Skip to content
    English Literature GCSE

    Free Indirect Discourse

    What Free Indirect Discourse means in English Literature GCSE, as defined for Eduqas, OCR, Pearson Edexcel.

    Definitions of Free Indirect Discourse

    Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.

    A style of third-person narration which uses some of the characteristics of third-person along with the essence of first-person direct speech.
    Eduqas, Pearson Edexcel · Pride and Prejudice (study guide), Great Expectations (study guide)
    A narrative technique where the narrator's voice blends with the thoughts and feelings of a character. For example, when Elizabeth thinks about Darcy, the narrator might say, 'She began to comprehend that he was exactly the man who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her.'
    OCR · Pride and Prejudice (study guide)
    A narrative technique where a third-person narrator presents the thoughts of a character as if from their perspective, without using 'she thought'.
    Pearson Edexcel · Pride and Prejudice (study guide)
    A technique where the narrator's voice and a character's thoughts blend together, without clear quotation marks.
    OCR · Telling Tales Anthology (study guide)

    Topics that use Free Indirect Discourse

    Related terms

    Using Free Indirect Discourse in the exam

    Definition questions usually carry one or two marks, and examiners look for the precise wording. Write the definition from memory, check it against the version above, and then use the term in a longer answer on the same topic so it sticks.

    Practise English Literature questions

    Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.

    Start free

    7 days Premium · Then free forever · No card, no charge

    All English Literature GCSE terms