Literature Group
Question:
bilal09
Student
Graduate School
What are the elements of novel? Explain all elements.
Background to English Literature
Answers:
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mwestwood Teacher
Community / Jr. CollegeeNotes Editor
Posted by mwestwood on Thursday June 18, 2009 at 5:13 AMThe elements of a novel are the same elements as that of the short story--plot, theme, setting, point of view, character--except that there may be more than one of each of these elements. That is, within the main plot of a novel there may be several subplots, there may be more than one theme, and point of view can certainly change as well. For instance, in William Faulkner's novel, "The Sound and the Fury," the first part of the narrative is recounted by Benjy, a grown man with the intelligence of a small child whose childhood memories merge with the present occurrences. Then, the point of view switches to the point of view of Quentin, a stream-of-consciousness not unlike Benjy's, yet somewhat different. Then, the third part of the novel is narrated by Jason Compson IV, the brother of Quentin, who has committed suicide. Finally, the fourth section of this novel has yet another narrator.
Themes such as love and passion and pride run throughout Faulkner's novel. replete with many characters. Thus, the reader of the novel encounters more intracacies of the elements, changing settings, more complications and much more development of plot and character--even changing points of view sometimes --than in the short story.
Just as Faulkner's novel reflects life in his beloved South, the English novel traditionally has been strongly influenced by the social, political, economic, scientific, and cultural history of England. Old English narratives, such as "Beowulf" and "The Canterbury Tales" are closely connected to the cultural history of England. Usually, the English novel from the eighteenth century on focuses on the individual and his/her relationship with his environment. Jane Austen's novels have as their main focus the society in which her characters live. His/her personal emotions are often closely examined, as well with characterization is highly developed in the English novel as in those of Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, for example.
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epollock Teacher
High School - 12th GradeeNotes Editor
Posted by epollock on Thursday June 18, 2009 at 7:06 AMbilal09,
Most textbooks tell us that a novel is a work of fiction, almost always written in prose, at least 150 to 200 pages long. The textbook definition also distinguishes novels (as works written in prose) from classical epics. The Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid, for example, are all very long poems. Because the novel is a long form, it can cover a period of years, following the characters through a number of major changes.
Similarly, because the reading time of a novel may be far longer than the running time of most plays and movies, novels give us the opportunity to develop close, even intimate relationships with both the characters and the narrator.
Equally important to our understanding of the novel form are its differences from the traditional form of the romance. The romance may date back to antiquity, though the most familiar examples are probably the medieval stories of King Arthur and his knights.
Romances vary widely, but they do have some common features. The setting of a romance is usually remote and, perhaps, exotic, like that of a fairy tale. The characters in a romance are also sketched broadly—handsome prince, beautiful princess—and may include larger-than-life figures, such as giants and wizards. Finally, there’s often some sort of magic in a romance. The romance is a form that has no trouble with the supernatural or the metaphysical.
In addition to our definitions of novel, amatory tale, and romance, we might also consider a basic chronology—a small-scale history of the relationships among those three forms. It’s clear that the romance was stripped down and treamlined into the amatory tale, and it’s also clear that the tales were then developed into the first novels. Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that—because the forms of the romance and amatory tale are very much alive and well. The Harry Potter books draw on the long tradition of the romance, as do the works in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
As for the amatory tale, consider British author Barbara Cartland, who is said to have produced 700 different love stories in the latter half of the 20th century.
I hope this clears a few things up about the novel.
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