Epic and Novel
Encyclopedia
Epic and Novel: Towards a Methodology for the Study of the Novel [Эпос и роман (О методологии исследования романа)] is a 1941 essay that compares the novel
to the epic
; it was written by Mikhail Bakhtin
, one of the major literary theorists
of the twentieth century.
The essay was originally given as a paper in the Moscow Institute of World Literature on 24 March 1941 under the name "The Novel as a Literary Genre" ['Роман как литературный жанр']. However, it became well known after its 1970 publication (under its current name) in the Russian journal Questions of Literature [Вопросы Литературы]. It was re-published in a 1975 collection of Bakhtin's writings, Questions of Literature and Aesthetics [Вопросы литературы и эстетики].
and its unique properties by comparing it to other literary forms, in particular the epic
. Bakhtin sees the novel as capable of achieving much of what other forms cannot, including an ability to engage with contemporary reality, and an ability to re-conceptualize the individual
in a complex way that interrogates his subjectivity and offers the possibility of redefining his own image. He also stresses the novel’s flexibility: he argues it is a genre with the unique ability to constantly adapt and change, partly because there is no generic canon of the novel as there is for epic or lyric poetry
.
The epic, on the other hand, is a ‘high-distance genre’, i.e. its form and structure situate it in a distant past time that assumes a finished quality, meaning it cannot be re-evaluated, re-thought or changed by us. (Bakhtin compares the novel to clay
, a material which can be remodeled, and the epic to marble
, which cannot). The epic past is one that is irretrievable and idealized, and it is valorized in a way that makes it appear hierarchically superior to the present; the epic form is a ‘walled’ one, i.e. it builds boundaries which block it off from the present. The individual in the epic is a fully finished and completed lofty hero, who is entirely ‘externalized’: i.e. his appearance, actions and internal world are external characteristics which are literally expressed in the written word.
While Bakhtin does make reference to proto-novels in antiquity
, he dates the rise of the modern novel with the Renaissance
and suggests that it developed then precisely because of a new temporal perspective: man had become conscious of the present not only as a continuation of the past, but also as a ‘heroic and new beginning’. This allowed the novel, a genre that was concerned with the possibilities of the present, to flourish. The novel, therefore, ‘the only genre born of this new world and in total affinity with it’ (Bakhtin 1981:7), i.e. the most apt form for literary expression in the modern world.
One interesting observation in the essay is the ability of the novel to influence and ‘novelize’ other genres. Bakhtin argues that the prominence of the novel caused other genres to adapt themselves and try to treat time in the same way as the novel. He gives the specific example of Lord Byron’s Childe Harold as a poem that adopted certain novelistic features.
There is still much interest in Bakhtin today: the most prominent scholars in the United States are Professor Gary Saul Morson
of Northwestern University
and Professor Caryl Emerson of Princeton University. The culture wars have led to some lively debate on Bakhtin, with the ‘radical’ and ‘conservative’ wings both attempting to claim them as their own. Typical of the more radical wing is Michael Gardiner’s study (1992) attempts to situate Bakhtin within ‘the Western Marxist tradition’, arguing that Bakhtin is a relativistic and radical thinker whose idea of the carnivalesque
is akin to political subversion and resistance to dominant ideologies. Caryl Emerson, in an article responding to Gardiner’s book, argues that Bakhtin is better seen as an ‘individuating’, ‘humanist’ and ‘humanizing’ thinker, and discusses how Bakthin has been appropriated by both left and right in the academy more generally.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
to the epic
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
; it was written by Mikhail Bakhtin
Mikhail Bakhtin
Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin was a Russian philosopher, literary critic, semiotician and scholar who worked on literary theory, ethics, and the philosophy of language...
, one of the major literary theorists
Literary theory
Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for analyzing literature. However, literary scholarship since the 19th century often includes—in addition to, or even instead of literary theory in the strict sense—considerations of...
of the twentieth century.
The essay was originally given as a paper in the Moscow Institute of World Literature on 24 March 1941 under the name "The Novel as a Literary Genre" ['Роман как литературный жанр']. However, it became well known after its 1970 publication (under its current name) in the Russian journal Questions of Literature [Вопросы Литературы]. It was re-published in a 1975 collection of Bakhtin's writings, Questions of Literature and Aesthetics [Вопросы литературы и эстетики].
Summary
In this essay, Bakhtin attempts to outline a theory of the novelNovel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
and its unique properties by comparing it to other literary forms, in particular the epic
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
. Bakhtin sees the novel as capable of achieving much of what other forms cannot, including an ability to engage with contemporary reality, and an ability to re-conceptualize the individual
Individual
An individual is a person or any specific object or thing in a collection. Individuality is the state or quality of being an individual; a person separate from other persons and possessing his or her own needs, goals, and desires. Being self expressive...
in a complex way that interrogates his subjectivity and offers the possibility of redefining his own image. He also stresses the novel’s flexibility: he argues it is a genre with the unique ability to constantly adapt and change, partly because there is no generic canon of the novel as there is for epic or lyric poetry
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
.
The epic, on the other hand, is a ‘high-distance genre’, i.e. its form and structure situate it in a distant past time that assumes a finished quality, meaning it cannot be re-evaluated, re-thought or changed by us. (Bakhtin compares the novel to clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
, a material which can be remodeled, and the epic to marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, which cannot). The epic past is one that is irretrievable and idealized, and it is valorized in a way that makes it appear hierarchically superior to the present; the epic form is a ‘walled’ one, i.e. it builds boundaries which block it off from the present. The individual in the epic is a fully finished and completed lofty hero, who is entirely ‘externalized’: i.e. his appearance, actions and internal world are external characteristics which are literally expressed in the written word.
While Bakhtin does make reference to proto-novels in antiquity
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
, he dates the rise of the modern novel with the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and suggests that it developed then precisely because of a new temporal perspective: man had become conscious of the present not only as a continuation of the past, but also as a ‘heroic and new beginning’. This allowed the novel, a genre that was concerned with the possibilities of the present, to flourish. The novel, therefore, ‘the only genre born of this new world and in total affinity with it’ (Bakhtin 1981:7), i.e. the most apt form for literary expression in the modern world.
One interesting observation in the essay is the ability of the novel to influence and ‘novelize’ other genres. Bakhtin argues that the prominence of the novel caused other genres to adapt themselves and try to treat time in the same way as the novel. He gives the specific example of Lord Byron’s Childe Harold as a poem that adopted certain novelistic features.
Influence
Bakhtin’s essay continues to fascinate scholars and has been reprinted in multiple literary anthologies. It is debatable whether Bakhtin’s central claim about the novel’s suitability for the modern world and its adaptability and continues to apply in a world where ‘the death of the novel’ has been proclaimed by many theorists and new theories and technologies have challenged the book.There is still much interest in Bakhtin today: the most prominent scholars in the United States are Professor Gary Saul Morson
Gary Saul Morson
Gary Saul Morson is an American literary critic and Slavist, currently Frances Hooper Professor of the Arts and Humanities at Northwestern University. He was Chair of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Pennsylvania for many years prior to leaving for...
of Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
and Professor Caryl Emerson of Princeton University. The culture wars have led to some lively debate on Bakhtin, with the ‘radical’ and ‘conservative’ wings both attempting to claim them as their own. Typical of the more radical wing is Michael Gardiner’s study (1992) attempts to situate Bakhtin within ‘the Western Marxist tradition’, arguing that Bakhtin is a relativistic and radical thinker whose idea of the carnivalesque
Carnivalesque
Carnivalesque is an traces the origins of the carnivalesque to the concept of carnival, itself related to the Feast of Fools, a medieval festival originally of the sub-deacons of the cathedral, held about the time of the Feast of the Circumcision , in which the humbler cathedral officials...
is akin to political subversion and resistance to dominant ideologies. Caryl Emerson, in an article responding to Gardiner’s book, argues that Bakhtin is better seen as an ‘individuating’, ‘humanist’ and ‘humanizing’ thinker, and discusses how Bakthin has been appropriated by both left and right in the academy more generally.