Sub-genres of Novel

Sub-genres

 Picaresque
 Bildungsroman
 Epistolary
 Historical
 Satirical
 Utopian
 Gothic
 Detective
 Short Story
 Novella
Picaresque

 This form originated in Spain. The word Picaresque came from the Spanish word
“Picaro’ which means a rogue. Cervantes was a Spanish writer who wrote a novel
called “Don Quixote’ (1605) and with it begins the history of the Picaresque
novel. “The Unfortunate Traveller” is the best example of the picaresque novel in
English.
 This term is applied for any long story in which a number of separate events,
sometimes comic or violent, were joined together only by the fact that they
happened to the chief character. It basically deals with the adventure of the Hero,
who moves from one place to another in English, Daniel Defoe was the first to
write a Picaresque novel.
 Henry Fielding drew on the picaresque tradition to set his characters on the road
by involving them in a great variety of adventure. Smollett made the picaresque
novel quite popular. He was acquainted with the French and Spanish Picaresque
novels. He had also translated a few and took the hero on series of adventure on
land and sea. According to Edwin Muir, this genre is a very striking class in
English fiction. This novel type is realistic in manner, episodic in structure and
satirical in aim.
Gothic

 The term ‘Gothic’ originally referred to ‘Goths’- a Germanic tribe, then came to
signify ‘Germanic’ and then medieval. Towards the end of the eighteenth century
grew the Novel of Terror or Gothic Novel better known as Gothic Romances. The
English romantic movement which found its supreme expression in poetry, was
reflected in a somewhat cruder and more primitive manner in the novel, where it
helped to inaugurate a new literary genre- the thriller. The first terror novel
emerged with Horace Walpole’s “The Castle of Otranto.” The extraordinary
change that emerged in the last quarter of the eighteenth century is difficult to
define, the Romantic movement was essentially complex and changes in
sensibility had long been in progress.
Epistolary novel

 Epistolary novel, a novel told through the medium of letters written by one or

more of the characters. Originating with Samuel Richardson’s 
Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded (1740), the story of a servant girl’s victorious
struggle against her master’s attempts to seduce her, it was one of the earliest
forms of novel to be developed and remained one of the most popular up to the
19th century.
 Epistolary comes from a Greek word, epistolē, which means “letter.” Epistolary is
a literary genre pertaining to letters, in which writers use letters, journals, and
diary entries in their works, or they tell their stories or deliver messages through a
series of letters. Though the usual format of epistolary is letters, writers
sometimes use other forms of document such as newspaper clippings and diary
entries. Recently, writers also use electronic documents like emails, blogs, radio
broadcast, and recordings.
 Epistolary form can add realism to a narrative, as it imitates real life workings. It
is therefore able to describe different points of view. The primary function of this
form of writing is to give readers an intimate view of characters’ feelings and
thoughts, and develop a direct connection with the events through letters without
interference of the author. This technique thus makes the literary piece a real
experience for the readers. Also, a presentation of events from different viewpoint
gives the story verisimilitude and dimension.
Bildungsroman Novel

 Bildungsroman is a special kind of novel that focuses on the psychological

and moral growth of its main character, from his or her youth to adulthood.
 A bildungsroman is a story of the growing up of a sensitive person, who
looks for answers to his questions through different experiences.
Generally, such a novel starts with a loss or a tragedy that disturbs the
main character emotionally. He or she leaves on a journey to fill that
vacuum.
 During the journey, the protagonist gains maturity, gradually and with
difficulty. Usually, the plot depicts a conflict between the protagonist and
the values of society. Finally, he or she accepts those values, and they are
accepted by society, ending the dissatisfaction. Such a type of novel is
also known as a “coming-of-age” novel.
 The bildungsroman novel depicts and criticizes those vices of society
which cause the protagonist to suffer. The novel conveys a sense of 
realism, because the protagonist is a common sensitive person who is
affected by the loss that they suffer, and this loss, ultimately, changes the
course of their life.
 In addition, the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist gives us
a deep insight into the character, and also helps to understand the conflict
in his or her life. As a result, we can identify ourselves with the coming-of-
age characters, and feel emotionally attached and interested as we see
them pass different stages of their lives, until they finally change for the
good.
Satirical Novel

 Satire is loosely defined as art that ridicules a specific topic in order to provoke readers
into changing their opinion of it. By attacking what they see as human folly, satirists
usually imply their own opinions on how the thing being attacked can be improved.

 Perhaps the most famous work of British satire is Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels
(1726), where the inhabitants of the different lands Gulliver visits embody what Swift
saw as the prominent vices and corruptions of his time.

 Like Gulliver's Travels, George Orwell's Animal Farm is a satirical novel in which
Orwell, like Swift, attacks what he saw as some of the prominent follies of his time.
Broadly speaking, Animal Farm satirizes politicians, specifically their rhetoric, ability to
manipulate others, and insatiable lust for power.
Historical Novel

 Historical novel, a novel that has as its setting a period of history and that
attempts to convey the spirit, manners, and social conditions of a past age with
realistic detail and fidelity (which is in some cases only apparent fidelity) to
historical fact. The work may deal with actual historical personages.
Detective Novel

 Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which

an investigator or a detective—either professional, amateur or retired—
investigates a crime, often murder.
 The traditional elements of the detective story are: (1) the seemingly perfect
crime; (2) the wrongly accused suspect at whom circumstantial evidence points;
(3) the bungling of dim-witted police; (4) the greater powers of observation and
superior mind of the detective; and (5) the startling and unexpected denouement
, in which the detective reveals how the identity of the culprit was ascertained.
Detective stories frequently operate on the principle that superficially convincing
evidence is ultimately irrelevant. Usually it is also axiomatic that the clues from
which a logical solution to the problem can be reached be fairly presented to the
reader at exactly the same time that the sleuth receives them and that the sleuth
deduce the solution to the puzzle from a logical interpretation of these clues.
Utopian Novel

 Utopia is a paradise. A perfect society in which everything works and everyone is

happy – or at least is supposed to be.
 Utopias are very common in fiction, especially in science fiction, where authors
use them to explore what a perfect society would look like and what the problems
might be in such a flawless society. However, very few fictional utopias are true
utopias. Almost all of them are revealed to be the opposite of utopia—dystopia—
during the course of the story. Utopian literature is generally about exploring real
problems facing our world and making political, philosophical, or moral points
through storytelling.
 Utopian stories are generally written to explore ideas about how society should or
could be. For example, an eco-utopia would be a story exploring the concept of a
society based on perfect harmony with nature. On the other hand, a libertarian
utopia would be a society based on perfect freedom and individualism. These
stories can be a great way to test out such philosophies by seeing how they would
actually affect people in practice.
 When you come across a utopian story or image, try to work out what kind of
moral, political, or scientific ideal is being explored
Short Story

 Short story, brief fictional prose narrative that is shorter than a novel and that
usually deals with only a few characters.
 The short story is usually concerned with a single effect conveyed in only one or a
few significant episodes or scenes. The form encourages economy of setting,
concise narrative, and the omission of a complex plot; character is disclosed in
action and dramatic encounter but is seldom fully developed. Despite its relatively
limited scope, though, a short story is often judged by its ability to provide a
“complete” or satisfying treatment of its characters and subject.
Novella

 A novella is a short novel, that is, a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter
than that of most novels, but longer than most short stories. No official definition
exists regarding the number of pages or words necessary for a story to be
considered a novella or a novel.