Origin of Novel in English Literature

ORIGIN OF NOVEL / FICTION

INTRODUCTION:

Literature is written in different forms like poetry, drama, novel, short story, biography, autobiography, travelogue etc. Among all these forms, novel is the latest one among all other forms of literature which emerged and became widely popular during the 18th century in English literature. It is interesting to note that though novel is the last form of literature to be originated, it is now the most widely read and loved form of literature. ‘Robinson Crusoe’ (1719) by Daniel Defoe  or ‘Pamela’ (1741) by Samuel Richardson is unanimously considered as the first novel of English literature.

ETYMOLOGY OF THE TERM ‘NOVEL’:

The term ‘Novel’ is derived from a Latin word ‘Novus’ which means ‘New’. From Latin this word entered into Italian language. In Italy there was a phrase ‘Novella Storia’ which means ‘New Story’. The English word ‘Novel’ comes from this Italian word ‘Novella’. During the 18th century, a new form of expression came into existence in English literature and so it was named as ‘NOVEL’.

ROOTS OF ENGLISH NOVEL / FICTION:

In the earliest times, literature was mostly written in poetic form. Novel is written in prose. The roots of novel lie long back in the French Romances written during the 14th and 15th centuries. 

• One of the notable English Romance is Malory’s ‘Morte d Arthur’ (1470) written in prose which narrates the story of the legend of King Arthur and his Knights.

• Geoffrey Chaucer, a noted poet of the 14th century also wrote both in poetry and prose. Chaucer’s ‘The Canterbury Tales’ (1387-1400) presents 24 stories which contains two stories in prose, namely, ‘Tale of Melibeus’ and ‘Parson’s Tale’. Kuiper opines that the roots of novel lie in Chaucer’s work because he introduced character, plot, dialogue, conflict etc in his ‘Canterbury Tales’ which later became the salient features of novel.

• Origin of novel owes much to the Italian stories written by Boccassio. He published ‘Decameron’, a collection of stories during the 14th century.

• ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ (1678) by John Bunyan too contributed to the origin of novel. According to Bora, “It provided an important model for story telling with vivid characterization and recording of dialogue which influenced a lot of later novelists.”

• Aphra Ben’s short work of fiction ‘Oroonoko’ (1688) is also hailed as the first attempt of novel writing in English.

• Joseph Addison and Richard Steel (‘The Tatler’ in 1709 and ‘The Spectator’ in 1711) popularized Periodical essays in the beginning of the 18th century. They prepared a clear ground for novel to flourish as their character essays won the admiration of the readers.

• Eliza Haywood’s ‘Love in Excess’ (1719) too is sometimes described as the first prose fiction in English.

• ‘Robinson Crusoe’ (1719) by Daniel Defoe is also termed as the first novel of English literature by some scholars and critics. It appeared not a fiction, but more as a history of real events.

However, novel in the real sense of the word came into existence only during the 18th century with the publication of ‘Pamela’ (1740/41) by Samuel Richardson.

FOUR PILLARS OF ENGLISH FICTION:

1. Samuel Richardson, known for his epistolary novels.  ‘Pamela’ (1740/41), ‘Clarissa’ (1748) ‘Sir Charles Grandison’ (1753)

2. Henry Fielding, known for his picaresque novels. ‘Joseph Andrews’ (1742), ‘Tom Jones’ (1749) and ‘Amelia’ (1751)

3. Tobias Smollett, known for his adventure novels. ‘The Adventures of Roderick Random’ (1748), ‘The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle’ (1751) and ‘The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker’ (1771)

4. Laurence Stern, known for his unorthodox novels. ‘Tristram Shandy’ in nine volumes (1759-1767)

CONCLUSION:

In this way, we may conclude that the whole journey of novel actually began during the 18th century, but its roots lie in the Italian prose stories ‘Decameron’ by Boccaccio and Chaucer’s ‘The Canterbury Tales’ during the 14th century. The credit is given to Daniel Defoe, John Bunyan and others for preparing a ground for the four pillars of English novels, namely, Richardson, Stern, Smollett and Henry Fielding.

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