observer so he
tells readers only what the characters say and do but does not get access to their thoughts. In
view of this, the third person narrator is always limited as he/she does not have a complete
knowledge of the thoughts of the characters. In other words, he/she does not get access to
whatever goes through the minds of the characters. Stories that use this point of view are usually
told using the third person pronouns like; He, She, It, They, His, Her, Its and Them.

The Omniscient Narrator/Point of View: This refers to the type of point of view in which a
story is told by a narrator who appears to know everything about the characters in the story
including their thoughts and intentions. This point of view also uses the third person pronouns
except that in the omniscient point of view, the narrator is all-knowing. Thus, he/she knows all
about the characters so he/ she can even go through the minds of the characters to bring out
whatever is in their minds or hearts to readers including even what is considered as a secret.
Another name of the omniscient point of view is the "All-knowing Point of View" and
examples of novels written in this point of view include; Things Fall Apart, Ancestral Sacrifice,
Weep Not Child, A Woman in Her Prime and Faceless.

The Multiple Person Point of View: This is the point of view in which writer uses two or more
techniques or narrators to tell his story. In this point of view, we have the first person, the third
person and the omniscient points of view featuring throughout the story at the same time.
Examples of novels written in this point of view include; Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua
Achebe and The Last Duty by Isidore Opkewho."

Stream of Consciousness: This is a style of writing or a narrative technique which attempts to

depict or imitate the natural flow of characters' thoughts and feelings in a literary work. In other
words, it is a method of narration that describes happenings in the flow of thoughts in the minds
of characters.
Interior monologue: This is a narrative technique that involves the presentation of a character's
inner thoughts and feelings without the intrusion of the writer. Interior monologue occurs in
drama when a character is soliloquising.

Naive Narrator: This is a narrative technique in which the story of a novel is presented by an
inexperienced narrator who does not see the effects of the events being narrated. So in this
narrative technique/point of view, it is rather the readers who see the effects and implications of
the events being narrated much more plainly than the narrator. This technique/point of view is
often used with a child narrator describing terrible events, and so getting the reader's sympathy.