The basic knowledge of the novel is summarized as follows:
1. The concept of the novel: It is centered on shaping the character image and reflects social life through the narration of the complete storyline and the description of the specific environment. Literary genre. It is one of the four major literary styles (prose, novels, poetry, and drama).
2. Classification of novels: (1) Novels can be divided into novels, novellas, short stories and micro-novels (small novels) according to their length and capacity.
(2) According to the system, it can be divided into chapter novels, diary novels, epistolary novels and autobiographical novels.
(3) According to language form, it can be divided into classical Chinese novels and vernacular novels.
3. The three elements of a novel: (vivid) characters, (complete) storyline and (character activities) description of the environment.
Character image: The core of a character is his or her thought and personality. To create a character in a novel, one can use a real person as a model and combine some deeds of other people. As Lu Xun said: "There is no special model for a character." A person's mouth is often in Zhejiang, his face is in Beijing, and his clothes are in Shanxi. He is a pieced together character. "Any excellent novel always has unforgettable typical characters.
People can see and understand the faces of many people through these typical mirrors of art. Among the characters created in the novel, the character who embodies the author's creative intention and the theme of the work is the central character of the novel, also called the protagonist. The core of the character image is the thought and personality shown by the character. Only by analyzing the character image of the novel well can the theme and idea of ??the novel be well analyzed.
(1) The main methods of describing people in novels include: appearance description, action description, language description, psychological description, and demeanor description.
(2) Portrait (appearance) describes the appearance, expression, posture, clothing and other appearance of a character.
(3) Language is used to describe the characters’ dialogues, monologues and tone of voice.
(4) From the perspective of description, the methods of character description can also be divided into: frontal description and side description, also known as direct description and indirect description.
Story plot: that is, in the specific artistic description environment provided by the novel, a series of life events occur and develop due to the interrelationship between characters and the conflicts between people and the environment. , the whole process until the solution. It usually consists of one or several groups of specific life events, including many details under the leadership of a basic plot clue.
The conflicts in the novel are the basis for the plot and the driving force for the development of the plot. The characters of both parties in the conflict directly determine the direction of the plot.
The plot development of novels is generally divided into: beginning, development, climax and ending. Some novels also have a prologue and an epilogue.
(1) The beginning is the first thing that reflects the conflict in the work.
(2) Development is the evolution process of conflicts in the work from expansion to intensification.
(3) The climax is the critical moment when the fate of all parties to the conflict is about to be resolved and the main conflict is about to be resolved. It is the stage when the conflict reaches its peak and the characters’ ideological struggles are the most intense, exciting and acute.
(4) The ending is that the contradiction is resolved, the development of the character's personality is completed, the event has the final result, and the theme is fully demonstrated, which is the inevitable result of the plot development.
Environmental description: (1) Concept: Environmental description is a description of the environment of character activities and the description of the background of things happening. It includes description of natural environment and description of social environment.
(2) Category: A. Natural environment description, also called scenery description, mainly describes the time, place, season, climate, flowers, birds, insects, fish and other scenes of character activities.
B Social environment description is mainly a description of the specific environment, place, atmosphere and interpersonal relationships of the characters' activities.
(3) The main functions of environmental description are: A. Explain the time and place where the story takes place. Provide specific context for character activities.
B. Exaggerate the atmosphere and highlight the characters; C. Some environmental descriptions also play a role in promoting the development of the plot.