The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1917-06-28
Development of the Modern Novel.

The modern novel was not develop
ed until the middle of the eighteenth
century but it had been growing a
long time. History does not take US
back to the time when people were
not entertained by stories. Even the
Bible contains interesting stories.
The stories of the age of prepare
ton were romances. A romance is a
story told in verse in romantic lang
uage. There ware our cycles OF ro-
mances especially popular before Chau
GERS time. They were about King Ar
thur and his Knights, Charlemange
and his peers, Alexander the Great,
and the heroes of Troy. An account
the adventures of knights made in
teresting reading and writers began
to imagine adventures for them. Nor
al elements were sometimes worked
into the story.
In the Elizabethan age dramas were
more popular than romances, because
they were cheaper and because the or
binary person could not read. But this
age shows an advance in fiction.
Lyly's Euphues and Sydney's Arcadia
both have thread of romance in
them. The plots of some of Shakes
peare's plays were taken from the
stories of this age.
The seventeenth century does not
show much progress in the develop
ment OF the novel, but in thefirst part
of the Eighteenth century there were
two men who almost wrote novels,
Defoe and Goldsmith. Goldsmith's
"Vecar of Wakefield" is a charming
story of a man and his adventures
and the affairs of his family. Defoe's
Robinson Crusoe" is one of the most
remarkable tales of fiction ever told.
It is the boys favorite, although r.
has no love element, which is the
principal element in modern novels.
Defoe helps the development OF the
novel by his treatment OF character
and STYLE. There is nothing magic
or supernatural in Robinson Crusoe."
The romance differs widely from the
modern novel. The novel does not
depend on stirring adventures TO Sc
cure attention. The novel has plot
and tries to develop a character. Inc
common people are made interesting
in the novel. The leading characters
in the romance were kings, knights
princesses, etc.
The first great English novelist was
Samuel Richardson. He wrote Pamela
a series of love letters OF a heroine
a plain waiting maid. The next novel
list was Henry Fielding. He wrote Ton
Jones, story of a mans life. Field
inp's novels show few improvements
over Richardson's. He nas mucf
better sense of humcr and makes Ms
characters seem alive and vigorous
Sterne and Smollett were also found
ers of the novel. Smollet wrote Hum
phrey Clinker," story full Of stirring
Il and humorous incidents. These nov
elists all helped the progress OF tn
modern novel. Some of their charac
teristics. may be traced in the work
of such great men as Dickens an
| Thackery.
Walter Scott is one of the creates
noyelists of the next period. He wrot
, the Waverly novels which are mostl
, historical. He presents the larges
number of stirring events in the leas
: amount of time, and does not take
{ whole chapter for an event, us al
t Richardson and Fielding. Jane Auste
e is also a great novelist in her fiel'
4 She made verp plain people appes
Y interesting. Charles Dickens is TT
e greatest novelist of the Victorian ag
h His greatness is due mostly to n
= character development. He has hui
) dreds of characters and every ore
S different. Some of hts characters a
e I'M. sual and are therefore very int
5. O. ting. Scott and Di:kers are II
d hest loved English noveiists. The
y novels fill the reqli -ements OF u
: modern novel which are love ell
ment, a development of character al
a place for common people.
Denton, Reed, 1918.
te Failure Is Necessary to Success.