Everyone who has been to a book store within the last decade will have undoubtedly noticed the big bookshelves displaying novels that have made it on the bestseller list. Whilst many people might assume that the majority of these books are simply fictional novels, there are, however, a large number of historical novels among these bestsellers. Books by Ken Follett or Dan Brown are most certainly known by everyone interested in reading novels. The growing popularity of historical novels not only becomes evident by looking at the public perception, but also by considering the number of seminars and research papers that deal with this topic on an academic level.
Given the fact that historical novels have been enjoying increased popularity over the last couple of years, it is without doubt that these novels have to feature certain distinctive characteristics that make them stand out with regard to general fiction. Therefore, this term paper seeks to illustrate possible ways in which historical novels differ from common literary works. This will be done by using a corpus-based analysis in order to find word patterns or sentence structures that occur more frequently in historical novels.
Considering my own experiences from reading historical novels and the common knowledge of many historical periods, certain assumption can be put forward concerning the increased likeliness of words connected to religion, warfare and royalty being encountered in this corpus-based research. However, not only will it remain to be seen if these intuitions are valid, but it will also be interesting to observe if other not aforehand mentioned categories can be identified based on the results provided by this corpus analysis.
The first section of this paper will give a short overview of historical novels in general and thereby also a first impression of common characteristics. The following section will briefly summarize the methods which have been used to gain useful corpus-based information. The main body of this paper will then discuss and categorize the results with the aim of providing a solid base for a final concluding statement concerning our hypothesis.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Historical Novels - A quick overview of general characteristics
3. Data and methods
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Royalty, clergy and the common man
4.2. Landscapes and lighting
4.3. The human body and its behaviour
4.4. Drinking, driving and discovering
4.5. A variety of accommodations
4.6. Fashion and profession
4.7. War, waves and weapons
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This academic paper aims to identify and analyze the distinct linguistic characteristics that differentiate historical novels from general fiction. By employing a corpus-based methodology, the study investigates how specific word patterns, thematic clusters, and narrative structures—such as those related to royalty, warfare, and archaic settings—contribute to the genre-specific identity of historical novels.
- Comparative corpus analysis of historical novels versus general fiction.
- Examination of hierarchical social structures and their linguistic representation.
- Analysis of environment-specific vocabulary including natural lighting and maritime terminology.
- Investigation into body language and physical behavior as narrative tools.
- Exploration of archaic phrasing to establish historical authenticity.
Excerpt from the Book
4.2. Landscapes and lighting
This section will look at utterances connected to landscapes and lighting, which at first glance might not come as a surprise since most novels use a vast number of items describing nature and people’s surroundings. However, it becomes evident that certain items are still used far more frequently in historical novels than in general fiction.
These findings underline another difference between historical novels and general fiction, which is that historical novels apparently put more emphasis on natural lighting instead of technological innovations such as lamps powered by electricity. This makes perfect sense since in the past people were heavily dependent on natural lighting such as light provided by the sun or the moon and therefore these sources of lighting are mentioned many times. Obviously, there is no denying the fact that somewhat more advanced technologies, for instance lanterns and oil lamps, are also mentioned in historical novels. However, these items occur far less frequently than other light sources used by men such as fires.
Looking at items connected to landscapes and nature only a few peculiarities stick out. Many utterances can be associated with seafaring and some items such as headland or gangway even come about excessively often compared to general fiction. Before moving on, a few more items shall be mentioned which seem to be able to add a special flavour to one’s historical novels. These items are for instance gale, crest, cavern and skylight since all of them appear very few times in general fiction.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: The introduction establishes the popularity of historical novels and sets the foundation for a corpus-based analysis to compare their linguistic features with general fiction.
2. Historical Novels - A quick overview of general characteristics: This chapter reviews key scholarly perspectives on the genre, highlighting the roles of retrospection, plot construction, social representation, and the use of collocations.
3. Data and methods: This section details the use of the Lexiscope system and the composition of the corpora used to analyze significant word patterns and sentence structures.
4. Results and discussion: This central chapter presents and interprets the corpus findings across seven thematic categories, ranging from social hierarchy and nature to warfare and daily life.
4.1. Royalty, clergy and the common man: Analyzes the depiction of historical social structures and the specific respectful or hierarchical linguistic markers used for different classes.
4.2. Landscapes and lighting: Examines how environmental descriptions and natural light sources are utilized more frequently in historical fiction compared to contemporary counterparts.
4.3. The human body and its behaviour: Investigates the frequency of body-related descriptive elements and actions, emphasizing their role in signaling communicative processes and character expression.
4.4. Drinking, driving and discovering: Explores specific terminology related to historical modes of transport, sustenance, and exploration that enhance the authenticity of the narrative.
4.5. A variety of accommodations: Focuses on how descriptions of historical architecture and living spaces differ from those in general fiction.
4.6. Fashion and profession: Discusses the significance of attire and specific historical occupations in establishing the period-appropriate context of a novel.
4.7. War, waves and weapons: Concludes the results by detailing the heavy reliance on maritime and military terminology, underscoring the importance of warfare in the genre.
5. Conclusion: Summarizes the study’s findings, confirming that historical novels possess unique genre-specific linguistic markers that authors can use to enhance narrative authenticity.
Keywords
Historical novels, Corpus linguistics, Collocations, Literary aesthetics, Social hierarchy, Maritime terminology, Narrative structure, Lexiscope, Word patterns, Genre analysis, Historical fiction, Linguistic markers, Archaisms, Rhetorical analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on identifying the specific linguistic differences between historical novels and general fiction using corpus-based analysis.
What are the primary thematic fields examined?
The study covers social structures, environmental descriptions, human physical behavior, modes of transportation, fashion, professional roles, and maritime/military terminology.
What is the main objective of the analysis?
The primary goal is to determine if historical novels feature distinctive word patterns and collocations that differentiate them from general fiction, thereby providing a basis for authors to achieve greater historical authenticity.
Which scientific method is applied?
The author uses a corpus-based approach, utilizing the Lexiscope system to compare large datasets of historical and general novels to identify statistically significant word frequencies.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
The main body clusters corpus findings into seven thematic chapters, analyzing how different facets of life—from royalty to the common man and maritime warfare—are linguistically constructed.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include historical novels, corpus linguistics, collocations, social hierarchy, narrative structure, and genre analysis.
How does the usage of "By God" compare to modern expressions?
The analysis notes that "By God" frequently appears at the beginning of sentences in historical novels, showing similarities in function to the modern "oh my God," yet marking a distinct linguistic era.
Why is the "walking to a window" expression significant in this context?
The author argues that this specific action is often used in historical novels as a narrative device for characters to observe their surroundings or pause for reflection, rather than being a purely functional movement.
- Quote paper
- Tim Wenninger (Author), 2018, A Corpus-based Comparison of Historical Novels and General Fiction, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/459812
