(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Henry James: The Art of Fiction

            In The Art of Fiction Henry James states and supports his belief that a novel is art and that it is the responsibility of the novelist to take that art form seriously. James states that writers should write realistically and avoid "make-believe" and "apologetic" (Perkins 443) forms of literature. James openly states that "fiction is one of the fine arts, deserving in its turn all the honors" (Perkins 444). James goes on to say that the true art of writing fiction is "to catch the color of life itself" (Perkins 456). In The Art of Fiction Henry James publicly discusses his own private opinion in an attempt to remind writers of their duty to create a "perfect work" (Perkins 456). .
             Analysis.
             Henry James uses The Art of Fiction to publicly notify writers that they are not taking their writing seriously, and to try too defining his own work as an art form. James writes The Art of Fiction after dedicating a lifetime to writing fiction. James comes to realize that readers are capable of and will enjoy reading about complex, emotional, and intense characters. Thus he emphasizes that writers have to challenge their readers be creating complex and emotional works. He urges writers to take their work seriously when he states "It must take itself seriously for the public to take it so" (Perkins 443). He uses his critical essay The Art of Fiction to point this out as a major fault in the literature of his time. James views the literature in the late eighteenth century to be "apologetic" (Perkins 443) and somewhat unrealistic. James felt that he had a responsibility as a published writer to stress the importance of artistic and "effective literary expression" (Harper 429). James" goal is to encourage novelists to take writing a novel seriously, he hopes of elevating fiction to the same level as music and painting, a fine art. .
             James has a good reason to believe that fiction of his day is not worthy of being called art.


Essays Related to Henry James: The Art of Fiction

1. Henry James

... a book mainly concentrated on the life of Roderick Hudson and travels to Europe and discovers manners and morals. Other novels that came after that was The American (1877), The Europeans (1878), Washington Square (1880), and The Portrait of a Lady (1880-1881). From 1882 to 1889 he wrote many short stories and short novels. James wrote 3 novels about politics and art: The Bostonians (1886), The Princess Casamassima (1886) which ... in her circle. Henry James was the first writer to introduce the theme of an American writings in Europe. In conclusion, I was thrilled to learn about Henry J...

  • Word Count: 847
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

2. English Literature in the Twentieth century

... the twentieth century: the comedy of Wodehouse lasts through the Jazz age of the 1920s; the threat of Fascism, the fascination with Communism, and the Depression of the 1930s; the War and later austerity in the 1940s and 1950s. The trend has continued through to the present day. Novels of adventure maintained their popularity. In the twentieth century, fantastic schemes for world domination become fact rather than fiction, although losing none of their pace and excitement in the medium of the novel. Novels of ... as Henry James's The Golden Bowl. The two novels are in many ways opposite...

  • Word Count: 10566
  • Approx Pages: 42

3. Growth of Novels In The Victorian Age

... . Characteristically, the "great expectations" of the protagonist in Dickens's novel of the same name (1860-1861) are to rise to the higher social class of "gentleman" and to gain an independent income. In a society that praised the virtue of individualism and lauded the "self-made" man, the naming of the self and the reconciliation of this self to the society became a central issue and the Bildungsroman or novel of development a central fiction form. For male protagonists, the primary issue of the novel ... in the early nineteenth century, just before the Reform Bill of 1832. The book w...

  • Word Count: 6746
  • Approx Pages: 27

4. The Revolution of Literature: 19th-20th Century

... became a "muse" for their own creativity. The rise of modernism goes hand in hand with an entire society progressing their intellect and awareness of who they are as humans and the dynamics of society. Among the many Writers/Novelists of this time period some of the most influential writers include: James Joyce, Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, Stephen Crane, Gustave Flaubert and, Frantz Kafka ... their persona through their writing. Reading was and still is a dominant pastime for civilizations world wide and is constantly evolving in correlation to the occurrences of society of it's time....

  • Word Count: 3767
  • Approx Pages: 15
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. The Developing of A Nation

... begin to develop in the U.S., but an American System was put in to play by Henry clay, in order to produce better roads and canals. The American System was a plan for using high tariffs to pay for internal improvements. The roads were so bad, while a British actress was traveling through the U.S. she stated "The wickedest road, I do think, the cruelest, hard-heartedest ... road that ever a wheel rumbled upon." While the nation changed, so did the people, and ... Some authors like James Fenimore Cooper were famous for there works of historical fiction. Unlike Fenimore Catharine Maria Sedg...

  • Word Count: 907
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Last Of The Mohicans

... accounts of the savagery of the Native Americans, James Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans emphasizes the "fiction" in historical fiction. The novel is comically littered with contradictory tones and gross inaccuracies in terms of frontier life, but in spite of the aforementioned, Cooper manages to convey his over-used American roughrider, Hawkeye, as a genuine model for nineteenth-century gunslinger heroes. Also appreciable is the ... The Last of the Mohicans. One could honestly say that the gun-slinging heroes of O"Henry's in Double Trouble, John Wayne flicks or the Cisco Kid might neve...

  • Word Count: 1482
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Fandom... Frenzied Crowd, Obsessed Loner or In Between?

... acknowledged that text is just "fiction". The idea of using elements from both a real production from these media figures (the movie), as well as demonstrating knowledge of the star system (the agent, the press) illustrates the way the fan actually is aware of what is real and fictive but has created a text to play on the idea of integrating reality with fiction. The fan is therefore "active" and "critical" as Henry Jenkins might put it. However ... might explain why Ryan has so many female fans. Perhaps he is a more contemporary version of James Dean, the other object of my next fan si...

  • Word Count: 1821
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Biography - Queen Elizabeth 1

... flamboyant dresser and loved her clothes to have very tight bodices, huge sleeves and uncomfortable ruffs around the neckline. She also incorporated the use of mannerisms from various art forms that existed of aging male images depicting power and experience. Her mannerist style created a shift between reality and fiction which meant that she was able to represent herself as both a forgiving and forbidding politician while in ... insults and perhaps instigating attacks on England. 7 Reigning Conflicts Elizabeth's reign was threatened by Mary, Queen of Scots who was the granddaughter of ...

  • Word Count: 2510
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

9. George Eliot

... left Mary all alone once again (George 8). Once the man who inspired her whole fiction career died, Mary stopped writing books and settled in London where she was buried in 1880 as one of the greatest English writers of the Nineteenth century. Before Mary died she left a masterful work in the form of the novel Silas Marner, a story about the isolation of a man who later finds happiness. George Eliot ( ... able to write it, but she succeeded the standards of both men and women of her day. It seemed that Charles Dickens wasn't the only one who agreed that Eliot's novels portrayed great del...

  • Word Count: 2570
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question