B.A. III Module 1 The Rise Of The Novel

B. A. III English Novel Semester V Academic Year 2020-21 Module 1 Types of the Novel There are two main classes of fictional prose. 1. Tale or Romance: It depends on the incident and adventure for its chief interest. 2. Novel: It depends more on the display of character and motive. The novel is more complicated than tale. The took birth in 16th and 17th centuries and reached a great height in the age of Pope and Dr. Johnson. The group of the first four novelists of the Augustan Age or Neo- classical age : Samuel Richardson, Tobias Smolett, Henry Fielding and Sterne, in whose hands novel blossomed, are called the four wheels of English Novel Factors Responsible: The following are the reasons responsible for the rise of the novel in 18th century. Rise of Middle Class: The literature of the 17th century flourished under the patronage of upper middle class. The 18th century English society witnessed the rise of upper middle class. Because of tremendous growth in trade and commerce, the English merchant class was becoming wealthy and this newly rich class wanted to excel in the field of literature too. This class was neglected by high- born writers and their tastes and aspirations were expressed by the novelists of the time. The novel was, in fact, the product of middle class. With the rise of middle class, hence the rise of the novel was quite natural. News Papers & Magazines: In the 18th century, the appearance of newspapers and magazine attracted a large number of readers from the middle class. These new readers had little interest in the romances and tragedies which had interested the upper class. Thus a need for a new type of literature rose and that would express the new ideas of the 18th century and this new type of literature was none but novel. The Spectator andv The Tatlor, these periodicals increrased the reading habits of the middle classes and paved the way fopr the developmenty of English Novel. Rise of Realism: The 18th century literature was characterised by the spirit of realism and romantic features like enthusiasm , passion ,imaginations etc. declined in this period. Reason, intellect, correctness, satirical spirit etc. were main characteristics of the 18th century literature. The English had all these characteristics. Role of Women: In the 18th century, the women of upper classes and middle classes could partake in a few activities of men. Although they could not engage themselves in administration, politics, hunting, etc., hence, in their leisure time, they used to read novels. Decline of Drama: The decline of drama also contributed to the development of the novel in the 18th century, drama lost the fame it had in the Elizabeth Age. It did not remain an influential f literary form. Hence some others had to take its place and its place was filled by the English novel after 1740. Thus the decline of drama led to the rise the of English novel.