What is fiction?
Fiction is a broad category of literary works that depicts any imagined and invented story for the purpose of entertainment, instruction, or both.
Fiction
Last Updated on September 12, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 136
Fiction is a category of literary prose works that feature invented stories and characters, rather than real events or people. While some such works might be set in a real location, feature real events, or include real people as characters, any deviation from fact places that work within the category of fiction.
Writing an essay?
Get a custom outline
Our Essay Lab can help you tackle any essay assignment within seconds, whether you’re studying Macbeth or the American Revolution. Try it today!
In a broader sense, the term fiction can be applied to any account of unreal events. In a literary context, the term applies specifically to prose narratives with fabricated elements.
See eNotes Ad-Free
Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.
Already a member? Log in here.
Fiction evolved from the Latin word fingere, meaning “to form, to shape, to feign.”
Any novel is a work of fiction. Consider, for example, the works of George Eliot, Amy Tan, Ralph Ellison, and Willa Cather.
see: allegory, comedy, drama, epic, fable, fantasy, folktale, folklore, novel, parable, saga, science fiction, short story, story, tragedy
See eNotes Ad-Free
Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.
Already a member? Log in here.
