POV characters are those characters whose perspective the story of A Song of Ice and Fire is told from. The POV characters in the books can be divided into three broad categories:
- Prologue/epilogue POV characters: These are the characters whose perspective the prologue and epilogue chapters of each book have been told from. So far each book has had a prologue, whilst only A Storm of Swords and A Dance with Dragons have had epilogues! So far, every prologue and epilogue POV has perished at the conclusion of their chapter, except for the prologue to Storm of Swords, which ends with the character's death seemingly imminent (and confirmed later in the book).
- Major POV characters: These are the 'main' POVs from whom the bulk of the story has been related. Each main POV chapter is headed simply by the character's name.
- Minor POV characters: Introduced in A Feast for Crows, this category includes POV chapters from 'minor' characters rather than the major protagonists of the series. They are differentiated from the main POVs by having a descriptive title rather than just a name and appear only when needed for story purposes. Several minor POV characters have since been promoted to major POVs, noted by their names being used rather than titles.
Major POV characters[]
14 characters (in order of total number of chapters):
Character | AGoT | ACoK | ASoS | AFFC | ADWD | TWoW |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tyrion Lannister | 9 | 15 | 11 | - | 12 | 2 |
Jon Snow | 9 | 8 | 12 | - | 13 | - |
Arya Stark | 5 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Daenerys Targaryen | 10 | 5 | 6 | - | 10 | - |
Catelyn Stark | 11 | 7 | 7 | - | - | - |
Sansa Stark | 6 | 8 | 7 | 3 | - | 1 |
Bran Stark | 7 | 7 | 4 | - | 3 | - |
Jaime Lannister | - | - | 9 | 7 | 1 | - |
Eddard Stark | 15 | - | - | - | - | - |
Theon Greyjoy | 1 | 6 | - | - | 7 | 1 |
Davos Seaworth | - | 3 | 6 | - | 4 | - |
Cersei Lannister | - | - | - | 10 | 2 | 2 |
Samwell Tarly | - | - | 5 | 5 | - | - |
Brienne of Tarth | - | - | - | 8 | - | - |
Minor POV characters[]
10 characters
- Aeron Greyjoy: 2 chapters in AFFC, 1 confirmed in TWoW.
- Asha Greyjoy: 1 chapter in AFFC, 3 in ADWD, 1 confirmed in TWoW.
- Victarion Greyjoy: 2 in AFFC, 2 in ADWD, 1 confirmed in TWoW.
- Areo Hotah: 1 in AFFC, 1 in ADWD.
- Arianne Martell: 2 in AFFC, 2 confirmed in TWoW.
- Arys Oakheart: 1 in AFFC.
- Jon Connington: 2 in ADWD.
- Melisandre of Asshai: 1 in ADWD.
- Quentyn Martell: 4 chapters in ADWD.
- Barristan Selmy: 4 chapters in ADWD, 2 confirmed in TWoW.
Victarion Greyjoy switches from title to named chapters in A Dance with Dragons, and Barristan Selmy and Arianne Martell also does so in The Winds of Winter, indicating that they are now considered to be major POV characters.
Prologue and epilogue POVs[]
7 characters
- Will, a ranger of the Night's Watch, AGoT prologue.
- Cressen: a maester at Dragonstone, ACoK prologue.
- Chett: a master of hounds for the Night's Watch, ASoS prologue.
- Merrett Frey, a knight in the service of House Frey, ASoS epilogue.
- Pate, a novice studying at the Citadel, AFFC prologue.
- Varamyr Sixskins, a wildling warg, ADWD prologue.
- Kevan Lannister: brother to Tywin Lannister, ADWD epilogue.
Short story POVs[]
1 character
- Duncan the Tall, a hedge knight: THK, TSS, TMK