Forster examines many prominent novelists of the English language, as well as several French and Russian authors. Select one writer from the list of Key Figures in this entry and delve deeper into that author and their significant works.

Forster outlines seven aspects he considers crucial to the novel: story, plot, character, fantasy, prophecy, pattern, and rhythm. Choose a piece of fiction not specifically mentioned by Forster and evaluate it based on these seven elements. How well does it align with Forster’s criteria? Do you concur with this evaluation?

Although Forster discusses elements particular to the novel, they can also be applied to short stories. Try writing a short story that incorporates each of the seven aspects highlighted by Forster.

Two years following Forster’s lecture series on Aspects of the Novel, Virginia Woolf, his contemporary and a fellow Bloomsbury Group member, authored a markedly different critical work on literature and literary history, a book-length essay titled A Room of One’s Own. Read A Room of One’s Own. What are the main points of Woolf’s discussion on literature in this essay? To what degree do you agree or disagree with her arguments and conclusions?