Abstract
'Narrative Theory' is an online introduction to classical structuralist narratological analysis. The fourth section deals with the modes of narrative, showing and telling, as theorized by Henry James and other theorists of the dramatic aesthetics in narrative. Outline: 1. Two concepts of narrative distance. 2. The theory of the novel before James; Besant's 'Art of Fiction'; 3. James and the Art of the Novel; 4. The Novel as an Organic Unit; 5. Point of View; 6. The Revaluation of Narrative; 7. Distance: Conclusion.
Highlights
Genette, with a somewhat different aim in mind, reformulates the Platonic opposition between diegesis and mimesis, "pure narration" and "imitiative narration" in order to measure the distance between the fabula and the narrative text
Genette splits narrative into two modes of distance: narrative of events and narrative of words, and characterizes direct dialogue as the minimum open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
It is not to be found in the classifications of Boileau or in the criticism of Dryden: the most interesting statements come from the novelists themselves, such as Fielding's definition of his "new province of writing" as a comic epic poem written in prose
Summary
With a somewhat different aim in mind, reformulates the Platonic opposition between diegesis and mimesis, "pure narration" and "imitiative narration" in order to measure the distance between the fabula and the narrative text. For Besant, a novel is a genre which gives a fuller experience of life than the other arts, because its privileged material is human psychology and relationships, "men and women in action and passions", and its effect the development of human sympathy: The modern sympathy includes the power to pity the sufferings of others, and that of understanding their very souls; it is the reverence for man, the respect for his personality, the recognition of his individuality, and the enormous value of the one man, the perception of one's man relation to another, his duties and responsibilities.[3] This is the aim of realistic techniques, of observation, of note-taking, which feature prominently in Besant's essay: through precision and verisimilitude to produce conviction, and through conviction to provide a open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? That is the highest art which carries the reader along and makes him see, without being told, the changing expressions, the gestures of the speakers, and hear the varying tones of the voice. . . . The only writer who can do this is he who makes his characters intelligible from the very outset, causes them first to stand before the reader in clear outline, and with every additional line brings out the figure, fills up the face, and makes his creature grow from the simple outline more and more to the perfect and rounded figure. (Besant 27-28)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
