FEATURES THAT DIFFERENTIATE NOVELS FROM OTHER GENRES
a)
Novels are written in prose form. The novels are presented in form of prose narratives
applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than
rhythmic structure as in poetry. Although
there may be lines of verses inserted for various effects, when this occurs, it
is clear that the verse portion is distinct from the rest of the narrative.
b)
Novels are written to be read.
Novels are not to be acted as in case of plays or to be recited as in case of
poems. This is chiefly because novels don’t have stage directions showing how
it should be staged.
c)
Novels are divided in terms of Parts/Chapters and paragraphs. Since the novels are meant to be read, their divisions are
in form of paragraphs, chapters and/or parts. Other works like plays are
divided into acts and scenes while poems are in form of verses and stanzas.
d)
Novels make extensive use of third person point of view. Since novels are written in prose they mostly use third
person point of view because either the author or a character in the story
narrates the story. Unlike plays which make extensive use of 1st person point
of view.
e)
Novels are longer than other literary genres. In other words, they have no word economy. The shortest is
approximated to contain between 60,000 to 70,000 words and the longest coming
in around 200,000. So it can take many days or weeks to finish reading one
novel while it takes minutes or few hours to watch a drama or to listen to a
poem.
f)
One novel can tell multiple stories. Some novels break with tradition and avoid conventional
plot structure, either by telling multiple stories that are interwoven
involving characters that are not directly related, by utilizing a highly
imaginative formula of story within a story.
g)
Another distinguishing feature of a novel is innovation. Even the name (from Latin novellus means young and new) of a literary form indicates that its
contents should be something on the cutting-edge of literature evolution.
Indeed the novel has seen countless adaptations over the years and continues to
evolve constantly, unlike some other literary formats that have remained frozen
in their development. (i.e haikus, or Shakespearian sonnets)
h)
In novels characters and plot are highly developed. The length and
realistic elements of the novel allow for deeper and broad development of
characters and their circumstances. Novels are long enough to support many
participants, even group of participants in the actions of the story. Novelists
have much more room to fresh-out each individual more fully than other literary
artists.
i)
Another distinguishing feature of a novel is publication
practices. Historically, one of the most
popular ways to publish one’s work has been either to collect it in similar
works in anthologies, or to print it in another media (i.e. magazine,
newspaper, or other periodicals) as a serial, or sequentially segmented piece
distributed over time. But the size and complexity of many novels make it
difficult to publish them in any other way than as their own independent,
self-contained works.
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