The Rhetoric of Fiction (2nd Edition)

The first edition of The Rhetoric of Fiction transformed the criticism of fiction and soon became a classic in the field. One of the most widely used texts in fiction courses, it is a standard reference point in advanced discussions of how fictional form works, how authors make novels accessible, and how readers recreate texts, and its concepts and terms—such as "the implied author," "the postulated reader," and "the unreliable narrator"—have become part of the standard critical lexicon. For this new edition, Wayne C. Booth has written an extensive Afterword in which he clarifies misunderstandings, corrects what he now views as errors, and sets forth his own recent thinking about the rhetoric of fiction. The other new feature is a Supplementary Bibliography, prepared by James Phelan in consultation with the author, which lists the important critical works of the past twenty years—two decades that Booth describes as "the richest in the history of the subject." Cover......Page 1 Copyright page......Page 6 Contents......Page 9 Foreword to the Second Edition......Page 13 Preface to the First Edition......Page 15 Acknowledgments ......Page 19 Part I: Artistic Purity and the Rhetoric of Fiction......Page 23 Authoritative "Telling" in Early Narration......Page 25 Two Stories from the Decameron......Page 31 The Author's Many Voices......Page 38 From Justified Revolt to Crippling Dogma......Page 45 From Differentiated Kinds to Universal Qualities......Page 51 General Criteria in Earlier Periods......Page 55 Three Sources of General Criteria: The Work, the Author, the Reader......Page 59 Intensity of Realistic Illusion......Page 62 The Novel as Unmediated Reality......Page 72 On Discriminating among Realisms......Page 75 The Ordering of Intensities......Page 82 Neutrality and the Author's "Second Self"......Page 89 Impartiality and "Unfair" Emphasis......Page 99 Impassibilité......Page 103 Subjectivism Encouraged by Impersonal Techniques......Page 105 "True Artists Write Only for Themselves"......Page 111 Theories of Pure Art......Page 113 The "Impurity" of Great Literature......Page 120 Is a Pure Fiction Theoretically Desirable?......Page 131 "Tears and Laughter Are, Aesthetically, Frauds"......Page 141 Types of Literary Interest (and Distance)......Page 147 Combinations and Conflicts of Interests......Page 155 The Role of Belief......Page 159 Belief Illustrated: "The Old Wives' Tale"......Page 166 6 Types of Narration......Page 171 Person......Page 172 Dramatized and Undramatized Narrators......Page 173 Observers and Narrator-Agents......Page 175 Scene and Summary......Page 176 Variations of Distance......Page 177 Variations in Support or Correction......Page 181 Privilege......Page 182 Inside Views......Page 185 Part II: The Author's Voice in Fiction......Page 189 Providing the Facts, Picture, or Summary......Page 191 Molding Beliefs......Page 199 Relating Particulars to the Established Norms......Page 204 Heightening the Significance of Events......Page 218 Generalizing the Significance of the Whole Work......Page 219 Manipulating Mood......Page 222 Commenting Directly on the Work Itself......Page 227 Reliable Narrators as Dramatized Spokesmen for the Implied Author......Page 233 "Fielding" in Tom Jones......Page 237 Imitators of Fielding......Page 240 Tristram Shandy and the Problem of Formal Coherence......Page 243 Three Formal Traditions: Comic Novel, Collection, and Satire......Page 246 The Unity of Tristram Shandy......Page 251 Shandean Commentary, Good and Bad......Page 256 Sympathy and Judgment in Emma......Page 265 Sympathy through Control of Inside Views......Page 267 Control of Judgment......Page 271 The Reliable Narrator and the Norms of Emma......Page 278 Explicit Judgments on Emma Woodhouse......Page 284 The Implied Author as Friend and Guide......Page 286 Part III: Impersonal Narration......Page 291 "Exit Author" Once Again......Page 293 Control of Sympathy......Page 296 Control of Clarity and Confusion......Page 306 "Secret Communion" between Author and Reader......Page 322 "The Turn of the Screw" as Puzzle......Page 333 Troubles with Irony in Earlier Literature......Page 338 The Problem of Distance in "A Portrait of the Artist"......Page 345 12 The Price of Impersonal Narration, II: Henry James and the Unreliable Narrator......Page 361 The Development from Flawed Reflector into Subject......Page 362 The Two Liars in "The Liar"......Page 369 "The Purloining of the Aspern Papers" or "The Evocation of Venice"?......Page 376 "Deep Readers of the World, Beware!"......Page 386 Morality and Technique......Page 399 The Seductive Point of View: Céline as Example......Page 401 The Author's Moral Judgment Obscured......Page 407 The Morality of Elitism......Page 413 Afterword to the Second Edition: The Rhetoric in Fiction and Fiction as Rhetoric: Twenty-One Years Later......Page 423 A. ''I have... ruled out many of the most interesting questions about fiction." [Preface]......Page 426 B. "But it would be a serious mistake to think that what we need is a return to Balzac... or to Fielding...." [P. 397]......Page 428 C. "... [absolute silence ]..."......Page 429 A. "we might become too fully immersed in his [Marcher's] own highly plausible view of things..." [P. 280]......Page 431 C. "We can go on and on [if we are trying to purge works of all signs of the authors voice], purging..." [Pp. 18–19]......Page 434 A. "... I have arbitrarily isolated technique from all of the social and psychological forces that affect authors and readers." [Preface]......Page 435 A. "...rhetoric in the larger sense... rhetoric in the narrower sense." [P. 109]......Page 437 B. "...the question of Lawrence's impartiality seems completely unrelated to his choice of technical devices..." [Pp. 80–81]......Page 438 A. "The best of these [reasons for our sympathetic engagement in narrative events] has always been the spectacle of a good man facing moral choices that are important." [P. 131]......Page 439 B. "But is there no choosing among effects?... impersonal narration has raised moral difficulties too often for us to dismiss moral questions as irrelevant to technique." [P. 378]......Page 440 A. "Even if we conclude... we may... we should be... Unless we are quite sure... we must entertain the possibility that... We certainly meet this difficulty...." [P. 321—and too many other pages]......Page 442 B. "The 'implied author' chooses... what we read..." [Pp. 74–75]......Page 443 C. "In short, we have looked for so long at foggy landscapes reflected in misty mirrors that we have come to like fog..." [P. 372]......Page 447 A. "In dealing with point of view the novelist must always deal with the individual work...." [Pp. 164–65]......Page 454 V. A "Living Plot" of a Special Kind......Page 458 Beckett's Company As Example......Page 463 Authoritative Refusal-To-Tell in Modern Narration......Page 466 Starting Over......Page 479 No. 1......Page 481 A. The Telling-Showing Distinction, The Author's Voice and Reliable Narration [no. 81]......Page 487 No. 175......Page 495 C. Realism, Distance from the Real, and Technique [no. 208]......Page 498 III. The Author's Objectivity and the "Second Self" [no. 239]......Page 500 IV. Artistic Purity, Rhetoric, and the Audience [no. 259]......Page 502 A. General Discussions of Irony, Ambiguity, and Obscurity [no. 282]......Page 504 No. 300......Page 505 Ford Madox Ford......Page 506 No. 325......Page 507 James Joyce......Page 509 No. 350......Page 510 1. Examples of self-conscious narration used as ornament in comic fiction before Sterne [no. 362]......Page 511 No. 363......Page 512 4. Examples of imitations of Tristram Shandy and other works influenced by Sterne......Page 513 D. A Gallery of Unreliable Narrators and Reflectors......Page 514 Supplementary Bibliography, 1961–82......Page 517 No. 375......Page 518 No. 500......Page 526 B. Realism, Distance from the Real, and Technique [no. 590]......Page 531 III. The Author's Objectivity and the Second Self [no. 615]......Page 533 No. 625......Page 534 No. 750......Page 541 A......Page 543 B......Page 544 C......Page 545 D......Page 548 E......Page 549 F......Page 550 H......Page 551 I......Page 552 J......Page 553 K......Page 554 M......Page 555 N......Page 556 P......Page 557 R......Page 558 S......Page 559 T......Page 561 V......Page 562 Z......Page 563 Index to the Bibliographies......Page 565 B......Page 566 D......Page 567 G......Page 568 J......Page 569 L......Page 570 P......Page 571 S......Page 572 T......Page 573 Z......Page 574 Index to the Bibliographies by Number......Page 0 No. 25......Page 483 No. 50......Page 484 No. 75......Page 486 No. 100......Page 489 No. 125......Page 491 No. 150......Page 493 No. 200......Page 497 No. 225......Page 499 No. 250......Page 501 No. 275......Page 503 No. 400......Page 520 No. 425......Page 521 No. 450......Page 522 No. 475......Page 524 No. 525......Page 527 No. 550......Page 529 No. 575......Page 530 No. 600......Page 532 No. 650......Page 535 No. 675......Page 537 No. 700......Page 538 No. 725......Page 539 No. 765......Page 542 A Standard Reference Point In Advanced Discussions Of How Fictional Form Works, How Authors Make Novels Accessible, And How Readers Recreate Texts. Its Concepts And Terms Have Become Standard Critical Lexicon. Foreword To The Second Edition -- Preface To The First Edition -- Acknowledgments -- Part I: Artistic Purity And The Rhetoric Of Fiction -- I. Telling And Showing -- Authoritative Telling In Early Narration -- Two Stories From The Decameron -- The Author's Many Voices -- Ii. General Rules, I: True Novels Must Be Realistic -- From Justified Revolt To Crippling Dogma -- From Differentiated Kinds To Universal Qualities -- General Criteria In Earlier Periods -- Three Sources Of General Criteria: The Work, The Author, The Reader -- Intensity Of Realistic Fiction -- The Novel As Unmediated Reality -- On Discriminating Among Realisms -- The Ordering Of Intensities -- Iii. General Rules, Ii: All Authors Should Be Objective -- Neutrality And The Author's Second Self -- Impartiality And Unfair Emphasis -- Impassibilite; -- Subjectivism Encouraged By Impersonal Techniques -- Iv. General Rules Iii: True Art Ignores The Audience --^ True Artists Write Only For Themselves -- Theories Of Pure Art -- The Impurity Of Great Literature -- Is A Pure Fiction Theoretically Desirable? -- V. General Rules, Iv: Emotions, Beliefs, And The Reader's Objectivity -- Tears And Laughter Are, Aesthetically, Frauds -- Types Of Literary Interest (and Distance) -- Combinations And Conflicts Of Interests -- The Role Of Belief -- Belief Illustrated: The Old Wives' Tale -- Vi. Types Of Narration -- Person -- Dramatized And Undramatized Narrators -- Observers And Narrator-agents -- Scene And Summary -- Commentary -- Self-conscious Narrators -- Variations Of Distance -- Variations In Support Or Correction -- Privilege -- Inside Views -- Part Ii: The Author's Voice In Fiction -- Vii. The Uses Of Reliable Commentary -- Providing The Facts, Picture, Or Summary -- Molding Beliefs -- Relating Particulars To The Established Norms -- Heightening The Significance Of Events --^ Generalizing The Significance Of Events -- Generalizing The Significance Of The Whole Work -- Manipulating Mood -- Commenting Directly On The Work Itself - Viii. Telling As Showing: Dramatized Narrators, Reliable And Unreliable -- Reliable Narrators As Dramatized Spokesmen For The Implied Author -- Fielding In Tom Jones -- Imitators Of Fielding -- Tristram Shandy And The Problem Of Formal Coherence -- Three Formal Traditions: Comic Novel, Collection, And Satire -- The Unity Of Tristram Shandy -- Shandean Commentary, Good And Bad -- Ix. Control Of Distance In Jane Austen's Emma -- Sympathy And Judgment In Emma -- Sympathy Through Control Of Inside Views -- Control Of Judgment -- The Reliable Narrator And The Norms Of Emma -- Explicit Judgments On Emma Woodhouse -- The Implied Author As Friend And Guide -- Part Iii: Impersonal Narration -- X. The Uses Of Authorial Silence -- Exit Author Once Again -- Control Of Sympathy -- Control Of Clarity And Confusion --^ Secret Communion Between Author And Reader -- Xi. The Price Of Impersonal Narration, I: Confusion Of Distance -- The Turn Of The Screw As Puzzle -- Troubles With Irony In Earlier Literature -- The Problem Of Distance In A Portrait Of The Artist -- Xii. The Price Of Impersonal Narration, Ii: Henry James And The Unreliable Narrator -- The Development From Flawed Reflector Into Subject - The Two Liars In The Liar -- The Purloining Of The Aspern Papers Or The Evocation Of Venice? -- Deep Readers Of The World, Beware! -- Xiii. The Morality Of Impersonal Narration -- Morality And Technique -- The Seductive Point Of View: Ce;line; As Example -- The Author's Moral Judgment Obscured -- The Morality Of Elitism -- Afterword To The Second Edition: The Rhetoric In Fiction And Fiction As Rhetoric: Twenty-one Years Later --bibliography --supplementary Bibliography, 1961-82, By James Phelan --index To The First Edition --index To The Bibliographies. Wayne C. Booth. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 459-520.