lane 342- module 1- week 1- fiction history & genre

Module ONE1st Week

Course Title: FictionCourse Code & NO.: LANE 342Course Credit Hrs.: 3 per weekLevel: 6th Level

Instructor: Dr. Noora Al-MalkiCredits of images and online content are to their original owners.

Fiction: History & Genre

Session Content

- Early Fictional Records- Why are we reflecting on these older

texts? - What is literary fiction?- Rating Fiction!- Genres & sub-genres - Elements of Fiction- NEXT lecture

05/03/23 Dr. Noora Malki, al (c) all rights reserved 2


Early Fictional Records

Epic of Gilgamesh (Sumer bf 2000 BC)

•First great work of literature (poem?)•Gilgamesh, King of Uruk & his friend Enkidu•Journey to the Cedar Mountain and defeat Humbaba•Conflict with Goddess Ishtar•Gilgamesh is punished by sentencing Enkidu to death•Journey to discover the secret of eternal life

Quote“Death lives in the house where my bed is,and wherever I set my feet, there Death is.”


Early Fictional Records Zhuangzi (China 3rd Century BC)

•Authorship: Master Zhuang•Form: short stories, anecdotes. allegories, fables•Structure: episodic, philosophical treatise (essay)•Hero: Zhuang•Theme: Carefree life•Influence: alongside Dao De Jing, these two works had a great influence on Eastern & Western literatures

Quote"Once upon a time, Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting about happily enjoying himself. He did not know that he was Zhou. Suddenly he awoke, and was palpably Zhou. He did not know whether he was Zhou, who had dreamed of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that he was Zhou. Now, there must be a difference between Zhou and the butterfly. This is called the transformation of things.“ Zhuangzi, chapter 2



One Thousand and One Nights (Islamic World 10th -14th Cs.)

•Authorship: Unknown•Form: Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Allegories, Fables •Structure: episodic •Protagonists & Antagonists: Iconic characters •Theme: Fate & Destiny •Influence: Translated to western languages during the 18th C. It is considered one of the Earliest science fiction books (travel across the cosmos, humanoid robots)

Quote“My story is of such marvel that if it were written with a needle on the corner of an eye, it would yet serve as a lesson to those who seek wisdom.”



Hayy ibn Yaqzan or Philosophus Autodidactus (Middle Ages: Islamic World 12th Cs.)

•Authorship: Abubacer Aben Tofail•Form: Philosophical romance & allegorical novel (Sufism)•Structure: philosophical treatise (essay)•Hero: Feral child raised by a gazelle •Setting: a desert island•Theme: Discovering “truth” through a process of inquiry•Influence: had great influence on Western literature during 17th & 18th Cs., and on Western philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Isaac Newton, and Kant. Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe’s is said to have been influenced by Aben Tofail’s account.



The Tale of Genji (Middle Ages: Japan 11th C.)

•Authorship: noblewoman, Murasaki Shikibu•The World’ first novel, first psychological novel, Historical novel, a classic•Translated into English in 1882•Form: Novel, Romance, Saga•Structure: Parts, Chapters, Instalments •Hero: Hikaru Genji, or "Shining Genji"•Setting: The court •Theme: love, political intrigue•Influence: The famous novelist Jorge Luis Borges said of it, "The Tale of Genji, as translated by Arthur Waley, is written with an almost miraculous naturalness, and what interests us is not the exoticism—the horrible word—but rather the human passions of the novel.



Le Morte d'Arthur (Renaissance: Europe 15th C.)

•Authorship: Thomas Malory •Based on stories about King Arthur and his knights from English and French literatures. •Form: Knightly Romance •Structure: episodic•Hero: King Arthur•Setting: The court •Theme: love, war•Influence: This text has a great influence on the mentality of men of letters who later wrote about the Arthurian legends in a fictional format.



Don Quixote (Spain early 17th C.)

•Authorship: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra •One of the first canonical novels in European literature •Form: Knightly Romance ( picaresque - burlesque)•Structure: episodic•Hero: unnamed nobleman who is insane and travelling with a witty farmer, Sancho Panza •Setting: plains of La Mancha •Theme: satire of orthodoxy, conflict between reality and imagination•Influence: It influenced the art of such figures as Picasso, and the fiction of writers such as Dumas (early 19th C.), and Mark Twain (late 19th C.).


Why are we reflecting on these older texts?

- Historical merit (Recorded Texts)- Literary merit - Far-reaching influence (transcending

time and influencing various cultures)


A Fictional work is an imaginative rendering of life in narrative form that uses prose as a medium. Generally speaking, a fictional narrative is a falsehood because it relates events that have never actually taken place, and it explores the lives of people (characters) who never existed, However, fiction writers aim at depicting “legitimate falsehoods,” since they seek to demonstrate meaningful, universal insights into the human condition.

What is Fiction?


There are various categories of fiction:

-Literary Fiction (distinguished writing, original thought, and style which sets it a part from ordinary written works).-Canon Literature: (a group of literary works that are considered the most important of a particular time period or place).-Commercial Fiction (appeals to a broader audience and can be in sub-genres like mystery, romance, thriller, western, science fiction, etc.)

Rating Fiction!


A genre is a broad term that translates from the French to mean 'kind' or 'type.' Genre refers to any works that share certain characteristics.

Major features of Fiction as a genre:-Prose-Broader subject matter-Use of figurative language -More structured than poetry

Genres & Sub-Genres


Short Story3,500 - 7,500 Words

A short story is the commonest form of fictional writing. It is a short prose narrative, which is often used to depict a single event, a single episode, or the life of a specific character. There are no major conflicts presented. On the level of plot, there are no multiple story lines (sub-plots). The number of characters is also small.

Genres & Sub-Genres: Based on Form


Novelette7,500 - 17,000 wordsA fictional prose narrative. It is longer than a short-story, but it must be shorter than a novella. There is no big difference between a short story or a novelette except in the word count. Its limitations are those of the short story form described earlier.



Novella17,000 - 40,000 WordsIt is a prose fictional narrative that has its roots in the Italian literary tradition. A novella is longer than a novelette. It can contain many sub-plots, conflicts and characters. However, it is basically written with a satirical, moral or educational purpose in mind.



Novel40,000+ WordsA long prose narrative that involves multiple major characters, sub-plots, conflicts and twists. A novel is of a considerable duration and length, in which the plot moves forward by different actions, thoughts, results, situations that are evoked by different characters involved in it.



Crime Fantasy Historical Horror Mystery Detective Romance Science fiction Western Children Fiction Young Adult

Genres & Sub-Genres: Based on Subject Matter


Like the artist who uses various tools to portray his subject, the fiction writer uses character, setting, plot, point of view, theme, and various kinds of symbolism and language to create artistic effect in fiction. These features of fiction are known as its formal elements.

Understanding the formal elements of a fictional narrative will help the reader appreciate critically any piece of fiction.

Elements of Fiction

The Elements of Fiction


1. PLOT1. PLOT - “Why" – makes sense of all the choices that the characters make. -Plot's structure (mystery- thriller…etc.) (straightforward or chronological [linear] vs. shifting [forshadowing])

What Goes into a Plot?

The Elements of Literature


1. PLOT1. PLOT Common Conflict Types in Fiction:

Man Versus Self

These are internal battles that characters suffer from internally which affect their actions, motivations and interactions with other characters.




Man Versus Society

These are conflicts where your characters’ firm beliefs are against the norms, ideologies, or beliefs of society. It could be social evils or discrimination practiced by society that is opposed by a minority.




Man Versus Man

These are the most common of conflicts. The characters of a story will be opposed by or will oppose the actions, reactions, motivations of another character or characters.




Man Versus NatureIn such fictional accounts, nature stands as the obstacle in the way of characters. The resolution of these narratives usually represent the triumph of human spirit over adversity.



1. PLOT1. PLOT Most stories begin with rising action as the character encounters a conflict which is represented as a series of plot complications. This conflict reaches a climax, after which it is resolved. This is followed by falling action, which leads quickly to the story's resolution, that either emerges because of a change in the character or the situation.



2. SETTING2. SETTING The setting of a story is its time and place. Fictional narratives have two types of setting: Physical and Chronological. Also, a setting of a story can describe the social context of an age or a specific mood.



3. CHARACTER3. CHARACTER WHO?Antagonist vs. Protagonist Realism/convincing TYPES:Developing (Round)Static (flat, stereotypes, types,…)Telling vs. Showing



4. THEME 4. THEME

The theme of a fable is its moral. The theme of a parable is its teaching. The theme of a piece of fiction is its view about life and how people behave. In fact, it is not presented directly at all. You must figure out the theme yourself. How to figure out the theme?Title- repeating patterns & symbols- allusions, details…etc.



5. POINT OF VIEW

Remember, someone is always between the reader and the action of the story. That someone is telling the story from his or her own point of view. This angle of vision, the point of view from which the people, events and details of a story are viewed, is important to consider when reading a story.


Q&A


NEXT Week

The Rise of the English Novel


Have a super day….

lane 342- module 1- week 1- fiction history & genre

Education