Voice

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Voice is the distinctive personality a reader hears in a narrator’s, character’s, or writer’s words. It can feel friendly, proud, bitter, playful, or reserved, even when no one is speaking aloud.

Where voice shows up

A narrator’s voice

A narrator’s voice is the personality heard in the telling of a story. It can suggest attitudes that the narrator does not openly admit.

In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck decides to help Jim despite believing that doing so is wrong. His plain, troubled account lets the reader hear his kindness alongside the beliefs he has been taught.

In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

A character’s voice

A character’s voice is the distinctive personality heard in that person’s speech. Characters in the same scene may sound very different from one another.

In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Collins refuses to accept Elizabeth’s rejection of his marriage proposal. His formal, self-important speech reveals how little attention he pays to her actual wishes.

In Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

How to spot voice

Notice whether the words sound friendly, formal, bitter, playful, or reserved.
Compare how different characters describe the same event.
Look for a personality that remains recognizable across several passages.

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What is the difference between voice and tone?

Voice is the recognizable personality in the words, while tone is the attitude toward a particular subject or situation. The same narrator can sound amused in one scene and sorrowful in another without losing that familiar personality.

Is the narrator’s voice always the author’s voice?

No, a narrator’s voice belongs to the person telling the story, who may have beliefs quite unlike the author’s. A boastful or cruel narrator does not mean the author shares those attitudes.