Talk:Romance

Romance

Romance is principally a form of entertainment. It is usually concerned with characters who live in a courlty world somewhat remote. This suggests elements of fantasy, improbality, extravagance and naviety. For the most part the term is used rather loosely to describe a narrative of heroic or spectacular achievement, of chivalry, of gallant love, of deeds of derring do.

The linguistic history of the word romance reflects a movement from the definite to the indefinite which illustrates the necessary diffusion which must accompany such linguistic longeviy.

Ther are two major types of the romance, which we call aristocratic and the popular. They call on the same themes and proprities but differ in scale. The aristocratic romance makes clear it descent from the epic; it is a large-scale work interweaving many narrative threads. The popular romance tends to lean towards simplicity and concentration, as in the ballad. It sets out to tell a story.

Works Cited

Cuddon, J.A. Dicionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory.

     New York: Penguin Group, 1999.

Fowler, Roger, eds. A Dictionary of Modern Critical Terms.

     London and New York, 1993.

Bear, Gillian. The Romance. Great Britain, 1970.