A Study of the Short Story by Henry Seidel Canby

 

A Study of the Short Story

 

by Henry Seidel Canby

 

FOREWORD BY OLIVIA SALTER

In the vast and varied landscape of literature, the short story stands as a testament to the power of brevity and concision in storytelling. Its ability to captivate readers within a limited space and time is a true art form and one that has been celebrated and analyzed by countless literary scholars throughout history. Among these scholars, Henry Seidel Canby remains a stalwart figure revered for his insightful and comprehensive exploration of the short story genre.

With his work "A Study of the Short Story," Canby delves into the depths of this intricate form of literary expression, providing readers with a rich and illuminating examination of the genre's history, techniques, and significance. Through this comprehensive study, Canby invites readers on a journey to explore the fascinating world of the short story, offering valuable insights into its evolution, structure, and enduring appeal.

Canby's passion for his subject shines through every page of this remarkable work. Drawing upon his extensive knowledge and expertise, he presents a collection of critical analyses and engaging commentary, shedding light on the nuanced aspects of the short story that often go unnoticed. From the works of well-known masters to lesser-known gems, Canby brings a discerning eye and a profound understanding to his examination of the genre's most significant contributions.

More than a mere academic exploration "A Study of the Short Story" serves as a guide for both aspiring writers and avid readers. Canby's nuanced discussions on the craft of short story writing, the elements of effective storytelling, and the impact of social and cultural contexts offer invaluable lessons for those seeking to create their own narrative worlds or gain a deeper appreciation for the tales they encounter.

What sets Canby's work apart is his ability to bridge the academic and popular realms effortlessly. His writing is accessible, allowing readers of all backgrounds to engage with the material without sacrificing the depth and scholarly rigor necessary for a comprehensive study. By combining meticulous research with insightful analysis, Canby presents an indispensable resource for scholars, students, and enthusiasts of the short story.

As we embark on this journey through the world of the short story with Henry Seidel Canby as our guide, we are reminded of the multitude of voices, perspectives, and emotions that have been masterfully encapsulated within this compact yet profound literary form. We are encouraged to explore the intricacies of the human condition and the transformative power of storytelling in its purest and most distilled form.

In "A Study of the Short Story," Canby invites us to join him in celebrating the genre's rich legacy and timeless beauty. Through his erudite prose and passionate inquiry, he reminds us of the enduring impact and infinite potential that lie within every short story. It is my utmost pleasure to introduce this remarkable work to readers, as it beckons us to uncover the hidden treasures found within the concise and captivating world of the short story.

1912.

CONTENTS

 
I.    What is a Short Story?
II.    The Medieval Short Story
III.    The Short Story of the Renaissance
IV.    The Short Story of the Eighteenth Century
V.    The Short Story and the Romantic Movement
VI.    Poe, and the Further Development of the Romantic Short Story
VII.    Nathaniel Hawthorne
VIII.    England in the Mid-Century
IX.    America in the Mid-Century. The Broadening of the Field of the Short Story
X.    Bret Harte
XI.    The Further Broadening of the Field of the Short Story
XII.    The Local Colorists
XIII.    The Deepening of the Short Story. Henry James
XIV.    The Short Story in England. Robert Louis Stevenson
XV.    The Short Story in England. Rudyard Kipling
XVI.    The Contemporary Short Story

ILLUSTRATIVE SHORT STORIES

The Pardoners Tale    Geoffrey Chaucer
The Prioresses Tale    Geoffrey Chaucer
The Vision of Mirza    Joseph Addison
The Lingering Expectation of an Heir    Samuel Johnson
Wandering Willie’s Tale    Sir Walter Scott
The Masque of the Red Death    Edgar Allan Poe
The Gold-Bug    Edgar Allan Poe
Ethan Brand    Nathaniel Hawthorne
Rab and His Friends    John Brown
The Sire de Malétroit’s Door    Robert Louis Stevenson
On Greenhow Hill    Rudyard Kipling

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The Short Story in English by Henry Seidel Canby, 1878-1961 (PDF)

The Short Story in English

by Henry Seidel Canby, 1878-1961 (PDF)

 

Overview

From the Introduction.

I PROPOSE in the following pages to discuss the practice of the short story in English.

The vagueness of the term "short story" is apparent. No less apparent is the existence, in every literature and period, of groups of narratives which we can call by no other name. The literatures of ancient Greece, of Buddhistic India, of medieval France and Arabia—for each of them readers will bring to mind a well-marked, well-recognized genre which to-day we should put under the short story classification. The fable, the Milesian story, the birth-story of the Jatakas, the fabliau and conte—each name suggests a type of literary expression employed for very definite purposes. As writers or readers named the sonnet, the ballade, the chanson, so they named these varieties of short narrative, and felt, with more or less reason, that in each case man was endeavoring to express his idea of life in a particular and chosen fashion.

If we feel the vagueness of "short story," as used in a historical review of our narrative literature, it is not because there are no short stories which, in the age of their birth, were employed in literary work of a special nature. We would scarcely think the words vague if nothing definite were to be named by them! Nor is it because of the impossibility of marking off from long narrative the short narrative which is to be given a name. That difficulty is serious only for the rhetorician. The fault is rather in the loose meaning of the phrase, where "short" seems to qualify without defining. We cannot escape this inconvenience except by creating a new terminology, a task far less profitable than the study of a considerable and much neglected literature. Indeed, Just what has constituted the " short story " in English? is a question better answered at the end than at the beginning of such an investigation.

Nevertheless, it is evident, without further discussion, that the writers, who, in many tongues and times, have used a short narrative to convey their ideas, are, in one respect, very often alike. No matter what their subject-matter may be, morality, indecency, high imagination, or human nature, they have wished to procure a certain effect which could best be gained by a short story. They have wished to turn a moral, as in a fable, or to bring home, in a fabliau, an amusing reflection upon life, or to depict a situation, as in the typical short story of to-day, and in every case a brief narrative, with its one unified impression, best served them. It is the short narrative used for lifeunits, where only brevity and the consequent unified impression would serve, that becomes the short story. Is this definition sufficient? Only a study of a given literature will show. If it will work, as the pragmatists say, it is sufficient. But, in so working, it is neither requisite nor possible that hard and fast lines of division should result. Where to place many whitish-yellow and yellowish-white peoples is a problem for anthropologists. Yet we call the very black man negro without hesitation.

Certain limitations, however, must be imposed at the outset. Plots, circulating through every tongue, are often independent of strictly literary or cultural movements.

We, however, must concern ourselves primarily with written literature. It is the history and development of an art which we follow, an art by means of which all manner of familiar experiences can be put into form and made marketable. Plots circulate in all ways. Their history is matter for folk-lore and psychology. It is the short story as it appears in recorded English literature, and the growth of its usefulness therein, which is the subject of this volume....

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A Study of the Short Story by Henry Seidel Canby, 1878-1961

A Study of the Short Story  

 

by Henry Seidel Canby, 1878-1961 

 

 

 Contents

WHAT IS A SHORT STORY?
    1
    
THE SHORT STORY OF THE RENAISSANCE
    13
    
THE SHORT STORY OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
    22
    
POE AND THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE
    30
    
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
    39
    
ENGLAND IN THE MIDCENTURY
    45
    
THE FURTHER BROADENING OF THE FIELD OF THE SHORT
    54
    
The DEEPENING OF THE SHORT STORY HENRY JAMES
    60

THE SHORT STORY IN ENGLAND RUDYARD KIPLING
    67
    
THE PARDONERS TALE
    79
    
The PRIORESSES TALE
    87
    
THE VISION OF MIRZA
    95
    
The LINGERING EXPECTATION
    101
    
WANDERING WILLIES TALE SIR WALTER SCOTT
    145
    
ETHAN BRAND
    195
    
RAB AND HIS FRIENDS
    208
    
Copyright

About the Author 

Henry Seidel Canby was a critic, editor, and Yale University professor. A scion of a Quaker family that arrived in Wilmington, Delaware, around 1740 and grew to regional prominence through milling and business affairs, Henry Seidel Canby was a son of Edward T. Canby. Canby was born in Wilmington, and attended Wilmington Friends School. He graduated from Yale in 1899, then taught at the university until becoming a professor in 1922. Wikipedia

Born: September 6, 1878, United States
Died: April 5, 1961, Ossining, NY
Education: Yale University

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The Short Story in English by Henry Seidel Canby, 1878-1961

 

The Short Story in English 

by Henry Seidel Canby

1878-1961

A HISTORY which has for its subject literary type invites criticism and risks dulness. For the excellence of such a work must depend not so much upon the facts included as upon the author's interpretation of them, and it will be interesting only so far as be succeeds in relating an abstraction, his chosen literary type, to the concrete life of the race which found expressions by means of it. Instead of pleasant personalities, with gossip and idiosyncrasies pertaining to them, he must deal with theoretical matters; discourse often of definidons instead of love affairs, of technique when the beauty of subject or style would be more agreeable. In the attempt, he risks aggravating the critic, and boring the reader, than which dangers none in the world of authorship are to be more prayerfully avoided.

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