What are the main features of British and American novels?

/kloc-the first chapter of English novels in the 0/8th century

First, the theoretical origin: Bain and congreve.

Aphra Bain was the most important woman writer in the Restoration period (1660── 1688), and her masterpiece was the novella Oronoko or The Royal Slave: A Real History (1688). The cover of the first edition of the novel impressively reads: Mrs. Bain. If we consider that Defoe's novels are published anonymously, Richardson always appears as an editor, and Fielding's first novel published in 1742 is also unsigned, it is not difficult to understand how confident Bain is. At the beginning of the novel, Bain declared that she would tell what actually happened: most of the story was seen by the narrator, while the invisible part was told by the protagonist. This is a very important point of view, because it focuses on telling true stories, which is a basic feature that distinguishes realistic novels from legends. Bain also made bold exploration in narrative perspective. The story that the narrator learned through Orunok's narration did not use direct narration, but indirect narration processed by the narrator, which seems to indicate that Bain has realized the influence of narrative perspective on narrative effect. Bain tried the epistolary style in the novel A Love Letter from a Noble and His Sister (1684), and changed it to a third-person narrative in the second half of the novel. It seems that she has long noticed the internal contradictions of epistolary style and had to change it into narrative style. It can be said that Bain tried three basic narrative forms popular in18th century in her few novels, which is enough to be regarded as a pioneer of English novels.

William congreve was a famous playwright during the Restoration. Unlike Bain's emphasis on "belief in history", congreve directly labeled it as "novel" on the cover of 1692' s novella Incognita. In his preface, he clearly distinguished his novels from folklore. He also mentioned in the preface: "Learn from the play in the overall arrangement, fine structure and final outcome of the plot." He asked readers to observe "whether each obstacle promotes the development of the story, not hinders it." Obviously, his novel concept is deeply influenced by the theory of traditional Chinese opera, and his creation is quite ingenious and full of the characteristics of literati novels. He has been consciously drawing lessons from drama theory to explore the artistic structure of novels. In the narrative process of the novel, the narrator also stands up from time to time and makes interesting comments on the characters and stories.

Second, Defoe and contemporary writers

Since 179 1 published Robinson Crusoe, daniel defoe, who is 60 years old, has published five novels, all of which are narrated in the form of first-person memoirs, and the narrative mode is popular biographies of Puritans and prisoners. From the preface of Defoe's novels, two points stand out. One is authenticity. The second is moral education. These two points are almost the common features of all novels in the18th century, and they are also the basic features of the tradition of realistic novels. Writer and critic Max Byrd pointed out: "In fact ... Defoe established all the important principles. For example, distinguish the contrast and gradually show the background, and the background must stimulate emotions. "

Mary Davys put forward such a novel definition in the preface of The Accomplished Prodigal Son (or Modern Gentleman, 1727): "Tell a fictional but possible story." Compared with Defoe's emphasis on real stories told by individuals, this is a rather radical definition of novels. Davis is aware of two main problems in the narrative of the novel. First, it keeps readers in fear and hope, which is the key to narrative development and readers' firm grasp. The second story is a unified plot, and all other stories serve this plot.

Third, the first peak: Richardson and Fielding

Samuel richardson's position in the history of English novels has long been neglected. Richardson has become a typical representative of formal realism since the publication of Ian Watt's critical masterpiece The Rise of Fiction 1957. Through the analysis of Pamela, or The Reward of Virtue (1740), Watt puts forward that one of the important features that distinguishes Richardson's novels from Defoe's is that love and marriage are the central plot of the novel, thus creating a precedent for English love novels and turning the very minor content in traditional narrative literature into the center of the novel. This involves both the content of the novel and the narrative form. It makes English novels get rid of the influence of European tramp novels, and at least opens up a new way parallel to tramp novels. If Defoe's novels do not forget to remind moral education with vivid stories, then Richardson is an out-and-out moralist. However, he did not forget that pleasant function of the novel. From the perspective of narrative theory, Richardson's view in the preface of Crammesa deserves attention in two aspects. First, the different viewpoints of different narrators not only enhance the complexity of novel narrative, but also adjust the rhythm and tension of novel narrative. The second is the emphasis on drama narration. The fundamental reason why Richardson insists on epistolary style and rejects narrative style is that he believes that only this form can ensure the vividness and effectiveness of dramatic narrative.

Henry fielding's novel creation has much to do with Richardson. After Richardson published the epistolary novel Pamela in 1740, Fielding published the parody novel Shamelle the following year, satirizing the form and theme of Richardson's novel. 1742, the adventure story of Joseph Andrews and his friend Mr. Abraham Adams was published. In the preface of the book, Fielding put forward the novel definition of "prose comedy epic". This definition of novel includes not only the scope of novel description, but also the breadth of epic, and also the narrative form of drawing lessons from epic, such as authoritative narrator, inserted story and novel narrative style of dividing volumes and chapters. In the first chapter of the second volume of Joseph's Adventures, Fielding discussed the problem of dividing volumes and chapters. He pointed out: "As far as the know-how of our writers is concerned, I think it is a very important method to divide volumes and chapters." He listed three advantages: "First, the small gap between chapters can be used as an inn or a rest place, where you can have a rest at will, have a drink or eat something ... Second, the title at the beginning of each chapter is like a signboard at the entrance of the inn, telling readers what entertainment they can get ... Third, (with ridicule) it can prevent the aesthetic feeling of a book from being destroyed by the edges and corners ... In addition, the three parts of tom jones, Robert Oort also attaches great importance to this symmetrical art, which embodies Fielding's unique artistic pursuit. Ellipsis is an important aspect of Fielding's novel art. In order to maintain the realistic narrative effect, there are often articles that must be recorded in the first person or letter, which cannot be omitted at will, while the narrator in the third person novel can tailor the story according to the needs of narrative structure. Artistic embellishment: increase narrative color and adjust narrative rhythm; Showing the author's prose talent is also an important symbol that distinguishes him from other novels; Create a tension between narrative language and narrative story, thus enriching the connotation of the novel. Overall art problem: Fielding warned critics and readers not to jump to conclusions, because some seemingly unrelated plots are actually very important in the structure of the book. The most representative feature of Fielding's novels is the image and function of the narrator. The narrator of the novel not only appears in the preface of 18, which Kan Kan talked about, but also appears constantly in the process of the novel story, either pointing out the maze for readers or discussing characters with readers. This kind of narrator is deeply criticized by the realistic novelist represented by James, because his intervention broke the realistic fantasy of the novel. However, from the social culture of18th century where Fielding lived, this personalized narrator has its special significance. First of all, narrators appear constantly to establish the authority of the author; Second, the relationship between the narrator and the reader is getting closer and closer, which is the communication between the wise, taking care of each other and supplementing each other; Thirdly, it is this kind of communication that enriches the connotation of the novel. Therefore, Watt called Fielding "evaluation realism" to distinguish it from "performance realism" represented by Defoe and Richardson.

Fourth, after the peak: Smollett, Stern and others.

Tobias Smollett's novels are similar to Fielding's comedy epic, but he tried many forms such as first-person memory, epistolary style and third-person narration. Mollet still put forward some opinions on the narrative of the novel. In the first paragraph of the preface to the Adventures of Roderick Langdon, he pointed out: "Among all kinds of satires, the one that is the most fascinating and inspiring is the one that interspersed with hands when telling a lively and interesting story." Satire has always been a very important factor in all Smollett's novels. Perhaps because of this, the characters in his novels are mostly comic characters with thick lines. In the dedication of "The Adventures of Count Ferdinand Feather" published by 1753, Smollett put forward such a novel definition: "A novel is a complex big picture ... it can't lack a main character because of its importance, it attracts readers' attention, links events together and provides clues to get out of the maze ..." This can be said to be a fairly complete novel definition. /kloc-almost all important novels in the 0/8th century are titled with the name of the protagonist, because the protagonist is the central figure who directs the whole story, at least in name.

Laurence sterne's The Life and Views of Tristram Shandy completely subverts the norms of English novels. Biography of Xiang Di can be defined as "a history book about people's psychological activities". Because people's psychological activities are not always carried out according to strict logic, novels written according to this principle are naturally very different from traditional novels. This conceptual association is also the origin of modern stream-of-consciousness novels. In narrative techniques, Shandy broke the linear narrative norms by constantly digressing episodes, which is called "winding path leads to seclusion".

Horace mr pollet published "The Castle of Otranto" in 1764, which created a precedent for Gothic novels through the legendary stories in medieval castles. It has a certain influence on the rise of romanticism and Scott's historical novels. As far as narrative art is concerned, he doesn't seem to have made much contribution.

Fanny burney is an important novelist in the second half of18th century. 1778, the epistolary novel Evelina was published anonymously, and several later novels were changed to the third person, so the popularity of epistolary style came to an end. Bernie gave up the tradition of dedicating novels to celebrities, but dedicated novels to the authors of Monthly Review and Critical Review. Frank Donoghue pointed out: "Bernie was the first writer to dedicate his novel to Monthly Review. In a sense, she became the first writer to openly and seriously recognize the legal authority of critical magazines in the field of literature. " Evelina shows readers all kinds of customs like a camera. It is in this sense that Bernie tried to combine Fielding and Richardson's two narrative methods to prepare for Austin's appearance.

Summary:/kloc-Although novelists in the 0/8th century did not forget moral teachings, entertainment obviously came first. Secondly, the novel should have a central figure, and Xiang Shichuan subverts this tradition, and trying to subvert itself is an acknowledgement of the tradition. The dispute between Fielding's third-person narrative style and Richardson's epistolary style ended with1the third-person narrative dominating in the early 9th century.

Chapter 2 Scott and Austin

First of all, Scott combed the narrative tradition of realistic novels.

Dr. Johnson thinks that Fielding depicts a polite character, while Richardson depicts a natural character. The difference between these two characters is as big as the difference between a person who knows the principle of clock making and a person who looks at the time by looking at the clock scale. Scott thinks that Dr. Johnson's distinction is reasonable, but it should not be used to judge their advantages and disadvantages. "Richardson's clock shows the complicated internal structure under the surface, while Fielding's clock only provides time, because that's what most people want to know." Just like the difference between free, chic and true sketch and meticulous oil painting, the delicacy of the latter sometimes inevitably leads to some dullness when swimming with exquisite works of art, Scott commented on the style of letters. It is believed that the advantage is that different viewpoints can give readers an immersive sense of reality, which is beyond the reach of other narrative methods. And many people tell the same story repeatedly, which will inevitably hinder the progress of story narration and form a story stagnation. The length of the novel is also a fatal weakness of Richardson's novels. Scott thinks Fielding is the most English novelist. His works are permeated with British social and cultural characteristics everywhere, and it is almost impossible to completely translate them into other languages. Scott said, "A writer should strike while the iron is hot and have a good wind with john young. Successful writers don't occupy the stage, others will occupy it first. If a writer spends ten years writing a second book, he has already been replaced by others; If the times are too short of talents and he has not been replaced, then his own reputation will become the biggest obstacle. Readers will expect the new book to be ten times better than the previous one, and the author will expect the new book to be ten times more popular than the previous one, and nine times out of ten will be disappointed. " It can be said that Scott's narrative view is a reader-centered narrative view characterized by free creation. Scott thinks Stern is the biggest plagiarist and the most original genius in Britain. This contradictory evaluation shows Stern's uniqueness and Scott's involuntary admiration for him, although he doesn't love him.

Second, Scott's narrative characteristics of Gothic novels

He has unique views on the tradition of Gothic novels initiated by Horace walpole, including the affirmation of poetic description, the emphasis on strong emotions and the tolerance of supernatural writing. Scott, a poet, spoke highly of the novelist's poetic temperament. In Mollet's biography, he said: "Any successful novelist must be a poet to some extent, although he may never write a line of poetry." In the poet's temperament, he respects imagination and strong emotion most, and emphasizes that Smollett is superior to Fielding in this respect. As a novelist who pays special attention to readers' response, Scott knows the complexity and diversity of readers' needs. He wrote ... because of curiosity, preference for mystery, and a little superstition, it is a part of the human mind and is widely popular among the public, far exceeding the real appreciation of comedy or the real feeling of tragedy. The first thing that attracts readers most from Gothic novels is the strong emotion they express.

Third, Scott's view of Austin.

He keenly summed up the distinctive features of Austen's novel narration: dramatizing the characters with concise and humorous dialogues. It is no different from the "dramatic presentation" advocated by Lewis later.

Fourthly, Austin's narration of the novel.

Austen's comments on the narrative of the novel are few, mainly focusing on northanger abbey and her letter to Anna, the weaver who is writing a novel. From this, we can see two outstanding characteristics: one is the high evaluation of the status of novels, the other is the serious pursuit of narrative art, and at the same time, it mocks popular Gothic novels and sentimental novels, showing the spirit of opening up a new world for novels. The novel new world that she wants to explore is the small world that "describes three or four families in a village just right" in "Letter to my niece Anna". At this point, she is quite different from Scott's historical novels which focus on major events. In her eyes, what really matters is not the event itself, but the behavior of people in the event. Ordinary events, like major events, can vividly reflect life and shape characters. Austen's view of novel narrative is mainly natural and concise narrative, and her aversion to gothic novels and sentimental novels lies in this. Writers write novels for readers. They should not indulge in a place just because they like it. They should consider the complex and simple choices from the readers' preferences. At the same time, Austin is also very concerned about the integrity of the novel and the consistency of the characters.

The third chapter is the narrative theory of English novels in the middle of19th century.

First, the third-person narrative and intrusive comments

In the form of Victorian novels, Miller called the third-person omniscient narration "the conventional standard of Victorian novels". The further development of narrative techniques in novels, such as limited perspective, free indirect quotation, the difference between narrative perspective and narrative voice, etc. Most of them are adjusted and explored on the basis of third-person narration. The main reason is that the novelists at that time devoted themselves to creating profound, complex and comprehensive realistic novels, and to achieve this goal, the limitations of first person and epistolary style are obvious.

All the novels of Charles Dickens, the greatest Victorian novelist, are narrated in the third person except David and Great Expectations. Although Fielding's omniscient narration became the norm of Victorian novels, his usual digressions caused a lot of controversy. George Eliot even quipped in Middlemarch that times have changed now, and we can't move a stool to speak on the stage like Fielding. "In Fielding's time, the days were longer. In summer, I do nothing in the afternoon. As for the winter night, it was spent in the slow tick of the clock. "

Second, a good story about organisms.

Fascinating stories are an important reason for the prosperity of Victorian novels. Trollope pointed out: "I was convinced from the beginning that writers sit down to write novels because they have stories to tell, not because they want to tell stories." Due to the high price of a novel with three volumes, it was mainly provided by circulating libraries. The most popular novel publishing form in Victorian era was periodical publishing, usually once a month, and then weekly publishing, which further promoted the attention to good stories. In view of the overall defects caused by divergent publishing, Hardy proposed that "stories should be organisms". The publication by stages requires that each issue of the novel should have conflicts and climaxes, which should not only maintain relative integrity, but also attract readers to look forward to the next issue. Therefore, it also caused the melodrama characteristics of Victorian novels. The ending of the novel is also a problem worthy of attention. George Eliot pointed out: "The ending is the weakness of most authors, but some problems are determined by the nature of the ending, because even the best ending is just a negation."

3. Lewis's novel narrative theory

He highly praised Austin's creative skills, especially his dramatic expression: "Description is a common and easy-to-use technique for novelists, but she doesn't use it, but uses a seldom-used and difficult-to-use dramatic expression: she forces us to tell who the characters are and what their feelings are, but to show them and let them appear on their own." From this point of view, it is not surprising that he regards "dramatic expression" as the highest realm of the novel. He believes that literature has three purposes: education, inspiration and pleasure, and on this basis, he puts forward three principles of literature: the visual principle of intellectual form, the honest principle of moral form and the beautiful principle of aesthetic form. He pointed out that "all conditions about style can be summarized as five laws: refinement, conciseness, coherence, climax and changeability". The first two are intellectual needs, the last two are emotional needs, and the middle one is in between. Following the law of coherence can make the work clear and rhythmic, thus making it powerful, getting twice the result with half the effort and producing a sense of music.

The fourth chapter is the narrative theory of American novels in the middle of19th century.

American novelists deliberately create and develop a new novel with American characteristics, which is completely different from the mainstream novels in Victorian era. This is not only determined by the different social, historical and geographical environment in the United States, but also required by the American society that has just won political independence. This is the writer's political responsibility. Richard chase summed up three historical and geographical factors in American novels and traditions, namely, the isolation of the United States in the new world, the contradiction between the influence of the old and new continents, and the Puritan tradition of New England. Compared with the extremely materialistic British society, American writers are more committed to exploring the spiritual problems of their own society, and American novelists pay more attention to exploring symbolic expressions than realistic British novelists. Chase believes that Hawthorne, Melville, James, Mark Twain, Norris, Foucault and Hemingway are the true legends that reflect human nature, while the other is the popular legends represented by popular works such as Gone with the Wind, which lacks psychological truth. 1860, Hawthorne wrote to his friend: "... with the power of beef and the passion of fruit wine, it is like a giant cutting off a piece of land and putting it under the mirror to show that its residents are working for their daily lives, but they didn't expect that they were used for exhibitions." These books belong to Britain like grilled steak. " This vivid description vividly shows the characteristics of English realistic novels, which is almost opposite to the fable romantic legend on which Hawthorne became famous. In addition, creating a shocking and thought-provoking artistic effect in a short space is the basic feature of American legendary novels in the19th century, and it is also the main feature different from English realistic novels.