THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHORT

STORY, NOVELLA AND NOVEL

1ST LECTURE
 SHORT STORY
• A short story is basically fictional prose, written in a
narrative style.
• Short story usually focuses on one plot, one main character
(with a few additional minor characters) and one central
theme.
• Short story presents one aspect of the character's life.
• The standard characteristics of a short story include
exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and
resolution.
• The narrative style may either be first person or third, or
whichever the author chooses.
 EXAMPLES

• The Happy Prince by • The Black Cat by Edgar

Oscar Wilde Allen Poe
 NOVELLA

• Novella is a type of prose fiction, which is shorter than full

length novels and longer than short stories.
• It originates from an Italian word 'novella' which means new.
• Novellas were first introduced in the early Renaissance
(1300s), but their genre did not become firmly established until
the late 18th and early 19th century.
• It usually focuses on one incident, or issue with one or two
main characters and takes place at a single location.
• This literary genre allows an extended development of
characters and themes than a short story does.
• Novellas are considered a perfect source for silver screen and
film adaptations.
• Unlike novels, novellas are usually not divided into chapters,
and like short stories, they are often meant to be read in one
sitting.
 EXAMPLES

The Old Man and the Sea by Heart of Darkness by Joseph

Ernest Hemingway Conrad
 NOVEL
• Novel is a book-length work of narrative fiction, normally
written in prose form, and also it is usually written between
150-200 pages.
• A novel often involves multiple major characters, sub-plots,
conflicts, points of view, and twists.
• Due to its considerable length, a novel is meant to be read over
a period of days.
• The reader often feels that the story deviates and is affected by
the involvement of different sub-stories and sub-plots, by the
passage of time, or by the involvement of new important
characters– this is considered the real beauty of a novel.
 TYPES OF NOVELS

• Picaresque
• Epistolary
• Gothic
• Romantic
• Realist
• Historical.
 HOMEWORK

• Give more examples about the three literary genres that have
been explained in this lecture.
• Is there any literary narrative fiction that is shorter than a short
story? Mention its name with examples.
 THE NEXT LECTURE

• The Rising of the English Novel.

• The Victorian Age.