I’m writing an essay, comparing two narrators but I am not sure if “Narrator” needs to be capitalized.

Answer 1

Hi Scholar!

I understand that capitalization rules can be confusing at times and I'm sorry to hear that you have been struggling with this a little bit-

Here is my general advice for the word narrator in the case of comparing 2 narrators in an essay:

In an essay, when discussing two narrators, the best course of action is to keep the word narrator lower-case because the tone in essays are typically more formal and objective with grammatical structure.

1. Ideally, if possible, identify the actual names of the narrators if they are listed and refer to the narrators by their last name, which would have the first letter capitalized.

1. If there are no names listed for narrators, you may refer to it as "The narrator from ____ 1" and "The narrator from _____ 2" in order to help distinguish the 2 narrators.

1. In an essay, the word narrator would only be capitalized if it is also the first word of the sentence or happens to be the name of the actual character. (Such as....I went to the mall with my puppy, Narrator)

The word narrator is, itself, a speaker or teller of a story.

1. When you are reading or looking at the script of a play, movie or actable scene, the word narrator will be shown as capitalized and with a colon to show that it is the narrator's line.

For example-

Narrator: Once upon a time......

Character 1: Hi!

Character 2: How are you?

I hope this is helpful to you and please feel free to reach out if you would like to discuss further, ask any questions or inquire about sessions-- I am always here to help you all!

Answer 2

Hello,

As Isabelle stated above, in this situation "narrator" would not be capitalized. Unless the word was being used in a title or as a proper noun (i.e. name, place, etc.), it should remain lowercase. The name of the narrator, however, should be capitalized.

Have a great day!

Answer 3

Hi, If you mean the author by a " narrator," then the answer is yes. According to all style manuals, authors' names, first names, and family names must be capitalized.

If you refer to unnamed characters or narrators in a fictional novel or poem, then no. For example: " The narrator of Hemingway's short story is unnamed."

However, if the narrators ( characters) are named, you should refer to them by their names and capitalize them. For example: "Romeo and Juliet in William Shakspeare's play are speaking in monologues rather than in dialogues."

The word narrator should not be capitalized If your sentence looks like this: "The narrators of the story tell it from a different point of view. In my essay, I would like to compare and contrast their perspectives."

If the character's name in a novel is Narrator, then, and only then, it should be capitalized like any other name.

Attached here is a link to MLA style:https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_quotations.html

Answer 4

In this context, "narrator" does not need to be capitalized. While you are discussing a person, "narrator" is not the person's name. If, for example, you were using the person's name or referring to them as "Doctor ____," then you would need to use a capital.