Scribd
Upload
543 views2 pages

Characteristics of The Modern English Novel

The document discusses the key differences between modern English novels written after the 19th century and Victorian novels. Modern English novels depart from Victorian conventions in their form, subject matter, and worldview. They emphasize psychological realism over social realism and depict the modern individual as alienated and lacking free will. Modern English novels also reject Victorian traditions of moral instruction and entertainment, instead becoming more intellectual and using experimental techniques like stream of consciousness to capture the fragmented modern experience.

Uploaded by

Majeed Jadwe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
543 views2 pages

Characteristics of The Modern English Novel

The document discusses the key differences between modern English novels written after the 19th century and Victorian novels. Modern English novels depart from Victorian conventions in their form, subject matter, and worldview. They emphasize psychological realism over social realism and depict the modern individual as alienated and lacking free will. Modern English novels also reject Victorian traditions of moral instruction and entertainment, instead becoming more intellectual and using experimental techniques like stream of consciousness to capture the fragmented modern experience.

Uploaded by

Majeed Jadwe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

The Modern English Novel

1. This term refers to English novels written since the end of the 19th century. These novels
depart greatly from the conventions of the novels written in the Victorian age. The word
‘modern’ simply means ‘new’ in terms of form, subject-matter, and how they look at the
world.

2. Modern English novelists believed that the convention of realism associated with the
Victorian novel are no longer adequate to represent the modern age with its high rhythm
of change. The great changes, wars, and the radical theories of Freud and Einstein
undermined the sources of authority that gave the Victorian age its stability and meaning.
So, the modern individual is no longer able to find meaning or develop a sense of identity
in such a fragmented existence. These new forms of experience require new forms,
techniques, and aesthetic theory to empower the novel to adequately capture the spirit of
the modern age. The techniques of stream of consciousness and interior monologue
dominated the modern English novel because they were suitable means of psychological
internalization.

3. Modern English novels emphasize psychological realism while Victorian novels


emphasize social realism. Modern English novelists believed that truth is subjective and
should be searched for inside the individual. Victorian novelists present their characters
in interaction with society because they believed that truth is objective and as it is
sanctioned by society and its institutions.

4. Modern English novels are mostly pessimistic in tone and perspective because they
depict the modern individual as alienated, trapped, and suffers the loss of free will. This
is quite different from the optimism of the Victorian novels that believed in the goodness
of society. The characters of the modern English novels are caught in existential crisis
while those in the Victorian novels are caught in a conflict with society which would be
ultimately resolved in a compromise.
5. The modern English novel rejects the tradition function of the novel as a medium of
teaching and entertaining associated with the Victorian novels. The modern English novel
became intellectual and philosophical as vehicle of ideas. Thus, the modern English
novelists reject the moralism of the Victorian novel in favor of a cynical and ironic tone
and perspective on the essentially tragic modern world.

6. The modern English novel rejects the well-made plot and well-established characters of
the Victorian novel because they impose an artificial sense of order on a highly chaotic
age. So, the modern English novels, especially those of such modernists novelists as
James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, uses disjointed plots that mirror the fragmented human
existence. They use disintegrated characters who suffers alienation and loss of identity.

7. The modern English novel is characterized by a deep interest in language. There is a great
sense of experimentation with novel in order to find the linguistic idiom adequate to
convey the unique experiences of the modern individual in the modern age.

You might also like