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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=Ref4/>. | |||
== 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)<ref name=Ref1/>. | |||
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)<ref name=Ref3/>. To say that a work has a high degree of verisimilitude means that the work is very realistic and believable--it is "true to life" (Harris)<ref name=Ref2/>. | |||
==The Problem With Verisimilitude== | |||
While verisimilitude is considered of a method of making an event or set of circumstances believable, with some magnification, there is a problem with the theory behind verisimilitude. The reader or viewer is given a set of circumstances that are plausible in that particular universe. The argument is that one false theory may be closer to reality than another. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Popper Karl Popper], famous for theories on verisimilitude, asks two important questions; | |||
"Can we explain how one theory can be closer to the truth, or has greater verisimilitude than another?" | |||
"Can we show that scientific change has sometimes led to theories which are closer to the truth than their predecessors?"<ref>http://philosophy.wisc.edu/forster/220/notes_10.html</ref> | |||
This question brings light to the reality of evolving scientific knowledge and truth. What may not be true today, may become a reality in the future. | |||
==Works Cited== | == Works Cited == | ||
*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 [http://www.senri.ed.jp/Departments/english/littrms.htm] | |||
*Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. "Verisimilitude." ''Merriam-Webster's Encylopedia of Literature'' 1995 | |||
* | *Mifflin, Houghton. "Verisimilitude." ''Webster’s II New College Dictionary.'' 2001,1999,1995 | ||
== References == | |||
<references> | |||
* | *<ref name=Ref1> Dr. L. Wheeler, Kip. "Verisimilitude." ''Literary Terms and Definitions:V.'' 1998-2003. <http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/faculty/wheeler/lit_terms_V.html> | ||
</ref> | |||
* | *<ref name=Ref2> Harris, Robert. "Verisimilitude." ''A Glossary of Literary Terms.'' 22May1997.[http://home.cfl.rr.com/eghsap/apterms.html] | ||
</ref> | |||
*Eagleton, Terry. "Verisimiltude." ''Literary Theory: An Introduction.'' 1983 | *<ref name=Ref3> Eagleton, Terry. "Verisimiltude." ''Literary Theory: An Introduction.'' 1983 | ||
[http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_V.html] | |||
</ref> | |||
*Beckson, Karl and Arthur Ganz. "Verisimiltude." ''Literary Terms: A Dictionary''. 1975 | *<ref name=Ref4> Beckson, Karl and Arthur Ganz. "Verisimiltude." ''Literary Terms: A Dictionary''. 1975 | ||
[http://www.masconomet.org/teachers/trevenen/litterms.htm] | |||
</ref> | |||