A-Z: General definitions: Free indirect speech

Definition

A style of third-person narration when we are given the thoughts of the character as if in the moment of them being thought. Authors use the device to blur the distinction between the narrator and the character’s voices. George Eliot used this device a lot in her novels, but it is comparatively rare in Hardy, who preferred the more formal reported speech:

1.   Direct speech:

He went over to the window and wondered, ‘What’s going on out there?’

2.   Indirect speech:

He went over to the window and wondered what was going on out there.

3.   Free Indirect Speech:

He went over to the window and wondered what’s going on out there.

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