Workshop on Reading Literature in English

2013-I

Origins of the Short Story

Few of us can say we have not read or listened to a short story, whether it is a fast-paced
western, a religious parable, or a fairy tale read to us at bedtime by our parents. Over the
centuries short fiction has developed into a literary form all its own. And while the short story was
not recognised as a true art form until the 1900s when innovative writers like Poe, Hawthorne,
de Maupassant, Chekov and Twain perfected the format, these tales have existed for a long,
long time. Short tales steeped in religion, tradition, myth, magic, romance, adventure and
heroism date back to our ancient tribal ancestors who grouped around their flickering campfires
recounting the days successful hunt, raids on an enemys stronghold or the loss felt over the
death of a loved one.
Early man was telling short stories even before they had invented the written word, tales that
were often recited in verse or rhyme and handed down from one generation to the next by a
tribe or regions official storyteller. Once alphabets were created, the ancient Babylonians gave
us the Adventures of Gilgamesh and the Egyptians their kings, queens, gods and animal deities.
Indian and Middle Eastern stories were steeped in religion and ancient wisdom and the Greek
storyteller, Aesop immortalized the animal parable. His enchanting collection of animal fables
date back to the 6th century, B.C. Animals are the main characters in Aesops Fables and by
the end of their trial or adventure, they have learned a valuable moral lesson - a lesson that is
often as valid in this century as it was during Aesops era.
By the Middle Ages, folk tales, romantic, heroic or tragic ballads, Greek and Scandinavian
myths, fairy tales and absurdity verse aimed at various lifestyles, customs, mannerisms and
political affiliations became increasingly popular. Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury Tales were
widely read during this era. So was A Thousand and One Arabian Nights, a collection of
colourful and often unbelievable tales as told by fictional Queen Scheherazade to her husband,
the king, to avoid her execution. Many of these Persian stories were based on original Oriental
versions.
In the 1660s the first periodicals appeared in Germany, most of them political or secular in
nature. By the early 1700s British periodicals were being published at more regular intervals and
included a wider range of subject material. These pamphlets or booklets were immediately
embraced by the populace. Editors were always looking for short material to fill their pages and
satisfy burgeoning public demand. Short fictional stories fit naturally into this place. Charles
Dickens gained a huge following with his serialised stories. Many of the various short works that
were published were classified as nothing more than escapism, Dickens work included. Of
course, now his stories are considered classics. As the 19th century approached, more and
more writers began experimenting with the short story format and various new themes. This
interest would see the eventual evolution of what literary critics call the modern short story.
What exactly then, is a short story? Its a work of fiction characterized by its short format and
presenting a single situation that one or at most, a few, characters must resolve by the storys
end. Because of a short storys brief format, the main character(s) are never fully developed.
Character is usually revealed through plot action, emotion evoked by a limited number of scenes
and by the overall theme. Various literary movements that explored the short story evolved in
Europe and the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries: romanticism, realism,
impressionism, and symbolism.

Workshop on Reading Literature in English

2013-I

American writer, Edgar Allan Poe, would become one of the most influential writers of his time
and a master of the short story. Hes been called the creator of the detective story and of the
horror story. Tales like The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Masque of the Red Death, The
Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart and Poes classic poem, The Raven, remain
unsurpassed in evoking mood, setting and characterisation. Many of his protagonists were dark
and psychologically troubled, often teetering on the edge of madness. Conversely, writers like
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Mark Twain leaned more toward realism and life experiences. In
Twains case, his regionally flavoured tales where often overstated, whimsical or bordered on the
fantastic. William Sydney Porter, whose pen name was O Henry, was another popular short
story craftsman whose work relied heavily on coincidence and many times ended with an
unusual plot twist.
European writers were also making their mark in literary and popular short fiction. French author
Guy de Maupassant chose to write realistic short stories about the French middle class and of
human behaviour. Rudyard Kipling wrote immensely popular stories about British military life in
India as well as wonderfully creative childrens tales, most notably, The Jungle Book. He
received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. Russian writer, Anton Chekov, on the other hand,
crafted simple tales of life as he perceived it during an era of upheaval and change in Russia.
His stories are slow moving with little in the way of plot or action, and could more accurately be
called character studies. Joseph Conrad was another writer whose tales were character driven
and whose settings usually revolved around realistic observances of naval life that didnt always
have happy endings.
In the 1920s and well into the 1950s short stories took on many different themes, setting and
character types. Edgar Rice Burroughs discovered Tarzan living with apes in the dark jungles of
Africa; H.G. Wells fantastic science fiction tales about Martians and assorted other-worldly
creatures enchanted his fans; Jack London introduced readers to animal adventures where the
main characters were wolves or Alaskan sled dogs; and Dashiell Hammet presented hard
boiled, no-holds-barred crime fiction teeming with sex and violence. The age of the pulps and
of pulp fiction had arrived. Scores of dime novels, digest-sized magazines and eventually
paperbacks were made available to slake readers insatiable appetite for short stories of all
kinds. Hundreds of writers took advantage of this creative explosion. However, by the 60s and
70s readers tastes had again changed, and editors need for short tales to fill the pages of their
magazines and periodicals declined. Despite this diminished interest, the day of the short story
was far from over. Today hundreds of magazines and anthologies publish new and innovative
short stories crafted by veteran and beginning writers alike. The short story format survives and
evolves as it always has.
Heres a list of a few more writers who achieved distinction with their short stories: James Joyce,
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, George Orwell, Katherine Mansfield, Saki, James Thurber, Ambrose
Bierce, Sheridan le Fanu, H.P. Lovecraft, Hermann Melville, James Fennimore Cooper, W.O.
Mitchell, Margaret Lawrence, Ernest Thompson Seton, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Willkie Collins,
and Dorothy Parker. As our ancestors knew so very well, short stories are addictive and will
never lose their power to draw us in and introduce us to interesting people or sweep us to
another time and place, if only for a short while.