The Picaresque Novel (Critical Survey of Long Fiction)
Introduction
The words picaresque and picaro achieved currency in Spain shortly after 1600; today they are current terms in literary criticism, sometimes misused because of the vague meaning attached to them. The revival of the genre in the twentieth century was accompanied by an increased critical interest in this type of novel, with the result that some critics try to stretch the definition of the picaresque while others attempt to restrict it. Still, some features are generally accepted as distinct characteristics of the picaresque, including a loose, episodic...
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