Henry James' 'The Art of Fiction' and the application of his theory in 'What Maisie knew'

'A novel is in its broadest definition a personal, a direct impression of life'

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book Henry James' 'The Art of Fiction' and the application of his theory in 'What Maisie knew' by Sebastian Frese, GRIN Verlag
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sebastian Frese ISBN: 9783640162888
Publisher: GRIN Verlag Publication: September 12, 2008
Imprint: GRIN Verlag Language: English
Author: Sebastian Frese
ISBN: 9783640162888
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Publication: September 12, 2008
Imprint: GRIN Verlag
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Freiburg (Englisches Seminar), course: The Art of Fiction in 1890s Britain , 10 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Introduction Henry James is known not only as a novelist but also for his work as literary critic. In his famous essay 'The Art of Fiction' (1884), he reacted on a pamphlet that the British author Walter Besant had published under the same title earlier that year. In fact, a discussion and controversy on the novel had already been started in 1882 with Howells' 'Henry James Jr.' and Stevenson's 'A Gossip of Romance'. James used the opportunity to present his ideas on the novel of fiction: 'A novel is in its broadest definition a personal, a direct impression of life' 1. It is very important for him to stress that life is personally -and therefore subjectively- received by an author who than tries to represent life in his2 work. James offers in his essay various new aspects that a novelist should be aware of and make use of if he wants to write a realistic and true novel. This essay deals with the novel What Maisie knew (first published in 1897) which is one of the less known and less studied novels written by Henry James. Critics see it as a work in which James has left the `mainstream literature´ that the literary market asked for and has realised some of his ideas he had coped with in theory already in the 1880's when he wrote 'The Art of Fiction'. Most of these critics have studied the morality in What Maisie knew and the innovation to present the story from a child's consciousness. This essay is not interested in the moral aspect of the novel but raises the question if Henry James put into practise his own theory when he wrote Maisie more than ten years after his 'Art of Fiction'. After presenting the main arguments of James' theory, I will scrutinise whether James really has put his theory into practice. Most attention will be turned to his ideas of a realistic writing, looking not only at the aspect of how to write a realistic novel but also of how to create a realistic atmosphere. This essay will try to prove that Henry James did practise his own preaching at least to a certain degree in What Maisie knew and show where James' realistic fiction might reach its limits.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Freiburg (Englisches Seminar), course: The Art of Fiction in 1890s Britain , 10 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Introduction Henry James is known not only as a novelist but also for his work as literary critic. In his famous essay 'The Art of Fiction' (1884), he reacted on a pamphlet that the British author Walter Besant had published under the same title earlier that year. In fact, a discussion and controversy on the novel had already been started in 1882 with Howells' 'Henry James Jr.' and Stevenson's 'A Gossip of Romance'. James used the opportunity to present his ideas on the novel of fiction: 'A novel is in its broadest definition a personal, a direct impression of life' 1. It is very important for him to stress that life is personally -and therefore subjectively- received by an author who than tries to represent life in his2 work. James offers in his essay various new aspects that a novelist should be aware of and make use of if he wants to write a realistic and true novel. This essay deals with the novel What Maisie knew (first published in 1897) which is one of the less known and less studied novels written by Henry James. Critics see it as a work in which James has left the `mainstream literature´ that the literary market asked for and has realised some of his ideas he had coped with in theory already in the 1880's when he wrote 'The Art of Fiction'. Most of these critics have studied the morality in What Maisie knew and the innovation to present the story from a child's consciousness. This essay is not interested in the moral aspect of the novel but raises the question if Henry James put into practise his own theory when he wrote Maisie more than ten years after his 'Art of Fiction'. After presenting the main arguments of James' theory, I will scrutinise whether James really has put his theory into practice. Most attention will be turned to his ideas of a realistic writing, looking not only at the aspect of how to write a realistic novel but also of how to create a realistic atmosphere. This essay will try to prove that Henry James did practise his own preaching at least to a certain degree in What Maisie knew and show where James' realistic fiction might reach its limits.

More books from GRIN Verlag

Cover of the book Das Familienmassaker am Persmanhof/Perschmannhof: Ein Racheakt der Tito-Partisanen? Gegendarstellung zur Dokumentation im Persman-Museum by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Die Rolle des wiedervereinten Deutschlands in den Vereinten Nationen by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Die Rhetorik der netzbasierten Innovation by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Die Bedeutung und Ausgestaltung des Risikocontrollings in kleinen und mittelständischen Unternehmen by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Korea: Die Idee der kulturellen Identität und des Nationalbewusstseins in der Minjung-Theologie bei Ahn Byung-Mu by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Skript: Fertigungswirtschaft 2 by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Die Bedeutung von Wissen für unsere heutige Gesellschaft by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Der Dienst der Kirche unter Soldaten. Status Quo, Bewertungen, Ausblick by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Managementvergütung. Zu Prämiensystemen und Vergütungsmodellen by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Franchising: Die Theorien von R. P. Dant und P. J. Kaufman by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Die Panathenäen - das Fest der Stadt zu Ehren der Göttin Athene by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Prozessoptimierung in der Beschaffung by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Kulturkritik nach Ernst Cassirer by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Lernen und Lehren im Erwachsenenalter by Sebastian Frese
Cover of the book Orientierungspraktikum an der Peter Petersen-Grundschule by Sebastian Frese
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy