Criticism of Fiction
If we examine the criticism of fiction, we discover that it is always insisting on one particular aspect at the expense of others. Here in England, however, throughout many changes of fashion in literature, one standard of judgement in fiction has remained. We English have always had a keen interest in character, in sharply defined and vivid personalities. It is not surprising, then, that the novel here has always been regarded as a stage for the display of character, and the novelist himself examined by criticism in his capacity as a creator of character.
Our great writers of fiction are all very different, but nevertheless they are all alike in this – that they are able to present to us vital figures, in whose existence, no matter how wild and strange they may be, we are compelled to believe while we are reading. If one single test is to be applied to fiction, then this of character is undoubtedly the safest, for we may be sure that it will never admit a bad novelist nor exclude a really good one.
Vocabulary Fiction Aspect Expense
Standard of judgement Sharp
Vivid Display Nevertheless Vital
To admit Structures
Simple Present/Present Perfect/Present Continuous To insist on something
At the expense of something Changes of fashion in literature To have a keen interest in something Sharply defined + noun
It is not surprising that…
To be examined by someone/something In one’s capacity as something
To be alike in something
No matter how + adjective + one may be To be compelled to do something
