English novel

The sources of English novel are multiple and very vague. The genre itself is itself is a vague form (Bachtin). Aristotel tells that novel something people call novel. Novel is a mixture of drama and epic form, there’s no determination here.

There’re several sources of English novel:

1. English source which comes back to Italian romance in prose. It was adopted by Englishmen. Usually the characters are young people in love who have some obstacles in their love. This genre was highly popular in Italy during 16-17 centuries.

2. Spanish and French tradition picaresque stories. There were adoptions and parodies in English literature.

3. Fable and parable of Greek origin.

4. Psychological novel “Принцесса Клевская”.

It’s very hard to explain why prose novel became so important only in 18 cetury. There are several reasons why novel became popular in 18 century:

1. quick process of rise of literacy of the population (people wanted to read stories about normal people and normal lives);

2. the tendency to the prive life (the novel is a home reading);

3. lots of reading women appeared (authors were writing for women);

4. the growth of capitalistic relations (characters usulally tried to succeed in economic way, and they always tried to succeed in something, which coincides with capitalistic psychology, also characters were often common people who succeded to rise because of the growth of capitalism);

The relative genre classification:

1. The general studies of manners. The main charater and plot are organized to show the multiple classes, social differentiations and human types. For example Tobias Smollet, Defo (except “Robinzon Cruso”).

2. The novel of sensibility and moral instruction which is in Russian «сентиментальный роман». The plot focuses on the psychology and the inner world of the character, his reactions, feelings, memories, etc. The most important representatives are Richardson, Stern and Mackenzie.

3. The novel of ideas or philosophical novel. Swift, Johnson, Peacock. The focus of such novel is proof or disproof of some idea, to which the system of characters and plot serve.

4. The novel of phantasy and excitement or Gothic novel. The first author was Horace Walpole. He was a son of a prime minister and he didn’t sign his novel to preserve his reputation, because novel writing was considered unworthy. Eventually he admitted his authorship, and the Gothic novel became very popular. Other names are Ann Redcliff, Charles Matthewrine, Lewis. In such novel the characters are typical, there are mysteries. Important is the atmosphere of horror in which there’s the idea of opposition to the rational, to the world of order.

5. The experimental novel or anti-novel. “Tristam Shendy” is the example.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-13