What is an omniscient point of view?

Answer 1

"Omniscient" means "all-knowing." An omniscient author--one who takes an omniscient point of view--can see and report everything. The telling of the story can reveal actions performed by any character, tell the thoughts of any character, and show events from the perspective of any character. The reader might be able to see inside the mind and motivations of the hero and heroine, the villain, the secondary characters, and even inactive spectators.

By contrast, a first-person narrative (where the narrator tells the story from his or her own point of view, using "I") can't see anyone's thoughts but his or her own and can't describe any events that happened when he or she wasn't there, unless there's some special way of knowing them (like being told by another character, reading a news story, or seeing direct evidence).

A limited omniscient point of view might reveal the inner thoughts of more than one character but not all. Those other characters would be known by what anyone can observe externally (just as we know other people in the real world), but the author does not tell you what's in their minds.
An omniscient point of view is an "all seeing" point of view. Instead of the point of view being limited to a certain character's perspective, the author describes the thoughts and feelings of all characters.

E.g. - John thought he would be able to cheat Dave. Dave didn't trust John. --We are seeing both character's thoughts.

E.g. - John thought he would be able to cheat Dave, but he could tell by Dave's expression that Dave was already distrustful. --Basically the same information is conveyed, but in this version "limited POV" we gain our insight through John's eyes only. He sees Dave's distrust, but we don't here Dave's thoughts regarding this.
Its the authors view of the story or a character in the story.
An omniscient point of view is when the narrator tells the thoughts of any character, not just the main character or characters.
A story with a first person narrator is when the narrator refers to him/herself as "I" and "me," like, "Harry and I went down to the store. I remember it was cold that day, and damp, and I was chilled to the bone," or whatever.

A third person narrator is when the story is told from the perspective of one of the characters, but the character is referred to as "he/she" or "him/her," as in, "She and Harry went down to the store. It was cold that day, and damp, and she was chilled to the bone."

A third person omniscient narrator is when the story is told from the perspective of many different characters, as in, "She and Harry went down to the store. It was cold that day, and damp, and she was chilled to the bone. Harry, on the other hand, didn't feel the cold at all. He was thinking only about the argument they'd had last night." The narrator in this case is like God (omniscient) -- the narrator sees all and knows all, and tells the story from the perspective of more than one character.

Much less common is second person narration. That's when the story is told as if the narrator were talking to a specific person: "You and Harry went down to the store. It was cold that day, and damp, and you were chilled to the bone."

Answer 2

An omniscient point of view is a narrative technique where the narrator knows and shares the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of all characters in a story. It provides a broad perspective, allowing readers access to information beyond what individual characters know.

Answer 3

Point of view in which the narrator sees into the minds of some but not all of the characters. Most typically, limited omniscience sees through the eyes of one major or minor character.

That definition came straight out of my Literature textbook

Answer 4

There is no such animal - it's either limited or omniscient, but it can't be both. Omniscient means "all knowing" and shows the thoughts and feelings of many different characters, while limited shows only one.