Skip to main content

Posts

Chapter 6: From Classic Realism to Modernism and Postmodernism

    Chapter 6: From Classic Realism to Modernism and Postmodernism 1.         Introduction •      Fiction is a generic term and includes short stories, novellas and novels. •      Fiction is the kind of imaginative literature many people are most familiar with; it is the form that sells best, is publicised most widely, and is usually the most straightforward to read.   •       We will be attempting to define some of the characteristics of fiction writing by focusing mainly on novels written in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.   •      The reason for choosing novels written in the last two centuries is that the   nineteenth century is the period when novel writing really flourished as a literary form , and when the style is known as   ‘ classic realism ’   dominated British fiction.   George Eliot ,   Mrs Gaskell and Anthony Trollop e are examples of some of the best-known writers from this time. However, the label   ‘ realism ’ , can be applied to a wide range of texts and is a