INTRODUCTION The Medieval Period: Arthurian Romance. Out of the great diversity of fiction current in England before the sixteenth century, romance, particularly Arthurian romance, appears as the dominant type and the one which has exerted on succeeding periods the most persistent influence. In relation to the novel the medieval Arthurian romance stands probably closer than any other species of fiction of that day, embodying as it does a reflection of the courtly life of the period, an expression of the interests of love and adventure, and the portrayal of certain clearly defined though conventional types of character. "Le Morte Darthur" by Sir Thomas Malory (completed, 1469; printed, 1485) though late in point of time, is thoroughly mediæval in spirit and marks the culmination in the development of medieval Arthurian romance. Based mainly on the French cyclic romances of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, works which are in themselves all inclusive, it is really an epitome of Arthurian adventure. For this reason, together with the fact that it offers no difficulties of language such as would attend the study of earlier English romances, the "Morte Darthur" has been chosen as the most suitable representative of mediæval fiction. The Elizabethan Period. In Elizabethan fiction may be traced three strains, all showing the indebtedness of the English Renaissance to Romance literatures: (1) The strain of the Italian novelle, collections of realistic stories of everyday life, may be traced in Lyly's "Euphues," together with the influence of certain manuals of courtesy and of courtly conduct such as Castiglione's "Il Cortegiano." (2) The strain of the pastoral romance developed from Theocritus and Virgil by Boccaccio, Sannazaro, and Ariosto in Italy and by Montemayor in Spain, is found in England with the tradition of Arthurian romances of chivalry; of this union Sidney's "Arcadia" is a notable fruit. (3) The strain of the picaresque or rogue story of Spanish origin, exemplified in Spain by Mendoza's "Lazarillo de Tormes,' was developed in England through Nashe's "The Unfortunate Traveller," one of the first of a long line of picaresque novels. "Euphues. The Anatomy of Wit" by John Lyly (1579) was a highly popular work, written probably for Elizabethan ladies. It combines to some extent the realistic method of the novelle and the purpose of the Renaissance courtesy book, attempting to set forth the manners and ideals proper to noble persons of the time. The selections illustrate the style, which later came to be called euphuism, characterized by alliteration, antithesis, word play, and the use of figurative material of a specific sort. They illustrate also the measure of Lyly's skill in narration and characterization, and the influence of the Renaissance upon the thought and conduct of Elizabethan society. "The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia" by Sir Philip Sidney (composed, 1580-81; publ., 1590) was written as a pastime for the pleasure of his sister, the Countess, during the years of Sidney's banishment from court, spent at Wilton House, the charming country-seat of the Earl of Pembroke. Thus in raison d'être the story thoroughly supplies the motive and aim of the romantic novel: an escape from the responsibilities of actual life into the world of the ideal. The book illustrates admirably the Renaissance delight in sensuous beauty, an element which is given wide scope for expression through the pastoral setting. The passages chosen suggest the complexity of plot, and show the beauty of Sidney's language in the description of Arcadian scenes, his humor, and his method of characterization. "The Unfortunate Traveller" by Thomas Nashe (1594) is a prominent example of the romance of roguery, a type of story comprising tricks, jokes, and adventures of a dubious sort by which an unregenerate hero glorifies himself. The rogue story comprises one phase of the reaction against romance which developed first in Spain in such work as "Lazarillo de Tormes," next in England in Nashe's novel, and finally matured in France in "Gil Blas." The Seventeenth Century, a period of political disturbance in England, contributed little directly to the development of the novel. In the field of fiction it was a period of translation and imitation, particularly of the Franch fabliaux and of the French heroic romances in prose. But in spite of the general dearth of original production there appeared during this time two important and unique works. "The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan (1678–84) is a spiritual allegory conspicuous for its realism. As an allegory it is true to life both in its abstract and its concrete aspects and in the relation between the two. As a piece of narrative prose it marks a great advance in the realistic use of specific detail, and in simplicity and directness of method and style. "Oroonoko" by Mrs. Aphra Behn (1688) is sometimes spoken of as the first humanitarian novel in English. It is noteworthy not only as an early manifestation of the humanitarian interest, but also as an attempt to give accurate local color. Until very recently, "Oroonoko" has been held of particular significance in the development of realistic fiction.) Though it has been conceded that the first part of the story is pure romance, the latter part in which the scene is laid in the South American colony of Surinam has been accepted as realistic portrayal, the result of the author's personal experience amid the scenes described. All writers on the novel, so far as we know, have entertained this view, until the appearance in 1913 of a study by Mr. Ernest Bernbaum1 which is subversive of all former theories. Mr. Bernbaum points out convincingly that Mrs. Behn's account is compounded of certain serious misstatements and of other details scientifically accurate, but not at all necessitating first-hand observation. Most of the facts of natural history with which she deals are to be found in comparable form in a pamphlet, now rare, entitled "An Impartial Description of Surinam," published in 1667. The comparisons which Mr. Bernbaum presents between Mrs. Behn and her source offer interesting studies in narrative technique. His final comment places her technically in a significant position with relation to her successors. 2 1 "Anniversary Papers by the Colleagues and Pupils of George Lyman Kittredge," Mrs. Behn's "Oroonoko," Ginn and Company, 1913, pp. 419 ff. ? George Warren, London, 1667. The Eighteenth Century is conspicuous for three groups of writers: The trio of major novelists marking the highest reach of the novel before the nineteenth century - Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding; the group who stand only a little below them, yet showing unmistakable signs of decadence-Smollett, Sterne, and Goldsmith1; and finally, a large number of minor writers who exhibit the disintegration of the novel form under the stress of thought and feeling rising out of the spiritual ferment of the revolutionary era. In this last group come the Novel of Manners, represented by Miss Burney and Miss Edgeworth 2; the Gothic Novel, represented by Horace Walpole and Mrs. Radcliffe; the Novel of Feeling, represented by Mackenzie; and the Novel of Purpose, with an emphasis upon education as seen in the work of Mrs. Inchbald and Thomas Day, and upon social problems as exemplified in William Godwin. "The Life, Adventures, and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton" by Daniel Defoe (1720) is, as the title implies, a story of realistic adventure of the picaresque type. The selections illustrate Defoe's method of direct narration, his skill in characterizing his central figures, and his remarkable power of creating verisimilitude by the use of concrete, circumstantial detail. "Clarissa Harlowe" by Samuel Richardson (1747-48) is both a novel of manners and a novel of purpose. Though developed through a realistic medium the natural progress of the story is continually obstructed and the coloring heightened by a deliberate moral purpose permeating the whole, and culminating in numerous supererogatory letters after the close of the story, proper. The epistolary form adopted by Richardson probably grew out of such series of fictitious letters, in vogue during the seventeeth and early eighteenth centuries, as "Two Hundred and Eleven Sociable Letters" (1664) by Margaret Duchess of 1 Selections from "The Vicar of Wakefield" were omitted, because the book is well known and is easily obtainable in cheap editions. 2 Miss Edgeworth was omitted because her work belongs to the nineteenth century. 3 "Captain Singleton" rather than "Robinson Crusoe" was chosen because it is a better example of the picaresque novel than is the latter, and it is the picaresque novel that the editors particularly wish to illustrate here. Moreover, "Captain Singleton" leads the student to a serious study of Defoe's technique from unhackneyed material and from a story more typical of the author's style than is "Robinson Crusoe." |