Prose Study Coursework: Five Victorian Short Stories

Prose Study Coursework: five Victorian short stories

Examine the settings the writers have chosen in 'The Man with the Twisted Lip', 'The Red Room', 'The Signalman', Napoleon and the Spectre', and 'The Old Nurse's Story'. How do the effects achieved by the writers contribute to the atmosphere of the stories?

Edgar Allan Poe was said to be the first to define a set of rules for short stories.

These were: "- It must create a single impression

- It should be capable of being read at a single setting

- Not a word must be irrelevant, for every word must contribute to the predesigned - total effect of the author

- Even the opening sentence must initiate this predesigned effect and be developed - unswervingly through the story

- When the author achieves the climax, the story should end, with no further - explanation or secondary effects

- Only characters that are absolutely essential to the predesigned effect should be - introduced, and these only developed to the extent required by the story".

I find these guidelines useful as this helps me determine what to look for and expect to find in a short story. Also this can help the author in many ways to construct their story in this genre. If the author follows these guidelines and by their own effects and techniques, they can achieve a successful and popular short story. The last rule of Poe's definition is that "only the characters are essential in the short story", but in the five short stories "The Man with the Twisted Lip" (by Arthur Conan- Doyle), "The Red Room" (by H.G.Wells), "The Signalman" (by Charles Dickens), "Napoleon and the Spectre" (by Charlotte Bronte) and "The Old Nurse's Story" (by Elizabeth Gaskell), the writers use the effect of atmospheric settings to achieve a climax in the story and keep the reader interested. It is vital that the author keeps the reader interested in these stories as they are short and must be capable of being read at one sitting, therefore the short story needs to be to the readers likeness and taste for it to be read. The five authors do this well by their own use of techniques.

Sir Arthur Conan- Doyle's technique in "The man with the Twisted Lip", is mainly focused on the setting of the opium dens, the characters (mainly Sherlock Holmes) and by his uses of language. Conan- Doyle was best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, the best known detective stories in literature and the embodiment of sharp reasons. Doyle himself was not a good example of rational personality as he believed in fairies and was interested in occultism, however he did write famous and successful short stories. After 1927 Doyle added to his collection of short stories about Sherlock Holmes, his favourite being " Silver Blaze" and "The adventure of the Bruce Parington Plans", however i an examining "The man with the Twisted Lip", of which came fourth favourite.

Conan- Doyle chooses to set the story in the lower class parts of London where the