History Of Novel Brainstorming

History of Novel is included in std 12 English language syllabus purposely to attract attention of teenagers towards the literature.

There will be memory based questions on it in the examination of HSC . The weightage for this chapter is 4 marks. Two MCQ type activities will be there. Maharashtra State Board has provided question bank. You will find the solution for it here.

Graphical Short notes on 4.1 History of Novel

Click Here for 1.2 On Saying ‘Please’

The novel, a long narrative in prose, has a rich history that reflects the evolution of human storytelling and societal changes. Here’s a concise overview:

Origins:

Early Narratives: The novel’s roots can be traced back to ancient and medieval narratives, including Greek romances and Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (14th century).

‘The Tale of Genji’: Written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, this Japanese work is often considered the world’s first novel.

17th and 18th Centuries:

Emergence as a Genre: The 18th century marked the novel’s rise as a dominant literary form, capturing the intellectual, sentimental, and realistic spirit of the time.

Notable Works: Significant novels from this period include John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719), and Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740).

19th Century:

Victorian Era: This period saw the novel become the leading literary genre in English, with authors like Charles Dickens appealing to both simple and sophisticated tastes.

Diverse Genres: The century introduced various novel genres, including Gothic novels characterized by terror, supernatural elements, and haunted settings.

20th Century:

Modernist Innovations: Authors like Virginia Woolf pioneered the ‘stream of consciousness’ technique, delving into characters’ inner thoughts.

Science Fiction: Writers such as H.G. Wells explored futuristic settings and speculative concepts, contributing to the genre’s development.

Indian English Novels:

Early Works: Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya’s Rajmohan’s Wife (1864) is recognized as the first Indian English novel, focusing on nationalistic and social themes.

Prominent Authors: The mid-20th century featured a notable trio of Indian writers: Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan, and Raja Rao, who enriched Indian English literature with their narratives.

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover : Expand the Idea

Activities  on History of Novel

Q. 5 A Complete the activities given below as per the instructions. (4 Marks)

(Answers are given in italic.)

1. Choose the correct alternative and rewrite the sentence:

i. Eighteenth century gifted mankind with….

a) Drama and poetry

b) Novel and drama

c) Poetry and novel

d) Novel and periodical essays

ii. Novel soon became dominant literary genre as it ….

a) Helped people to live a more purposeful life.

b) Caught the intellectual, sentimental and realistic spirit.

c) grew gradually and gained popularity.

d) All of these.

iii. Indian writers in English Novel initially wrote about the theme of …..

a) Domestic violence.

b) Nationalistic and Social virtues.

c) Scientific theories.

d) Psychological insights.

iv. Gothic novel contains …….

a) Terror and supernatural.

b) Mystery and thriller.

c) Horror and haunted buildings.

d) All of these.

v. Strike out the unnecessary

Detective fiction is ….

a) A sub-genre of crime fiction.

b) Agatha Christie mastered the art of crime fiction.

c) Detectives can be professional or amateur.

d) Protagonist is a necessarily an eccentric person.

2. Fill in the blanks by choosing correct alternative.

1) A novel is relatively a …………narrative.

(Short / long /descriptive)

2) English word ‘Novel’ is derived from the Italian word …….

(Novella, Novelle, Novellus)

3) Geoffrey Chaucer wrote …….

(Morte De Arthur, The Canterbury Tales, Tale of Genji)

4) The Tale of Genji by Muraski Shikabu was published in the year ……

(1010, 1605, 1050, 1600)

5) ‘The Pilgrims Progress’ is a Novel written by …..

(John Bunyan, Aphra Behn, Daniel Defoe)

6) ……is the pioneer of the ‘Stream of Consciousness’ novel.

(Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf)

7) The first Indian English novel ‘Rajmohan’s wife’ was written by …

(Mulkraj Anand, R.K.Narayan, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya)

8) Joseph Conrad wrote the novella named as …….

(Billy Budd, The Heart of Darkness, Pearl)

9) Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction dealing with………

(Futuristic settings, death and decay, earlier period than of writing)

10) The famous trio of Indian writers is …………

(Mulkraj Anand, R.K.Narayan, Raja Rao / Amitav Ghosh, Manohar Malgaonkar, Mulkraj Anand / Amitav Ghosh ,R.K.Narayan,Arvind Adiga)

3. Chronological Order

1. Write in chronological order

a) Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji 3

b) Greek Romances 1

c) The appearance of magazines and newspapers 4

d) Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales 2

Ans: a) Greek Romances b) Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales c) Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji d) The appearance of magazines and newspapers 

2. Write in chronological order

a) Industrial Revolution 1

b) Drama and Poetry started fading away 4

c) Novel gained popularity 3

d) The rise of middle class 2

Ans : a) Industrial Revolution b) The rise of middle class c) Novel gained popularity d) Drama and Poetry started fading away

3. Given below are some novels, events and writers of Indian English. Arrange them in chronological order.

a) Rise of famous Indian Trio 2

b) Nayantara Sahgal, Arun Joshi, Manohar Malgaonkar 3

c) Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai, Kiran Nagarkar 4

d) Rajmohan’s Wife by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya 1

Ans : a) Rajmohan’s Wife by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya b) Rise of famous Indian Trio c) Nayantara Sahgal, Arun Joshi, Manohar Malgaonkar d) Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai, Kiran Nagarkar

4. Given below are some Novels in English literature. Arrange them in their order of their appearance.

a) The Pilgrim’s Progress and Oroonaku 3

b) Ecologues and Morte De Arthur 1

c) Pamela and Gulliver’s Travels 4

d) The Tale of Genji and Don Quxiote 2

Ans : a) Ecologues and Morte De Arthur b) The Tale of Genji and Don Quxiote c) The Pilgrim’s Progress and Oroonaku d) Pamela and Gulliver’s Travels

4. State whether the following sentences are True or False

1. Novel is recognized as the most dominant literary genre in modern times. True

2. A Novel is relatively a short narrative. False

3. ‘Tale of Genji’ is described as world’s first novel. True

4. Middle class people had a little interest in romances and tragedies. True

5. Novel gave voice to the aspirations and longings of middle class. True

6. The women novelists haven’t contributed significantly in English Literature. False

7. Novella is greater in length than Novel. False

8. Setting doesn’t affect plot or characters. False

9. The struggle in opposite forces in a story is called as conflict. True

10. Epistolary Novel is a series of correspondence, other documents and diary entries as well. True

5. Match the following

6. Complete the sentence:

1. The Periodical Essay and Novel are the gifts of ………… .

(18 th century/ 17 th century /19 Th century)

2. A Novel is relatively a ………….

(a short narrative fiction/ a long narrative fiction / a fiction of moderate length)

3. The industrial revolution gave birth to ……… .

(poor class/ middle class/ rich class)

4. Appearance of newspaper in 18 th century attracted a large number of readers from

……….. (poor class/ middle class/ rich class)

5. Rise of Novel as a literary genre resulted in lowering the importance of ………………

(poetry/ drama/ Drama and Poetry)

6. Salman Rushdie, V. S. Naipaul, Kazuo Ishigura are ………..

(Indian authors/ immigrant authors/ writers of Indian origin)

Novel Genre Std 12

1. History of Novel

2. To Sir With Love

3. Around the World in 80 Days

4.

Online Test on History Of Novels

The Cop And The Anthem story from Std 12