Types of Prose Narratives: A Text-Book for the Story Writer
by Harriott Ely Fansler
PREFACE
Inspiration for any craftsman lies in the history of his art and in a definite problem at hand. He feels his task dignified when he knows what has been done before him, and he has a starting point when he can enumerate the essentials of what he wants to produce. He then goes to his work with a zest that is in itself creative. There is a popular misconception, especially in the minds of young people and seemingly in the minds of many teachers and critics of literature, that geniuses have sprung full-worded from the brain of Jove and have worked without antecedents. There could not be to a writer a more cramping idea than that. It is the aim of the present volume to help dispel that illusion, and to set in a convenient form before students of narrative the twofold inspiration mentioned—a feeling for the past and a series of definite problems.
There has been no attempt at minuteness in tracing the type developments; though there has been the constant ideal of exactness and trustworthiness wherever developments are suggested. In other words, this book is not a scrutiny of origins, but a setting forth of essentials in kinds of narratives already clearly established. The analysis that gives the essentials has, of course, the personal element in it, as all such analyses must have; but the work is the work of one mind and is at least consistent. Since I have not had the benefit of other texts on the subject (for there are none that I know of) and since the inquiry into narrative types with composition in view is thus made, put together with illustrations, and published for the first time, it has been my especial aim to exclude everything dogmatic. As can readily be seen, the details have been worked out in the actual classroom. The safe thing about the use of such a text by other instructors is the fact that they and their pupils can test the truth of the generalizations by first-hand inquiry of their own.
The examples chosen from literature and here printed are specific as well as typical. They have been selected not only to illustrate general principles, but for other reasons as well—some for superior intrinsic worth; some for historical position; all because of possible inspiration. But none have been selected as models.
The themes written by my present and former pupils are added for the last reason—as sure reinforcement of the inspiration, as provokers to action. Often students fail to write because there is held up to them a model, something complicated and perfect in detail. They feel their apprenticeship keenly and hesitate to attempt a likeness to a masterpiece. But, on the other hand, when they get a glimpse of history and when they see the work of a fellow tyro, they know that an equally good or even better result is within their reach and so set to work at once. The productions of pupils under this historical-illustrative method, wherever it has been tried, have been encouraging. Seldom has any one failed to present an acceptable piece of work. Once in a while a "mistake" has been made that has reassured a teacher and a class of the accuracy of the contamination theory—the historical cross-grafting or counter influence of types; that[vii] is, sometimes in the endeavor to produce a theme that should vary from those he thought the other students would write, an earnest worker has unconsciously produced an example of the next succeeding type to be studied; unconsciously, because hitherto, of course, the classes have gone forward without a printed text.
This statement leads to the question, Why publish the literary examples? Why not merely give the references? Because school and even town libraries are limited. Twenty-five card-holders can scarcely get the same volume within the same week. Besides, the plan I consider good to insure the pupil's thorough acquaintance with the library accessible to him and with library methods and possibilities is quite other than this. This book is meant as a work-table guide for the student and as a time-saver for the teacher; hence all the necessary material should be immediately at hand. The instructor's concern in the teaching of narrative writing is just the twofold one mentioned before—to orientate the young scribbler and to give him a quick and sure inspiration. After that he is to be left alone to write, and the fewer the books around him the better.
The bibliography is added for two other classes of persons: those who desire to make a somewhat further and more minute study of type developments, and those who wish merely to read extensively or selectively in the works of fiction and history themselves. The list of books and authors is intended simply to be helpful, not exhaustive, and consequently contains, with but few exceptions, only those works that one might reasonably expect to find in a well-stocked college or city library.
I confess I hope that some amateur writer out of college or high school may chance upon the book and be encouraged by it to persevere. There are many delightful hours possible for one who enjoys composition, if he can but get a bit of a lift here and there or a new impulse to an occasionally flagging imagination. All but the very earliest literature has been produced thus—namely, by a conscious writing to a type, with an idea either of direct imitation, as in the case of Chaucer, who gloried in his "authorities;" or of variation and combination, as in the case of Walpole; or of equaling or surpassing in excellence, as in the case of James Fenimore Cooper; or of satire and supersedence, as in the case of Cervantes.
But to go back to the student themes here presented. They were written, with the exception of two, for regular class credit. These two were printed in a college paper as sophomore work. A number of the remaining came out in school publications after serving in the English theme box. All in all, they are the productions of actual students; from whom, it is hoped, other young writers may get some help and a good deal of entertainment. In each case the name of the author is affixed to his narrative, since he alone is responsible for the merits and faults of the piece.
In regard to the Filipino pupils no word is necessary: they speak for themselves. The work here given as theirs is theirs. I have not treated it in any way different from the way I treat all school themes, American or other. It is everyday work—criticized by the instructor, corrected by the pupil, and returned to the English office. The examples could be replaced from my present stock to the extent literally of some ten,[ix] some twenty, some two hundred fold. Naturally, of course, as is true of all persons using a foreign language, the Filipinos mistake idiom more often than anything else, and they write more fluently than they talk; but there is among them no dearth of material and no lack of thought. Indeed, the publishers have been embarrassed by the supply of interesting stories, especially in the earlier types. The temptation has been to add beyond the limits of the merely helpful and illustrative and to pass into the realm of the curious and entertaining. Regardless of literary quality, Filipino themes have today an historic value; many of them are the first written form of hitherto only oral tradition.
To say to how great an extent a writer and talker is indebted to his everyday working library is difficult. Like a sculptor to an excellent quarry, a teacher can indeed forget to give credit where credit is due, especially to the more general books of reference such as encyclopedias and histories of literature—Saintsbury, Chambers, Ticknor, Jusserand. I would speak of the "Standard Dictionary," that does all my spelling for me and not a little of my defining; and the "Encyclopedia Britannica," which in these days of special treatises is sometimes superciliously passed over, though it offers in its pages not only much valuable literary information, but some of that information in the form of very valuable literature. Next to these might be placed Dunlop's "History of Fiction;" and last, particular and occasional compilations like Brewer's and Blumentritt's, and criticism like Murray's, Keightley's and Newbigging's. Then there is the "World's Great Classics Series." Just how much I owe to these general texts I cannot perhaps[x] tell definitely; though I am not conscious of borrowing where I have not given full credit. As I have said before, direct treatises on my subject are lacking; so I shall have to bear alone the brunt of criticism on the analysis, or the main body of the book. I know of no one else to blame.
Grateful acknowledgment is due to my husband, Dean Spruill Fansler, for long-suffering kindness in answering appeals to his opinion and for reading the manuscript, compiling the bibliography, and making the index. Without his generous help I should hardly have found time or courage to put the chapters together.
In justice to former assistant English instructors in the United States who have successfully followed earlier unpublished outlines, and to my colleagues in the University of the Philippines who have been teaching from the book in manuscript form for nine months, it ought to be said that, whatever faults the work may have—and I fear they are all too many—it can hardly be dismissed as an immature and untried theory.
If there should be found any merit in the content of the book in general, I should like to have that ascribed to the influence of the department of English and Comparative Literature of Columbia University, where I had the privilege of graduate study with such scholars as Ashley Horace Thorndike, William Peterfield Trent and Jefferson Butler Fletcher.
My chief material debt is to the publishing firms who have very courteously permitted the reprinting of narratives selected from their copyrighted editions.
H. E. F.
University of the Philippines, Manila, 1911.
This book is meant as a work-table guide for the student and as a time-saver for the teacher; hence all the necessary material should be immediately at hand. The instructor's concern in the teaching of narrative writing is just the twofold one mentioned before—to orientate the young scribbler and to give him a quick and sure inspiration. After that, he is to be left alone to write, and the fewer the books around him the better.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| List of Stories | xv-xx |
| Introduction | xxi-xxvi |
| Part 1. Narratives of Imaginary Events | |
Chapter I. The Primitive-Religious Group |
1-82 |
| I. Myth—Classes of myths: primitive-tribal and artificial-literary—Myth age not a past epoch—How traditional myths are collected—How original myths are composed—Difference between myth and allegory, and myth and legend—Working definition—List of mythological deities: Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Hindu, Russian, Finnish, Norse, Filipino—Examples | 1 |
| II. Legend—Myth and legend compared—Saga—Saint legends—Geoffrey of Monmouth—Legendary romance—Modern literary legends—How to select and record a legend of growth—How to write a legend of art—Working definition—Examples | 22 |
| III. Fairy Tale—Attitude toward fairy stories—Fundamental characteristics of fairies—Northern fairies and their attributes—Some literary fairy tales—How to proceed to write a fairy tale—Summary definition—Partial lists of fairies of different countries: Northern, Irish and Scotch, Filipino, Russian, Arabian, and Miscellaneous—Examples | 43 |
| IV. Nursery Saga—Origin—The brothers Grimm—English nursery sagas—Distinguishing elements: kind of hero, rhymes, repetition of situation, supernatural element—A few specific suggestions—Working definition—Examples | 65 |
Chapter II. Symbolic-Didactic Group |
83-127 |
| I. Fable—Æsop—Other early fabulists—"Hitopadesa" and "Panchatantra"—"Reynard the Fox" and bestiaries—Some more writers of fables—Working definition—Classes of fables: rational, non-rational, mixed—How to write an original fable—Maxims upon which fables may be built—Examples | 83 |
| II. Parable—Distinguishing characteristics—Tolstoy—Suggestions on writing a parable—Working definition—A list of proverbs that might be expanded into parables—Examples | 101 |
| III. Allegory—Characteristics—Plato's "Vision of Er"—Modern allegories—Some famous English allegories—Allegory fable, and parable differentiated—Working definition—How to write an allegory—Present-day interest in primitive types—Examples | 112 |
Chapter III. Ingenious-Astonishing Group |
128-254 |
| I. Tale of Mere Wonder—Definition—Collections of wonder stories, ancient and modern—Suggestions for writing—Characteristic elements—Mediæval tales of chivalry—Heroic romances—Examples | 128 |
| II. Imaginary Voyage with a Satiric or Instructive Purpose—Distinguishing elements—Source of the type—Famous imaginary voyages—Suggestions on how to write a satiric imaginary voyage—Examples | 150 |
| III. Tale of Scientific Discovery and of Mechanical Invention—Relation to imaginary voyages—Essential elements—Kind of stories included in this type—Suggestions on how to write the type—Examples | 194 |
| IV. The Detective Story and Other Tales of Pure Plot—The detective story: connection with stories of ingenuity—Poe and Doyle—Other stories of plot—Romance—A few suggestions—Examples | 225 |
Chapter IV. The Entertaining Group |
255-344 |
| I. Tale of Probable Adventure—Characteristics and definition—How to write a probable adventure—A warning—Examples | 255 |
| II. The Society Story—Definition—Pastoral Romance—Suggestions on writing a society story—Examples | 277 |
| III. The Humorous Story—Definition—Fableaux—Picaresque romance—Difference between a humorous story and a comic anecdote—Examples | 299 |
| IV. The Occasional Story—The spirit of the occasional story—Its masters—Suggestions for subjects—Examples | 313 |
Chapter V. The Instructive Group |
345-394 |
| I. The Moral Story—Differentiated from the symbolic-didactic group—Great authors who have written this type: Hawthorne, Johnson, Voltaire, Tolstoy, Cervantes—What to put in and what to leave out—Examples | 345 |
| II. The Pedagogical Narrative—Definition—Some famous pedagogical books—Froebel—Examples | 361 |
| III. The Story of Present Day Realism—What realism is—The realistic school—Suggestions on characters to treat—Examples | 370 |
Chapter VI. The Artistic Group: the Real Short-Story |
395-478 |
| I. The Psychological Weird Tale—Origin—The School of Terror—Poe, Stevenson, Maupassant, and others—Suggestions on writing a weird tale—Material and method—Form—Examples | 398 |
| II. Story That Emphasizes Character and Environment—Kipling—Mary E. Wilkins Freeman—Hamlin Garland—Bret Harte—Suggestions and precautions—The "Character": Overbury and Hall—Novel of Manners—Trollope's Cathedral Town Studies—Examples | 426 |
| III. Story That Emphasizes Character and Events—Difference between character-place story and character-events story—Component elements of this type—A scrapbook suggestion—Other suggestions—Examples | 455 |
| Part II. Narratives of Actual Events | |
Chapter VII. Particular Accounts |
479 -556 |
| I. Incident—Definition—How to tell an incident—Examples | 480 |
| II. Anecdote—Meaning of the term—Ana—Collection of anecdotes—How to write an original anecdote—Examples | 490 |
| III. Eye-Witness Account—What it is and how to write it—An ancient eye-witness account—Literary eyewitness accounts—Examples | 499 |
| IV. Tale of Actual Adventure—The one necessary element—Suggestions for writing—Examples | 512 |
| V. The Traveler's Sketch—What a traveler's sketch includes—Great travel books—Fielding's gentle warning—A motto for the narrator—Examples | 530 |
Chapter VIII. Personal Accounts |
557-611 |
| I. Journal and Diary—The two distinguished—The range of journals—"Vida del Gran Tamurlan"—Great diaries—How to write journal and diary—Examples | 557 |
| II. Autobiography and Memoirs—Distinction—Cellini, Franklin, and others—Selection and coherence—Examples | 572 |
| III. Biography—Beginning in England of literary biography—Great biographies in English—Writer and subject—Beginning, emphasis, and attitude—Outline for a life—Examples | 590 |
Chapter IX. Impersonal Accounts |
612-645 |
| I. Annals—What annals are—Famous old annals—Stow—Suggestions on material—Examples | 613 |
| II. Chronicles—Definition—Froissart, Ayala, "General Chronicle of Spain"—Saxo Grammaticus—Holinshed—True relations—Examples | 626 |
| Bibliography | 647-660 |
| Index | 661-672 |
LIST OF STORIES
NARRATIVES OF FICTITIOUS EVENTS
Myths |
||
| PAGE | ||
| The World's Creation and the Birth of Wainamoinen | From the Kalevala | 14 |
| Students' Themes— | ||
| Origin of the Moon | Emanuel Baja | 16 |
| The First Cocoanut Tree | Manuel Reyes | 18 |
| The Lotus | Ida Treat | 21 |
Legends |
||
| Kenach's Little Woman | William Canton | 28 |
| Students' Themes— | ||
| A Legend of Gapan | Teofilo Corpus | 36 |
| Manca: a Legend of the Incas | Dorothea Knoblock | 38 |
| The Place of the Red Grass | Sixto Guico | 42 |
Fairy Tales |
||
| The Boggart | From the English | 55 |
| Students' Themes— | ||
| Cafre and the Fisherman's Wife | Benito Ebuen | 57 |
| The Friendship of an Asuang and a Duende | Emanuel Baja | 58 |
| A Tianac Frightens Juan | Santiago Ochoa | 61 |
| The Black Cloth of the Calumpang | Eusebio Ramos | 63 |
Nursery Tales |
||
| Princess Helena the Fair | From the Russian | 69 |
| Students' Themes— | ||
| Juan the Guesser | Bienvenido Gonzalez | 73 |
| The Shepherd who became King | Vicente Hilario | 78 |
Fables | ||
| Jupiter and the Countryman | From the Spectator | 90 |
| The Drop of Water (Persian) | From the Spectator | 91 |
| The Grandee at the Judgment Seat | Kriloff | 91 |
| The Lion and the Old Hare | From the Hitopadesa | 92 |
| The Fox and the Crab | From the Turkish | 93 |
| The Fool who Sells Wisdom | From the Turkish | 94 |
| The Archer and the Trumpeter | From the Turkish | 95 |
| Students' Themes— | ||
| The Courtship of Sir Butterfly | Maximo M. Kalaw | 96 |
| The Hat and the Shoes | José R. Perez | 98 |
| The Crocodile and the Peahen | Elisa Esguerra | 99 |
| The Old Man, his Son, and his Grandson | Eutiquiano Garcia | 100 |
Parables |
||
| The Three Questions | Tolstoy | 104 |
| Students' Themes— | ||
| A Master and his Servant | Eusebio Ramos | 110 |
| The Parable of the Beggar and the Givers | Dorothea Knoblock | 111 |
Allegories | ||
| The Artist | Oscar Wilde | 120 |
| The House of Judgment | Oscar Wilde | 120 |
| Students' Themes— | ||
| The Chain that Binds | Elizabeth Sudborough | 123 |
| The Love which Surpassed All Other Loves | Florence Gifford | 125 |
Tales of Mere Wonder | ||
| The Story of the City of Brass | From the Arabian Nights | 132 |
| Student's Theme— | ||
| The Magic Ring, the Bird, and the Basket | Facundo Esquivel | 147 |
Imaginary Voyages | ||
| Mellonta Tauta | Edgar Allan Poe | 155 |
| Student's Theme— | ||
| Busyong's Trip to Jupiter | Manuel Candido | 173 |
Tale of Scientific Discovery and Mechanical Invention |
||
| A Curious Vehicle | Alexander Wilson Drake | 200 |
| Students' Themes— | ||
| The Spyglass of the Past | Hazel Orcutt | 218 |
| Up a Water Spout | Edna Collister | 221 |
Detective Story and Tale of Mere Plot | ||
| Thou Art the Man | Edgar Allan Poe | 228 |
| Student's Theme— | ||
| The Picture of Lhasa | Hazel Orcutt | 248 |
Tales of More-or-Less Probable Adventure | ||
| Fight with a Bear | Charles Reade | 257 |
| Student's Theme— | ||
| Secret of the Jade Tlaloc | Dorothea Knoblock | 267 |
Society Stories | ||
| The Fur Coat | Ludwig Fulda | 277 |
| Student's Theme— | ||
| The Lady in Pink | Wilma I. Ball | 289 |
Humorous Stories | ||
| The Expatriation of Jonathan Taintor | Charles Battell Loomis | 302 |
| Students' Themes— | ||
| Kileto and the Physician | Lorenzo Licup | 307 |
| The Lame Man and the Deaf Family | Santiago Rotea | 311 |
Occasional Stories | ||
| The Lost Child | François Coppée | 315 |
| Students' Themes— | ||
| The Peace of Yesterdays | Katherine Kurz | 334 |
| A Christmas Legend | Ida F. Treat | 342 |
Moral Story | ||
| Jeannot and Colin | Voltaire | 348 |
Pedagogical Narratives | ||
| Gertrude's Method of Instruction | Pestalozzi | 365 |
| Student's Theme— | ||
| Lawin-lawinan (a Filipino game) | Leopoldo Uichanco | 368 |
Stories of Present-Day Realism | ||
| The Piece of String | Maupassant | 374 |
| Students' Themes— | ||
| A Social Error | Ida Treat | 382 |
| The Lot of the Poor | Agnes Palmer | 388 |
| Filipino Fear | Walfrido de Leon | 390 |
Psychological Weird Tales |
||
| The Signal-Man | Charles Dickens | 403 |
| Student's Theme— | ||
| Like a Thief in the Night | Dorothea Knoblock | 420 |
Stories That Emphasize Character and Environment |
||
| Muhammad Din | Rudyard Kipling | 432 |
| Students' Themes— | ||
| The Fetters | Katherine Kurz | 436 |
| When Terry Quit | Dorothea Knoblock | 446 |
| Nora Titay and Chiquito | Joaquina E. Tirona | 453 |
Stories That Emphasize Character and Events |
||
| The Necklace | Maupassant | 460 |
| Student's Theme— | ||
| Andong | Justo Avila | 470 |
NARRATIVES OF ACTUAL EVENTS
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