Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

This same principle controls the writer of extended narrative. If he chronicle facts of history, he must so compress his work, by the exclusion of superfluous detail and by accurate judgment as to relative values, that the completed work shall adequately bring out the central theme and give unity and emphasis to the finished result. It is in this respect, according to J. F. Rhodes in an article published in the Atlantic Monthly in February, 1900, that Thucydides and Tacitus are superior to the historians of our own time: they have better digested their material, and, therefore, are less prone to give disproportionate space to details of relatively little importance. The writer says:

One reason why Macaulay is so prolix is because he could not resist the temptation to treat events which had a picturesque side and which were suited to his literary style; so that, as John Morley says, "in many portions of his too elaborated history of William III. he describes a large number of events about which, I think, no sensible man can in the least care either how they happened, or indeed whether they happened at all or not." If I am right in my supposition that Thucydides and Tacitus had a mass of materials, they showed reserve and discretion in throwing a large part of them away, as not being necessary or important to the posterity for which they were writing. This could only be the result of a careful comparison of their materials, and of long meditation on their relative value. I suspect that they cared little whether a set daily task was accomplished or not; for if you propose to write only one large volume or four moderate-sized volumes in a lifetime, art is not too long nor is life too short.

And as with history so with the narrative of fiction: the central theme, with especial view to its culmination, must never be lost. Whether it be the solution of a mystery, as in The Gold Bug; the crisis of a personal ex

perience, as in Flute and Violin; increasing tension leading to sudden solution, as in Marjorie Daw; a character study, like Richard Feverel;-whatever be the theme, subsidiary matter must be treated as subsidiary matter, for only as it contributes to the main theme and itself remains subordinated to that theme, will it be effective and contribute to ultimate interest.

Hardy's The Three Strangers affords example of wellsustained proportion in plot structure. The theme about which the action turns is primarily the identity of the first stranger, and, in less degree, that of the other two. The development of the plot idea is furthered, not by action alone, but by setting, by characterization, and by direct exposition. The background of Wessex rusticity and the tempestuous night, Mrs. Fennel's anxiety for her supply of mead, the booming of the gun from the jail at Casterbridge: - these and other details tend to heighten the mystery of the three travelers who seek shelter at the shepherd's cottage. Dialogue affords the main avenue of plot action, and here the importance of the three strangers is made evident. Nearly one third of this portion of the story is devoted to the words of the principal actors, mainly to those of the first and second strangers. Space is given to them in proportion to their importance in the action; the paragraphs in which they enter directly and indirectly constitute by far the major part of the entire composition. Of digression and elaboration of non-contributive detail there is practically little. By this due attention to proportion unity is secured and the interest which is concentrated on the principal personages increases the emphasis of the narrative.

(c) Definiteness

[ocr errors]

In closing the consideration of the various characteristics that contribute to interest, a word should be added with reference to the third element mentioned on page 225: definiteness, or clearness. Clearness in this connection, however, does not signify mere lucidity of phraseology as seen in the careful ordering of clauses, phrases, and single words. In plot structure, clearness has reference rather to the ordering of the plot elements, - whether they appear in connection with setting, characterization, or action, — in such manner that they shall leave no doubt as to the trend of the various plot threads, the precise nature of the complication, the definite course of events leading to the culmination. Clearness in setting or in characterization per se is, of course, a fundamental essential. Abundance of detail, concreteness of detail, must be clearly observed; but, more than this, the contribution that the clearly defined scene or the accurately portrayed personality makes to the main business of the narrative must be equally evident. For example, it is not enough that the picture of Upper Crowstairs on the boisterous March night of the Fennel christening be so photographic that we can see even the little birds themselves "their tails blown inside out like umbrellas" as they seek security from the storm. The bearing of this tempestuous scene upon the course of the events chronicled must also be evident. Green's characterization of Queen Elizabeth may be as definite and objective as is her ghastly effigy in Westminster Abbey, yet clearness in historic plot structure is lacking unless we are made to see just how that personality was an essential influence in the events that constitute the Elizabethan Age of English History. And

so is it with details of action: the deeds and words of the man in cinder gray and of the pale-faced third traveler must clearly promote the culmination of the mystery of the three strangers and its resolution. The historical details of war and peace, of intrigue and duplicity, of political, social, and industrial development, - all these must combine to form a distinct trend in the direction of the England that followed Elizabeth's day, if there is to be clearness of plot structure.

CHAPTER VII

FORMS OF NARRATIVE LITERATURE

THE discussion of narration has thus far been structural in its application. We have taken up in detail the various elements that contribute to the narrative effect and the rhetorical qualities that are essential to each in turn. The purpose of the present chapter is to review briefly the principal literary forms into which narration may be divided. These we may group as follows:

I. The narrative of fact:

a. History and memoirs.

b. Biography.

II. The narrative of imagination:

a. The Novel.

b. The Short-story.

I. THE NARRATIVE OF FACT

History

It has been said that history is the highest form of literature; that it belongs to a more advanced order of intellectual effort than does the essay, the epic, the lyric, the drama, or the novel. But to attempt any definite ranking of the various forms of literary expression on the basis of comparative excellence is vain. The premises essential to relative judgment are lacking. The effort to demonstrate that Thucydides is superior to Homer, for instance, suggests the type of forensic propositions at one time very popular, such as, Resolved that

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »