Rise of Novel in 18th Century....
Introduction
As a literary genre, Novel emerged in the beginning of the eighteenth century. It can be said that the Industrial Revolution created a desire among the people to read books or any other literature related to their everyday experiences. Therefore –
The novel developed as a piece of prose fiction that presents real life character.
The glorious work of Richardson and Fielding was followed by the two other major novelists of the eighteenth century named Smollett and Sterne. Thus, the group of the first four novelists – Richardson, Smollett, Fielding and Sterne are called the Four Wheels of the Novel.
Definition of Novel
Though novel is a genre which resists exact definition, here are some definitions of the novel:
According to Shorter Oxford English Dictionary,
Novel is a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length in which characters and actions are portrayed in a plot of more or less complexity.
D. H. Lawrence says,
The novel is a one bright book of life.
According to The Encyclopedia Britannica,
Novel is a sustained story which is not historically true but might very easily be so.
Origin of Novel
The English name novel is derived from the Italian novella – meaning a little new thing. The novella was a kind of anecdote found in 14th century. Since the Victorian period, the novel, replacing poetry and drama has become the most important part of English literature.
Factors that Contributed in The Rise of The Novel
Various reasons can be adduced for the rise and popularity of the novel in the eighteenth century. Here are some factors that contributed in the Rise of the 18th Century Novel:
1. The Decline of Drama
The Rise of the Novel in the early stage of eighteenth century was greatly affected by the Decline of Drama. Drama was very famous in Elizabethan Age. As the Licensing Act passed in 1737, Fielding and some others attacked Walpone. The situation raised as something like –
Cut out the hearts of Drama.
Now, Drama which had helped to satisfy the natural human desire for reading or stories was about to moribund. Something had to take the place of drama. Thus, to fill up the gap, dramatists turned into novelists and the Novel raised in replace of the Drama. The writings of the dramatists in the modern period got its root established by that time and appeared as Novel.
2. Rise of The Periodical Essays
The seeds of Novel of the characters was laid in the Periodical essays of Addison and Steele during this age. The foundation of the Novel of characters was laid in the pages of Spectator. In Spectator, we also found the origin of the social and domestic novels. Because these papers were widely read, it cultivated the taste of public for the future rise of the novel.
3. Ready Material
We have to bear in mind that the growth of the Novel was not sudden but it had already been done by numerous writers. Realism and Romance, Morality and Adventure had been introduced earlier by Defoe and Bunyan, Mrs. Aphra Behn and Swift. Before Fielding and Richardson started, the seeds of the Novel had already been sown. These pioneers had only to take the last step in the process of its growth.
4. Rise of Common People
The rise of the Novel was also result of the democratic movement in the eighteenth century England. Like tragedy, romance made an appeal to the rich and left the common people untouchable. The romanticism of Defoe remained popular for sometime but it didn’t last long because it was far away from the ordinary social world. During this age, a consciousness of the rights of the people began to come in the public mind and the novelists took advantages of this situation; and so they began to write something that deals with the life of common people. The common people found that the novels deal with their own life and problems, so they started to support the novels of realism that were presented by Henry Fielding. As time passed, the democratic feelings of the people and the democratic support of the government made novel popular in the country. The rise of the common people with the democratic consciousness gave a great support to the development of the Novel.
5. No Limitation for Classicism
The novel was a sign that the literature was beginning to outgrow the cramping limitations of classicism. It was impossible in the epic and drama where the men should reject altogether the authority of antiquity. In Fielding’s case, there was some discussion of technical questions from the classicist standpoint and classical learning; but in general, the novel offered a fresh field in which the modern writers were able to work independently.
6. Rise of The Realism
Novel is a literary form that is related to the common life. The spirit of realism and romantic features like enthusiasm, passion and imaginations that declined in the period were the main characteristics of the 18th century. The English novel of the eighteenth century has all these characteristics. As novel is related to the common life, the names that were used in the eighteenth century novel were common names of the people. Like, Henry Fielding named his main character Joseph Andrews to make it easily. There’s a clear description of the character which added realism in the novel. Thus, realism greatly contributed in the rise of the Novel.
Examples of 18th Century Novels
Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones are some of the early English novels. Here are several more examples of the eighteenth century novels:
- Fielding’s Joseph Andrews
- Sterne’s Yorick
- Thomas More’s Utopia
- Richardson’s Pamela
- Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield
Conclusion
In The Rise of the Novel, Ian Watt suggested that the novel first came into being in the early 18th century. The development of the novel was encouraged by innovations in printing. Henry James remarks –
The only reason for the existence of a novel is that it does attempt to represent life.
Novel has become the most important part of English literature in a certain circumstances that we see as we pass from the enlightenment clarity of the novel; it becomes more and more eye – catching and important.