Short Stories | History and facts

Posted by Payal Rathi on March 23rd, 2019

A fictional prose narrative is what we can say about a short story. It usually has a single incident, a single plot & deals with only a few characters. Edgar Allan Poe a short story as the one that can be read in one sitting of half an hour or two hours. It differs from anecdote in its use of plot.

A short story is focused on a single plot expressed with a few significant scenes or episodes unlike a novel the has a plot that revolves around multiply characters also has sub plots. It gives us a realistic portrayal of characters & excludes any aspects of a complex plot, encouraging a setting the supports concise narrative. 

Origin & History

The oral Tradition

The history of short story can be traced back to oral story-telling tradition, which we loved when our grandma used to tell a story to us. The art of story telling perhaps rose out of human curiosity. Early human beings narrated tales of hunting or story gods & demons to one another. To aid himself in constructing or memorising tales, the early story teller often relied on colloquial phrases, fixed rhythm & rhyme. The very reason why oldest narrative are mostly verses. Tales, fables, anecdotes, parables, etc., were thus transmitted by word of mouth from one generation to another generation to the next. Read More