what is the difference between a third person limited narrator and a third person omniscient narrator

The difference between a third person limited narrator and a third person omniscient narrator primarily lies in the scope and depth of the knowledge they have about the characters and events in the story.

A third person limited narrator tells the story from the perspective of an outside observer, but the narrative is confined to the experiences, thoughts, and feelings of a single character at a time. This means that readers are privy to the inner workings of this character's mind, but not to those of the other characters. The limited narrator presents the story through the lens of the focal character, which can create a sense of intimacy and connection with that character, but also limits the information available to the reader to only what the focal character knows or perceives.

In contrast, a third person omniscient narrator has a god-like knowledge of all aspects of the narrative. This type of narrator knows everything about the story's events and all the characters' thoughts, emotions, and backgrounds. With this all-encompassing perspective, an omniscient narrator can provide the reader with insights into multiple characters and can describe events happening simultaneously in different locations. This broad perspective can create a more rounded understanding of the story world and its dynamics.