An Essay on the origin and rise of English novel PDF

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One of the most popular literary forms is the novel. A genre that developed to such prominence in 18th-century Britain that it was declared by Johnson to have converted English society into "the nation of readers." Although the apex of the novel's rise occurred in the English society of the 18th cen...

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An Essay on the origin and rise of English novel. Introduction: One of the most popular literary forms is the novel. A genre that developed to such prominence in 18th-century Britain that it was declared by Johnson to have converted English society into "the nation of readers." Although the apex of the novel's rise occurred in the English society of the 18th century, it is important to remember that this kind of literature did not emerge overnight. It took a long time for the novel to evolve and emerge as a new and perfect literary genre.

What is a novel? A novel is a long fictional prose storey with a plot that is revealed via the actions, words, and feelings of the characters. A novel is a type of fiction, and fiction, in its most basic sense, is something made up and untrue. However, it might be characterised in modern terms as the skill or craft of constructing words to express human life. The word "novel" comes from the Italian word "novella," which means "a new small thing."

Tradition of Prose writing: In the history of prose writing, the origin of the novel is a large question mark. The Tale of Genji is a work of Japanese literature by Murasaki Shikibu that is regarded as the world's first book. It was written in the early 11th century. However, many critics believe it isn't much of a novel because it contains roughly 800 courtly verses. No critic, on the other hand, has dared to dispute that this fictional storey is one of the most important forerunners of the book. Some indications of novel works have been discovered in old South East Asian and Arabic literature. The Arabian Nights is also regarded as one of the first novel-writing stepping stones. Novelistic characteristics can also be seen in some works of Roman literature that were brought to Italy following the fall of Constantinople, such as Satyricon and The Golden Ass. Gaius Petronius' Satyricon is an episodic book recreated in Latin prose and poetry, while Lucius Apuleius' The Golden Ass is a prose narrative.

Earlier Novel:

The first famous novel in Europe is Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes, which was published in 1605. This novel, which began as a satirical parody of chivalric romances, became so well-known that it was translated into English by 1612.

Reason behind the rise of English Novel: The development of novels in Europe is attributed to the 17th century. As a result, the tendency of writing prose fiction grew in popularity, particularly in Spain, Italy, and France. Despite their popularity, novels were not recognised as a distinct literary genre and remained a nameless form of literature. Before the 18th century, novels were written, but their basic form was not established.

Novel writing began in the United Kingdom in the early eighteenth century, but its seeds had been sowed much earlier. The fall of theatre was one of several causes that contributed to the rise and dissemination of the novel in England. The Puritan Era in England represented the end of the Renaissance and the beginning of the collapse of theatre. With Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector, the monarchy was overthrown and England became a republic. Cromwell declared all forms of entertainment, such as coffee shops and plays, to be devil's workshop and

outlawed them. As a result, dramatic progress came to a halt. When one door shuts, a new one opens, and the demise of drama ushered in a new literary genre.

Due to the outlawing of theatre, the upper crust began to read romance novels. Romances featured big themes such as knights and kings' chivalry, adventure, and courtly traditions, which made them popular among the upper class. By the time of the restoration, 'romances' had replaced 'the ballads' as the elite class's preferred form of amusement, leaving the lower classes with their previous option, 'the ballads.' With the passage of time, and particularly due to the urbanisation of civilization, a new class of society arose, one that was neither too wealthy nor too poor or illiterate. Traders, merchants, and other members of the middle class make up the majority of the population.

The Post-Industrial Revolution ushered in a new society, one in which the middle class flourished. People of this social class did not have the same interests as the upper or lower classes, and hence found no enjoyment in romances or ballads.

Despite their desire to read, romances did not fit their temperament or situation, and as a result, romances soon fell out of favour. Themes in romances were primarily heroic, with huge battles and strong warriors, and the setting was more historic than contemporary, whereas readers wanted to read something more current and closer to reality. They demanded a type of writing that emphasised the individual life and stories of everyday men, their challenges, and their motivations, rather than stories about knights and monarchs. Another factor that contributed to the decline of romances was their length. People no longer had time for lengthy readings as society had become more industrialised rather than feudal at this period.

People began to migrate from rural to urban areas as a result of the industrial revolution. Lords of the feudal lords became industrialists. Farmers who went to towns and cities in quest of better prospects began working in industry. The entire society had been modernised. As the middle class became more aware, they saw the need for a literary style that could hold and reflect their beliefs.

Novel in 18th Century:

The advent of the novel in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is influenced by key historical processes such as urbanisation, industrialization, globalisation, and democratisation, among others. These developments reflect the fundamental tension that exists between the upper and lower classes. They also pose a slew of issues about personal identification, moral virtuosity, and societal responsibility. Many of the great English novels were based on such questions. Without addressing the innermost needs of its readers, no form of writing could emerge and flourish as swiftly and as forcefully as it did.

Political turmoil characterised the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The 1689 revolution brought parliament to power and a democratic spirit to the fore. Because of the upheaval, a printing press was established to convey news to the general people. The printing press had a significant impact on the rise and development of novels. To keep the audience informed, news was disseminated, and the writing style was changed from verse to prose. Journalistic ballads were incorporated into the newspaper, which aided in the faster dissemination of information rather than sending it one by one from location to location.

The news was divided into two categories: real and fictitious. Because both stories were classified as news, a controversy erupted over which was true and which was false. As a result, a rule was created declaring that all information based on genuine happenings and facts would be classified as "News" and would become history after a month, while any fictional piece of writing in the newspaper would be referred to as a book. Thus, the term novel was coined for the first time to refer to a fictional storey; it is taken from the Italian word novella (from the plural of Latin novellus, a late variation of novus, which means "new"). Novels were not even regarded a separate genre until the 18th century, when they were given a proper name and a platform.

Although the elites still did not consider novels to be legitimate literature, believing them to be a degraded literary work, the middle class, who had developed a taste for them, chose them as a form of entertainment. The majority of novelists were from the middle class, and they frequently addressed concerns that their peers encountered, making novels more accessible to the middle class. People became more conscious and interested in politics as a result of the

publication of news papers. Coffee shops would be used to hold discussions about current political events or society in general. As a result, the coffee house culture was revitalised once more, but this time it was even more popular than before. People would spend their free time at coffee shops discussing political situations. Although printed copies were prohibitively expensive, books were serialised in the daily newspaper. Because of charity schools, the literacy rate improved, and individuals began to enjoy reading and writing. Mobile libraries have become another way to raise public awareness about the value of reading and education in society. Women were the ones who benefited the most from this reading craze.

"From the beginning, the novel is associated with the more optimistic, and politically liberal strands in eighteenth-century thinking," Marilyn Butler writes.

One of the most important characteristics of a novel was realism, which was a major factor in the emergence of novels. Since fiction has been characterised as a fabrication, most writers maintain that their works are works of realism. Early

novelists like Samuel Richardson and Henry Fielding claimed that their works were absolutely realistic. With regard to Pamela, Richardson went so far as to suggest that he had received identical letters from a girl, implying that Pamela was based on fact. Another aspect of realism was the appropriate naming of characters in a novel, such as Joseph Andrews, Pamela Andrews, Moll Flanders, Tom Jones, and so on. Each of these individuals was given a legitimate name as well as a proper family name, such as The Bennets, The Andrews, and so on. Giving the characters middle names and surnames made them feel more real to the readers. The majority of the novelists and their followers were social critics and pragmatists. Because the novels' subjects were based on real-life difficulties and issues, people were able to relate to them in a realistic way. Individuality was another aspect of realism, which was mirrored in the works of all the great authors.

Full fledged development of Novel: With the writings of Defoe and Richardson in the 18th century, the English Novel was born. Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe was the first English novel, and

it is based on a true story about the main character, who survives a catastrophic shipwreck and strives to live and survive on an unfamiliar island. Daniel Defoe is widely regarded as the "first realistic fiction writer." Moll Flanders (1722), his other adventure novel, is written in a picaresque style. Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travel (1726) was another satirical and allegorical storey that entertained readers at the time.

Samuel Richardson's first psychological novel, Pamela (1740), is an epistolary novel (a novel in which the action is told via the exchange of letters) centred on the chastity of a servant girl Pamela and depicts class strife as well as sympathy for a girl against a domineering master. In the end, the marriage of both of these characters demonstrates Richardson's desire to not just reflect, but also to affect social change. And he wants to persuade his readers that social comprehension and adaptability are not only possible, but also beneficial. Clarisse (1744-1749), his other well-known novel, is likewise an epistolary novel, although it is much longer.

Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding is a picture of everyday English life that has a flawed but likeable hero. Another of Fielding's novels, Joseph Andrews (1742), is the first English comedy novel, while his work Amelia (1751) is the first novel with a marriage subject.

Novel in 19th Century: In the nineteenth century, the novel remained a popular genre, and several female novelists emerged. Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1816), and other works by Jane Austen all have similar themes of social reflection, focused mostly on women. Austen's writing style was crucial in the development of the highly structured and polished novel of manners.

Oliver Twist (1839), David Copperfield (1850), Great Expectations (1860), and many more novels by Charles Dickens focused on social issues, lack of reform, high society's loose structure, and many social abuses.

Silas Marner (1861) and Middlemarch (1871–72), both written by George Eliot, described the lives of ordinary people in provincial towns with sympathy and a strong moral sense.

Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Bronte and Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Bronte, both centred on aesthetic and passionate images of human love, made the Bronte sisters famous among female novelists.

Novel in 20th Century: The First World War, the Great Depression, and the anarchy that resulted had a profound impact on twentieth-century fiction. Later writers were influenced by World War II, the Holocaust, and the United States' nuclear strike on Japan. Virginia Woolf (1882-1935), one of the most well-known English writers, published a variety of books and essays, the majority of which used the'stream of consciousness style.' Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1926), and Mrs. Dalloway (1927) are some of her best-known works (1927).

In the foreword of his book The Elevation of Novel Reading in Britain, William Warner writes,

"The progress of the novel is the story of the novel's "rise" in the eighteenth century (with Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding), of its attainment of classical solidity of form in the nineteenth century (with Austen, Dickens, Thackeray, Eliot, the early James, and Conrad), and of its culmination in a modernist experimentation and self-reflection (with later James, Woolf, Joyce, and Beckett)."

Almost no one talks about the forerunners or origins of novels today, but their genuine formation is what is talked about the most, and this development is the rise and naming of novel into a proper genre, which took place in 18th century England. It was English writers who gave the novel its impetus and rise, and it was English culture that gave it a home, therefore it is fair to argue that the book is genuinely an English story....