INTRODUCTION TO SHORT STORY AS A LITERARY FORM

INTRODUCTION TO SHORT STORY AS A LITERARY FORM

INTRODUCTION:

The short story is a favourite form in modern literature. Because of the rush of modern life, people find it convenient to read short stories rather than bulky volumes. A short story could be defined as a short piece of fiction that concentrates on a single incident, a single character or very few characters, or the creation of a single effect or impression. It is marked by an economy of expression and tightness of form, and can be read in one sitting. The defining factor of the short story is that it should be short. With the growth of various periodicals, the short story has become most widely read literary form. H.G. Wells defines short story as,

“The jolly art of making something very bright and

moving; it may be horrible or pathetic or funny or

profoundly illuminating. It should take fifteen to

fifty minutes to read aloud”

 

Here it is noticeable that any subject from the world can be included in the short story but it must limit its range as far as length is considered. Edger Allen Poe also emphasizes on the view that there should be no word written which is not concerned with the story directly or indirectly.

BREVITY/SHORTNESS/LENGTH OF THE STORY:

The short story, name itself indicates the first and foremost characteristic i.e., the shortness or pithiness of the story. It is the briefness of the story that differentiates short story from the other forms of literature such as novel, drama, or essay. However, it is very difficult to decide how the length of the story be measured. According to H.G. Wells:

 

“It should take fifteen to fifty minutes to read aloud.”

Somerset Maugham has indulged in counting of the words and states:

 

“The shortest item runs to about 1,600 words and the longest to about 20,000 words.”

 

But it would be wrong to fall into the exactness of the story’s length as D.H. Lawrence’s story ‘The Fox’ runs about 3o, ooo words; while Kleist‘s story Bettelweib Von Locarno is of only 800 words.

Edger Allen Poe emphasizes:

 

“In the whole composition, there should be no word written, of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre – established design.”

 

It suggests that the description of the incident or place or human must not be lengthened without necessity but it does not mean that needed description be avoided.

Short story must be brief need not be understood as the summarized novel. Information relevant to the tale must be included but like novel; short story cannot afford to diverge from the main plot.

Brevity or economy is the soul of a short story. The short story must present minimum number of events and character. It means that a short story must cover only a small chunk of human life. There should be no sub-plot as far as possible. Unnecessary characters should be avoided. The protagonist must be given importance.

SINGLE INCIDENT:

Short story cannot afford the space for a leisurely analysis and sustained development of character, and cannot develop as dense and detailed a social milieu as does the novelist. We can say that, by and large, the short story writer introduces a limited number of persons with single incident. Good stories concentrate on single incident or incidents of a particular person and not on a life story of character and characters.

An eminent short story writer believes that the short story should have neither beginning nor end. It should only be a “Slice of Life”

In the story ‘Child’ Premchand begins the story with Gangu’s leaving the job for  marrying  widow Gomti and people ‘s view about Gomti but very swiftly he focuses on the child and emphasizes the centrality of the story around child. It shows the very apt example of singleness of incident as story offers layers of talk but does not leave the aim.

 

SINGLE CHARACTER OR FEW CHARACTERS:

Short story should concentrate on the incidents in the life of single character. Story writer can introduce more than one character but focus must be on one whose life is described. Many characters in the story can spoil the whole design and it would not be able to give the desired effect.

As ‘The Gift of Magi’ narrates the life of the couple Jim and Della and their wish to give present on the eve of Christmas.

SINGLENESS OF EFFECT:

The founder of Modern short story America -Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edger Allan Poe both laid stress on the ‘Singleness of Effect’ and “Final Impression’ as hallmarks of good short story. Poe opines that a good short story writer will not arrange his thoughts for incident but for single effect. If writer is not able to establish the single effect, he fails to fulfill the first important step as a story writer. W.H.Hudson rightly puts:

 

“A short story must contain one and only one informing idea and that is idea must be worked out to its logical conclusion with absolute singleness of aim and directness of method”

Story should be able to complete the picture in its totality. It should leave the lasting impression in our memory.

VAST RANGE OF THEMES:

The range of the short story In respect of theme is unlimited. A good short story may be written on almost any theme and may deal with any kind of motive. H.E.Bates sums up the scope of short story in these words:

 

“It can be anything from death of a horse to a young girl’s first love affair, from the static sketch without plot to the swiftly moving action and climax”

 

 

CONCLUSION:

 The short story is a type of literature that people have enjoyed for a long time. It is a small story that tells a complete tale using only a few words. Unlike longer books, short stories aim to make a strong impact in a shorter format. Famous writers of short stories include Anton Chekhov, Arthur Conan Doyle, D.H. Lawrence, Leo Tolstoy, Ernest Hemingway, Franz Kafka, R.K.Narayan, Khushwant Singh and Alice Munroe, to name just a few.