Verisimilitude: Difference between revisions

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Verisimilitude is a philosophical concept that refers to characters or events in a story that appears to be life-like, or believable. This concept is achieved by a writer, or storyteller, when he presents striking details which lend an air of authenticity to a tale (Beckson)<ref name=Ref2/>.
Verisimilitude is a philosophical concept that refers to characters or events in a story that appears to be life-like, or believable. This concept is achieved by a writer, or storyteller, when he presents striking details which lend an air of authenticity to a tale (Beckson)<ref name=Ref8/>.


== Verisimilitude (Example) ==
== Verisimilitude (Example) ==
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*<ref name=Ref2> Cuddon, J.A. "Verisimilitude." The Penguin Dictionary Of Literary Terms and Literary Theory fourth edition. 1976,1977,1979,1991,1998.
*Cuddon, J.A. "Verisimilitude." The Penguin Dictionary Of Literary Terms and Literary Theory fourth edition. 1976,1977,1979,1991,1998.
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*Cuddon, J.A.  Penguin Books, London. "Verisimilitude."  Bibliography: ''A Dictionary of Literary Terms'', 1977 [http://www.senri.ed.jp/Departments/english/littrms.htm]


*<ref name=Ref3> Cuddon, J.A.  Penguin Books, London. "Verisimilitude."  Bibliography: ''A Dictionary of Literary Terms'', 1977 [http://www.senri.ed.jp/Departments/english/littrms.htm]
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*<ref name=Ref4> Harris, Robert. "Verisimilitude."  ''A Glossary of Literary Terms.''      22May1997.[http://home.cfl.rr.com/eghsap/apterms.html]
*<ref name=Ref4> Harris, Robert. "Verisimilitude."  ''A Glossary of Literary Terms.''      22May1997.[http://home.cfl.rr.com/eghsap/apterms.html]
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*<ref name=Ref5> Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. "Verisimilitude." ''Merriam-Webster's Encylopedia of Literature'' 1995
*Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. "Verisimilitude." ''Merriam-Webster's Encylopedia of Literature'' 1995
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*<ref name=Ref6> Mifflin, Houghton. "Verisimilitude." ''Webster’s II New College Dictionary.'' 2001,1999,1995
*Mifflin, Houghton. "Verisimilitude." ''Webster’s II New College Dictionary.'' 2001,1999,1995
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*<ref name=Ref7> Eagleton, Terry. "Verisimiltude."  ''Literary Theory: An Introduction.''  1983
*<ref name=Ref7> Eagleton, Terry. "Verisimiltude."  ''Literary Theory: An Introduction.''  1983

Revision as of 23:20, 8 May 2014

Verisimilitude is a philosophical concept that refers to characters or events in a story that appears to be life-like, or believable. This concept is achieved by a writer, or storyteller, when he presents striking details which lend an air of authenticity to a tale (Beckson)[1].

Verisimilitude (Example)

An example of the term, verisimilitude, would be if an author writes about a man who falls off a cliff and he dies, it is believable. It is logical that a person can believe an event or character in a fiction story is real so, a story can have a degree of verisimilitude in fiction stories as well as non-fiction stories, as long as the reader feels that it is real (Wheeler). Note that even fantasy novels and science fiction stories that discuss impossible events can have verisimilitude if the reader is able to read them with suspended disbelief (Eagleton)Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag

  • Cuddon, J.A. "Verisimilitude." The Penguin Dictionary Of Literary Terms and Literary Theory fourth edition. 1976,1977,1979,1991,1998.
  • Cuddon, J.A. Penguin Books, London. "Verisimilitude." Bibliography: A Dictionary of Literary Terms, 1977 [1]


  • Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. "Verisimilitude." Merriam-Webster's Encylopedia of Literature 1995


  • Mifflin, Houghton. "Verisimilitude." Webster’s II New College Dictionary. 2001,1999,1995
  1. 1.0 1.1 Beckson, Karl and Arthur Ganz. "Verisimiltude." Literary Terms: A Dictionary. 1975 [2]
  2. Harris, Robert. "Verisimilitude." A Glossary of Literary Terms. 22May1997.[3]
  3. Eagleton, Terry. "Verisimiltude." Literary Theory: An Introduction. 1983 [4]