The Beginning of the Novel

 

The Beginning

-          Since the times of the Greeks and Romans

-          It concerned love problems or had a holy and spiritual purpose.

 

The 17th Century

-          They were called French Romances [not considered as Novel]

-          They were to do with brave battles, spiritual quests and love.

 

The 18th Century

-          The appearance of the Novel

-          First Novel Robinson Crusoe 1719 by Daniel Defoe

-          The stories mixed facts with fiction

-          They were called Realistic stories [Realism]

 

 

Romance and the Novel

-          They are both literary pieces of work

-          The Novel is descendant of the Romance

 

 

Types/ Genres of the Novel

 

1-    Realism: a novel that reflects the life of a normal middle class main character, that goes through normal, day-to-day problems, like survival on a daily basis. E.g. buying food and the likes. Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders.

2-    Gothic Romance: a sort of novel that has a center gloomy idea and the intense feeling of fear, anguish and terror, where the central characters aren’t your common daily characters you see on the street or at your place of work. E.g. Vampires, Dracula, Frankenstein.

3-    Satire: a genre of the novel, where the writer writes something mocking or attacking something important, with the intention of wanting to make it better. It is written in an ironic style because the writer says something and wants the opposite to happen. E.g. going to war for the silliest reasons. Gulliver’s Travels

4-     Epistolary: novels in a first person narrative in an on going letter chronicle system. The whole book is made up of a series of letters, memorandums, journals and the likes. It brings excitement to the story since you feel like it’s happening all around you at the moment. E.g. Jonathan writing to his wife, but suddenly stopping because Dracula just entered the room. Pamela. Dracula.