Assignment Topics: Novel, Historical Survey of novel,

Modern Novel and Elements of Novel

Submitted By: Sidra

Submitted To: Mr. Bakht Zada Danish
Semester: 5th
Date:10-05-2020

BS ENGLISH
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE, LINGUSTICS AND
LITERATURE, SBBU, SHERINGAL, DIR (U)
 Etymologically:
In mid-16th century it was derived from Italian novella (storia) ‘new
(story)’, feminine of novello ‘new’, from Latin Novellus, from Novus
‘new’.
Definitions of Novel:
Although there is not a specific and a clear-cut definition through
which one can define novel. Following are some of the definitions
according to experts. Still they are not sufficient to define the broad term
novel.

 According to Dr. Tillyard, “a novel is a not too unorganized,

fictitious narrative in prose of at least, say, 20,000 words.
 Abrams (1981: 119) said that in literary, novella means “a.
small brand new thing” and then the word is interpreted as “a
short story in prose form”. A novel is defined as a story consists
of more than one event; contain a plot with characters, setting, a
theme, a point of view, and also worldview of the character.
 According to Clare Reeve, “a novel is a picture of real life and
manners and of time in which it is written”.
 French Critic M. Abel Chevalley said that, “a novel is a fiction
in prose of a certain length”.
 According to Jane Austen a novel is, “ A work in which the
greatest power of the mind are displayed, in which the most
thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of
its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humor are
conveyed to the world in the best chosen language”
 According to Clare Reeve, “ The novel gives a familiar relation
of such things as pass every day before our eyes, such as may
 happen to our friends or to ourselves; and the perfection of it is to
represent every seen? In so easy and natural a manner and to
make them appear 10 probable as to deceive us into a persuasion
that all is real, until we are affected by the joys or distresses of
the persons in the story at if they were our own.
 A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, normally
written in prose form, and which is typically published as a book
 A novel is a narrative work of prose fiction that tells a story
about specific human experiences over a considerable length.
 Novel is an invented prose narrative of considerable length and
a certain complexity that deals imaginatively with human
experience, usually through a connected sequence of events
involving a group of persons in a specific setting.

In other words one can say that a novel is a long story in prose,
meant primarily for entertainment, and presenting a realistic picture of
life.
Conclusion of the definitions:
A novel which is a broad literary genre is generally a
narrative which is in prose. The size of a novel varies according to its
subject matter and author. The themes of a novel may be different; they
may be real or fictitious. It may be didactic in nature or may provide
amusement to its readers.
Brief Historical Survey of Novel:
In general man has always desired to read for entertainment, and
thus some kind of prose-fiction has always been there to satisfy this
craving.
Novel passes through different ages and periods, it underwent
different changes and amendments.
Novel in 10th Century:
Round about 10th century, the collection of stories subsequently
known as, the Arabian Nights’ was in embryonic form. These stories
were in book form but were an initial form of novel not a novel. These
stories were not collected and published as a group of stories until much
later in 16th century by Egyptian story tellers. Other early stories
includes, “The Princess of Backstaw”, “The Predestined Prince” etc.
Novel in 14th Century:
Until the 14th century, most of the literature of entertainment was
confined to narrative verse, particularly the epic and the romance. In
some ways the novel is a descendent of the medieval romances.After the
death of Cervantes the Spanish novel, having begun so promising, went
into decline until the 19th century. Some notable novels of the time are
Gulliver’s Travels, Candid, the Shaving of Shagpat Zarathustra, The first
Men in the Moon and other novels based on science fiction.

Novel in 17th Century:

At the end of 16th century, the novel was in its infancy in England.
From the closing years of the century there date two important works in
the evolution of novel. They are Lyly’s Euphues and Sir Philip Sydney’s
pastoral romance Arcadia. In the 17th century although there was no
major advance works in the field of novel. Allegorical novels like
Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress can be taken as a kind of allegorical novel.

Novel in 18th Century:

Early in the 18th century Congreve published Incognita or Love
and Duty Reconciled. He called it a novel and in his preface he gave his
conception of what a novel. Daniel Dafoe also published his story of
adventure- Robinson Crusoe. From now on the novel comes of age and
within another seventy years is a major and matured form. Defoe’s other
two contributions to the novel form were Moil Flanders which was a
sociological novel.
Novel in 19th Century:
In the 19th century two figures dominated English fiction: Sir
Walter Scott and Jane Austen. Walter wrote different short stories, he
was more famous and had a greatest influence on fiction in 19th century.
Jane Austen provided an exquisite, neat, clear, and little background to
her scenes of human actions. The background does not came as a
necessity in her novels. Dickens on the other hand was a supreme artist
in making symbolic use of the background in his novels like Great
Expectations.

Modern Novel:
Those novels written in the end of 19th century and in the start of the
20th century are termed as modern novels.
Main Characteristics:
Main characteristics of these novels include; Realism, no idealism,
Psychological analysis of characters due to Freud theory, subjectivity
and individualism of the writer, objective treatment of themes, rather
than didactic, experimental use of narrative and language. These novels
also deals with modern scientific discoveries, the new technologies, the
social and political ideologies, the ideas and beliefs and people’s
different conceptions about themselves and universe. The morality is
relative in such novels.
A short list of some of famous Modernist writers includes Samuel
Beckett, James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, T.S. Eliot, William Faulkner,
John Steinbeck, E.E. Cummings, Sylvia Plath, F. Scott Fitzgerald,
William Butler Yeats, Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf,
D.H. Lawrence, and Gertrude Stein.

Elements of Novel:
A novel is basically comprised of the following six elements.
1. Setting:
Setting of a novel covers the time, place and background.
It involves not only geography but also the entire climate of
beliefs, habits and values of a particular region and historical
period. It is essential that the setting should be in perfect harmony
with the story told or revealed.
2. Plot:
Plot is the cause and effect relationship between events in a
story. It is a skeleton or framework which gives shape to the novel.
It deals with the order of events or happenings in the novel.
Conflict is an important part of plot. Conflict may arise due to
physical environment like hostile nature, social environment like
the conventions, customs or traditions that exist in a cultural
community, other characters or it may be a physical, emotional and
mental handicap within the character itself.

Types of plot:
Broadly the plot may be of two types; loose and incoherent
and closely knit plot.
 Loose and incoherent plot:
In this plot the story is composed of detached
incidents or episodes, having little logical connection with
each other. The elements are scattered in such type of stories.
Example:
Thackeray’s Vanity Fair is an example of such a loose
plot.

 Closely Knit Plot:

Such plot includes closely knit events. The incidents are
in proper order and connection with each other. There are no
loop holes in such plots. The story is in complete sequence
and the events are closely in contact with each other.
Example:
Henry Feeding’s novel Tom Jones is an example of
such a novel.

There may be simple or compound plots in a novel.

 Simple Plot:
A simple plot will have one story line that usually
moves in a straightforward manner toward resolution. It
 involves only one story narration at a time. There is no
reversal or complexity in such a plot.
 Complex Plot:
Under this plot two or three stories at a time in a
single novel are narrated. It involves complex action and
confusion. Sometimes readers are unable to clearly
understand what the writer is trying to express.

3. Characters:
Characters are the moving spirits in the novel. They
includes men and women which carry on its own action and
to whom things happen. There are varieties of characters in a
novel, they may be from evil’s party or they may be good
tempered people.

 Flat Charcters:
Flat characters are two-dimensional in that they are
relatively uncomplicated and do not change throughout the
course of a work. By contrast, round characters are complex
and undergo development, sometimes sufficiently to surprise
the reader.

 Round Characters:
A round character is a character that is well-
developed in the story. The reader knows details about this
character because they are important to the plot and to how
this character's actions advance the plot. In other words, a
round character is more complex, and like a real person, the
character has depth and emotion.
  Protagonist:
Protagonist or hero is the central figure of the novel. He is a
man of action and is a good person by heart. Usually the
whole story revolves around the protagonist.
Antagonist:
An antagonist in a work of fiction is a character who opposes a
protagonist, the main character who often is the story's hero. An
antagonist, when there is one, provides the story's conflict by creating an
obstacle for a story's protagonist.
4. Narration:
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary
to convey a story to an audience. Narration encompasses a set of
techniques through which the creator of the story presents their
story, including: Narrative point of view: the perspective through
which a story is communicated.

5. Style:
The style in writing can be defined as the way a writer
writes. It is the technique that an individual author uses in his
writing. It varies from author to author, and depends upon one's
syntax, word choice, and tone. It can also be described as a “voice”
that readers listen to when they read the work of a writer.

6. Theme:
The theme in a story is its underlying message, or 'big idea.
‘In other words, what critical belief about life is the author trying
to convey in the writing of a novel, play, short story or poem? This
belief, or idea, transcends cultural barriers. It is usually universal in
nature.