In order to discover the meaning of the term omniscient narrator, it is necessary, first of all, to know the etymological origin of the two words that give it shape:
-Narrator, derived from Latin. Specifically, it emanates from "narrator", which can be translated as "the one who tells the story" and which is the result of the sum of the following lexical components: the verb "narrare", which is synonymous with "narrate", and the suffix "-dor", used to indicate "agent".
-Omniscient, secondly, also comes from Latin. It means "who knows everything" and was formed from the union of these lexical components: the word "omni", which can be translated as "everything"; the verb "scire", which is equivalent to "know", and the suffix "-ente", which is used to refer to "agent".
The individual who narrates is called a narrator : that is, who tells something. Omniscient , meanwhile, is one with omniscience (knows all things).
The idea of omniscient narrator is used in the field of language and literature to refer to the voice that, when telling a story, is aware of all events . This is a third-person narrator, who is not the protagonist of the events.
The omniscient narrator not only knows what is happening at all times and places : he also has knowledge about the characters ' thoughts and feelings . It can be said that he not only "observes" the reality of the story from above, but also gets into the "inside" of each of the protagonists.
Another characteristic of the omniscient narrator is that he knows what has already happened, what is happening and what will happen in the plot. Therefore, know the past , present and future of what is told.
In addition to those already indicated, we can highlight another series of important characteristics of the omniscient narrator, such as the following:
-At no time does he suggest anything. He is simply responsible for explaining.
-It should be noted that it is often identified with the writer of the narrative himself.
-No less important is to highlight that making use of this type of narrator helps considerably to make leaps in the plot both in space and even in time.
-If many authors resort to using the omniscient narrator in their works, it is because they consider that this provides credibility to the story itself.
Let's look at an example : «Night was falling when Juanito López decided to go out to get some air. He had been drinking in his bedroom and wished that the fresh air would clear up the ideas that appeared in his mind in a disordered and confused way. However, the young man did not know that on the street he was going to come face to face with his worst enemy .
As can be seen, this paragraph is presented by an omniscient narrator who has access to the "ideas" that circulate through the character's "mind" , even when he does not make them public within the framework of the story . He also knows what will happen to the protagonist before said situation materializes.