LIFE AND Works Daniel Defoe was born in 1660 in London PDF

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LIFE AND WORKS Daniel Defoe was born in 1660 in London, England. He had an eventful life, graduated from an academy at Newington Green, where he studied geography, modern languages. His father wanted a religious career for him but not long after, in 1683, he went into business. He traveled often and he went bankrupt in 1692 (paying his debts for nearly a decade thereafter), and by 1703, decided to leave the business industry and became a famous famous and well-paid intellectual by writing political works. The Queen did not like his critical attitude and had him arrested and imprisoned. He denied his Whig ideas so as to be freed and became a secret agent for the new government. Around the age of 60, he started to write novels, including Robinson Crusoe ,Captain Singleton, Moll Flanders, Colonel Jack and Roxana. Thanks to the money he earned with these works, he could afford a comfortable life. He died in 1731.

STRUCTURE OF THE NOVELS Defoe’s narratives are fictional autobiographies, preceded by a preface by the author which underlines their authenticity. The structure of the novel is characterised by a series of episodes and adventures and also by the presence of a single hero. There is a lack of a coherent plot and the author’s point of view concides with the main character’s. (Defo’s method of retrospective first-person narration coincides with the main character’s affect characterisation).

CHARACTERISATION Characters are presented through their actions. They usually appear in isolation, either physically or socially. His narrative technique was original and became the basis for the development of the realistic novel...