Maharashtra State Board Class 12 English Yuvakbharati Solutions Chapter 4.1 History of Novel
Unit 4.1 History of Novel
In this post, you’ll find an overview of Unit 4.1 of Class 12 English, the History of Novel, Elements of a Novel, and Types of Novel. You’ll also find solutions for brainstorming activities.
As far as the HSC board examination is concerned, unit 4.1 History of Novel is very important. The following article on The History of Novel would be helpful for 12th std students in the examination.
1.1 History of Novel: Introduction
Among all forms of literature, the Novel is very recent in origin. The 18th century gifted English literature with two entirely new forms. one of those was The Periodical Essay and the other was ‘NOVEL.’
The Novel form emerged in the 18th century as an independent form of literature. But its germ or origin is in prose romances, which were famous in the Middle Ages.
What is a Novel?
A novel is a relatively long narrative fiction which describes intimate human experiences normally in prose form. The word ‘Novel’ is derived from the Italian word Novella, which means new. The novel creates a picture of the contemporary society.
What is a Novella?
The word NOVEL means ‘new little things’.The word ‘NOVELLA’ originated from the Italian word ‘novelle’, and is a type of prose fiction which is shorter than a full-length novel and longer than short stories. It is a well-structured yet short narrative. It is often satiric or realistic in tone and focuses on one incident or issue with one or two main characters.
Examples of Novella:-
- The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
- Billy Budd by Hermann Melville
- Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
- Seize The Day by Saul Bellow
- Pearl by John Steinbeck
The Development of the Novel:
Though the novel form emerged in the 18th century as an independent form, the earlier germs of the novel form can be found in Virgil’s Ecologues or Malory’s Morte De Arthur or Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘The Canterbury Tales.’
In the 11th century (1010) we have The Tale of Genji written by Murasaki Shikibu is a classic work in Japanese Literature that has been described as the world’s FIRST novel.
In 1350 we have Boccaccio’s Decameron– A world-famous collection of short stories which is in the form of prose.
In the 16th century, there were plenty of Romances. Amongst them Philip Sidney’s Arcadia, Thomas Nash’s Unfortunate Traveller, and Thomas Lodge’s Rosalind were famous.
The European novel is often said to begin with ‘Don Quixote’ written by Miguel de Cervantes (Spanish Writer) which was published in two parts in 1605 and 1615.
In the 17th century, The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678) by John Bunyan and Oroonoku (1688) by Aphra Behn initiated the plenteous and colourful tradition of English novels. After 1740, the novel originated as a literary form in England.
In the 18 th century the tradition was followed by both Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe. They both earned wide reputations. Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels were famous.
Other Major novelists of the 18th century Samual Richardson, (wrote two epistolary novels entitled Pamela or Virtue Rewarded and Clarissa.) Henry Fielding, Lawrence Sterne, Tobias Smollett, Horace Walpole etc. are the renowned novelists of the 18th century.
In the 19th century, the tradition was enriched by stalwart novelists such as Charles Dickens, Walter Scott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Thomas Hardy, Willkie Collins and H.G.Wells etc.
The 20th-century novels are marked by modern topics and innovative styles and techniques. Novelists like E.M.Forster, James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, Henry James, George Orwell, Graham Greene, D.H.Lawrence, William Golding and Anthony Burgess etc. widened the circumference of the genre by writing political, social, psychological and other modern issues in their novels.
Why the NOVEL form emerged as an independent form in the 18th century?
The 18th-century new literature was characterised by the spirit of realism and denial of romantic features like enthusiasm, passion and imagination.
The Industrial Revolution and the increase in trade and commerce had given rise to the middle-class society.
The spread of machines could provide time to middle-class people for reading and discussions.
The realistic picture of everyday life and problems of common people depicted in novels appealed to the newly emerged middle-class people.
Drama and poetry forms were fading away.
It was the prominent form in the 18th century and onwards to encompass the social, political and cultural happenings and scientific progress.
Immigrant Novelists:
Salman Rushdie ( India) (United Kingdom) Midnight’s Children(1981), won the Booker Prize
V.S.Naipaul ( Trininad) : (United Kingdom) In a Free State (1971), Booker Prize-winning novel.
Kazau Ishiguro (Japan): (United Kingdom) Nobel Prize-winning author
Women Novelists:
Frances Burney: Evelina( The novel of manners)
Ann Radcliffe: Gothic Novelist
Mary Shelly: Frankenstein ( Novel based on Science)
Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice, Emma
Bronte Sisters: 1. Emily Bronte – Wuthering Heights 2.Charlotte Bronte – Jane Eyre 3. Anne Bronte
Mary Ann Evans alias George Eliot: Novels reflecting psychological insights
Virginia Woolf: pioneer of Stream of Conscious technique. 1. Mrs. Dalloway, 2. To the Lighthouse
Agatha Christie: Novels based on crime ( Crime fiction novelist)- Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are the evergreen detectives created by her.
Harper Lee, Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker continued the tradition of writing English novel
Indian Scenario:
‘Rajmohan’s Wife’, by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya serialized in ‘The Indian Field’ was the first novel in English written by an Indian.
The period after that is marked by few more novels written by the Indian writers. These novels bore either nationalistic virtues or social issues as their main framework.
Mulkraj Anand, R.K. Narayan and Raja Rao were the major trio who prevailed in the period after that.
Indian Women Novelists like Anita Desai, Nayantara Sahgal Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai and stalwart novelists such as Arun Joshi and Manohar Malgaonkar changed the current of Indian English novel through their works.
Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth and Upamanyu Chatterjee reformed the Indian novel in English by adding new features to it.
Recent years have witnessed dazzling performances by Indian novelists like Salman Rushdie, Arvind Adiga, and Kiran Nagarkar.
1.2 Elements of Novel
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1.3 Types of Novel
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1.4 Brainstorming Activities:
1) Match the columns:
| A | B |
| a. Murasaki Shikibu | 1. Cervantes |
| b. Novella | 2. Bankimchandra Chattopadhyaya |
| C. Don Quixote | 3. Tale of Genji |
| D. Rajmohan’s Wife | 4. New |
ANS:
| A | B |
| a. Murasaki Shikibu | 3. Tale of Genji |
| b. Novella | 4. New |
| C. Don Quixote | 1. Cervantes |
| D. Rajmohan’s Wife | 2. Bankimchandra Chattopadhyaya |
2) Match the columns:
| A | B |
| a. Oroonoku | 1. John Bunyan |
| b. The Pilgrim’s Progress | 2. Joseph Conrad |
| C. Frankenstein | 3. Aphra Behn |
| D. The Heart of Darkness | 4. Mary Shelly |
ANS:
| A | B |
| a. Oroonoku | 1. Aphra Behn |
| b. The Pilgrim’s Progress | 2. John Bunyan |
| C. Frankenstein | 3. Mary Shelly |
| D. The Heart of Darkness | 4. Joseph Conrad |
2) Choose the correct alternative:
a) The new literature written in the 18th century was characterised by the ———-. ( fantasy, mystery, spirit of realism)
b) ————– is the pioneer of the ‘Stream of Consciousness novel. ( Jane Austin, Virginia Woolf, George Eliot)
c) Eighteenth-century gifted mankind wit——–
( Drama and poetry, Novel and drama, Novel and periodical essays)
d) The English word ‘Novel’ is derived from the Italian word ——-
( Novella, Novelle, Novellus)
1.5 Question Bank with Solutions:
Click the button below to download the PDF file of ‘History of Novel’ SCERT Question Bank Solutions