English Literature Made Easy for Students

Types of Novels 1. Picaresque novel may be called the earliest experiment in the field of novel. The word ‘picaresque’ has been derived (taken) from the Spanish word ‘Picaro’ that means a ‘rogue’ / r əʊ ɡ / (dangerous and harmful) or a ‘knave’ / ne ɪ v / (dishonest) in English. A picaresque novel has a long narrative that revolves around a person, who is a criminal for society. But, in reality, he helps the poor by duping (cheating) the rich. He is a Robinhood type of character, a highwayman, who suddenly appears and suddenly disappears after finishing his job of robbery.  This theme of appearance versus reality was followed by many English novelists in the eighteenth century. It was really a very popular theme. We can quote (cite/give) several examples of this type of novel. Henry Fielding wrote Tom Jones and Joseph Andrews. Charles Dickens wrote ‘ The Pickwick Papers (1836–37) . We have Jonathan Swift’s famous ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, Mark Twain’s ‘The Adventures of Huckleber...