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Conte (literature)
Conte () is a literary genre of tales, often short, characterized by fantasy or wit. They were popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries until the genre became merged with the short story in the nineteenth century. Distinguishing contes from other literary genres is notoriously difficult due to the various meanings of the French term ' that span folktales, fairy tales, short stories, Oral tradition, oral tales, and fables. Definition Conte comes from the French language, French word , "to relate". The French term ''conte'' encompasses a wide range of narrative forms that are not limited to written accounts. No clear English equivalent for conte exists in English as it includes folktales, fairy tales, short stories, Oral tradition, oral tales, and to lesser extent fables. This makes conte notoriously difficult to define precisely. A conte is generally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. In this sense, contes can be called novellas. Contes are contrasted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conte Cruel
The conte cruel is, as ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'' by Brian Stableford states, a "short-story genre that takes its name from an 1883 collection by Villiers de l'Isle-Adam", although previous examples had been provided by such writers as Edgar Allan Poe. Some critics use the label to refer only to non-supernatural horror stories, especially those that have nasty climactic twists, but it is applicable to any story whose conclusion exploits the cruel aspects of the 'irony of fate.' The collection from which the short-story genre of the conte cruel takes its name is ''Contes cruels'' (1883, tr. ''Sardonic Tales'', 1927) by Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. Also taking its name from this collection is '' Contes cruels'' (''Cruel Tales''), a two-volume set of about 150 tales and short stories by the 19th-century French writer Octave Mirbeau, collected and edited by Pierre Michel and Jean-François Nivet and published in two volumes in 1990 by Librairie Séguier. Some noted writers in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flash Fiction
Flash fiction is a brief fictional narrative that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the For sale: baby shoes, never worn, six-word story; the 280-character story (also known as "twitterature"); the "dribble" (also known as the "minisaga", 50 words); the "drabble" (also known as "microfiction", 100 words); "sudden fiction" (up to 750 words); "flash fiction" (up to 1,000 words); and "microstory".Christopher Kasparek, "Two Micro-Stories by Bolesław Prus", ''The Polish Review'', 1995, no. 1, pp. 99-103. Some commentators have suggested that flash fiction possesses a unique literary quality in its ability to hint at or imply a larger story. History Flash fiction has roots going back to prehistory, recorded at origin of writing, including fables and parables, notably ''Aesop's Fables'' in the west, and Panchatantra and Jataka tales in India. Later examples include the tales of Nasreddin, and Zen koans such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drabble
A drabble is a short work of fiction of precisely one hundred words in length."Winners named in WLU drabble competition" , ''Waterloo Region Record'', October 1, 2011. The purpose of the drabble is brevity, testing the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in a confined space. History The concept is said to have originated in United Kingdom, UK science fiction fandom in the 1980s; the 100-word format was established by the Birmingham University SF Society, taking a term from Monty Python's 1971 ''Monty Python's Big Red Book, Big Red Book''. In the book, "Drabble" was described as a word game where the first participant to write a novel was the winner. In order to make the game possible in the real world, it was agre ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conte Cruel
The conte cruel is, as ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'' by Brian Stableford states, a "short-story genre that takes its name from an 1883 collection by Villiers de l'Isle-Adam", although previous examples had been provided by such writers as Edgar Allan Poe. Some critics use the label to refer only to non-supernatural horror stories, especially those that have nasty climactic twists, but it is applicable to any story whose conclusion exploits the cruel aspects of the 'irony of fate.' The collection from which the short-story genre of the conte cruel takes its name is ''Contes cruels'' (1883, tr. ''Sardonic Tales'', 1927) by Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. Also taking its name from this collection is '' Contes cruels'' (''Cruel Tales''), a two-volume set of about 150 tales and short stories by the 19th-century French writer Octave Mirbeau, collected and edited by Pierre Michel and Jean-François Nivet and published in two volumes in 1990 by Librairie Séguier. Some noted writers in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and genre-based anthologies.Chris Baldrick''The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms'' 3rd. ed (2008) Complete collections of works are often called " complete works" or "" (Latin equivalent). Etymology The word entered the English language in the 17th century, from the Greek word, ἀνθολογία (''anthologic'', literally "a collection of blossoms", from , ''ánthos'', flower), a reference to one of the earliest known anthologies, the ''Garland'' (, ''stéphanos''), the introduction to which compares each of its anthologized poets to a flower. That ''Garland'' by Meléagros of Gadara formed the kernel for what has become known as the Greek Anthology. '' Florilegium'', a Latin derivative for a collection of flowers, was used in mediev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lafcadio Hearn
was a Greek-born Irish and Japanese writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture and literature of Japan to the Western world. His writings offered unprecedented insight into Japanese culture, especially his collections of legends and ghost stories, such as '' Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things''. Before moving to Japan and becoming a Japanese citizen, he worked as a journalist in the United States, primarily in Cincinnati and New Orleans. His writings about New Orleans, based on his decade-long stay there, are also well-known. His home in Orleans Parish is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum is in Japan. Hearn was born on the Greek island of Lefkada but moved to Dublin, where he was abandoned first by his mother, then his father, and finally by his father's aunt (who had been appointed his official guardian). At the age of 19, he emigrated to the United States, where he found work as a newspape ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Conteuses
''Les conteuses'' were a group of French female authors active between 1690 and 1709 who wrote nearly two-thirds of the more than one hundred fairy tales published by French authors during this time. This group was composed of more than thirteen women, including Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy, Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier, Catherine Bernard, Henriette-Julie de Murat, Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force, and Catherine Durand. Although some speculation exists regarding their personal and professional relationships, these women maintained familiarity through their similar social statuses, frequent participation in French literary society, and interactions within their literature. History Some speculation exists regarding ''les conteuses’'' personal and professional relationships. The actual fairy tales written by the members of ''les conteuses'' are the most tangible sources of information regarding their lives. However, it is likely that these women were familiar, even simply by reputatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louise Bénédicte De Bourbon
Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon (8 November 167623 January 1753) was the daughter of Henri Jules, Prince of Condé, Henri Jules de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, and Anne Henriette of Bavaria. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, she was a ''Prince du Sang, princesse du sang''. Forced to marry the Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine, Duke of Maine, legitimised son of Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, she revelled in politics and the arts, and held a popular ''salon'' at the Hôtel Biron, Hôtel du Maine as well as at the Château de Sceaux. Biography Birth Louise Bénédicte was born on 8 November 1676 at the Odéon, Hôtel de Condé in Paris. She was the eighth child born to the then Duke and Duchess of Enghien. The name Bénédicte was added in honour of the child's maternal aunt, Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate, the Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg. She was brought up at the Hôtel de Condé with her many sisters and had to endure slave-like conditi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The White Bull
''The White Bull'' (original title in French: ''Le Taureau Blanc'') is a fable and a work of "'' contes philosophiques''", a philosophical novel, written by the Age of Enlightenment-era philosopher Voltaire. The story is based on the Greek tale of Europa and the bull, where the white bull is in fact the Greek god Zeus. The date the story was written is unknown but it was published between the years 1773 and 1774. Voltaire's work seems to be prophetic in nature because the story was published only fifteen years before the French Revolution, when beheadings became common. An English translation of the work, with a 144-page preface to the text, was produced by the philosopher and reformer Jeremy Bentham and published in London in 1774. Summary Chapter 1 ''How the Princess Amasidia met a bull'' ---- The story takes place in Ancient Egypt where Princess Amasidia, daughter to King Amasis, is walking along the Pelusium Way in the company of Old Mambres, who the king appointed to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
L'Ingénu
''L'Ingénu'' ( , , ), sometimes subtitled ''The Sincere Huron'' in English, is a satirical novella by the French philosopher Voltaire, published in 1767. Overview The work tells the story of a Huron "child of nature" who, after having crossed the Atlantic to England, crosses into Brittany, France, in the 1690s. Upon arrival, a prior notices depictions of his brother and sister-in-law, whom they deduce to be the Huron's parents – making him French; and he is christened Hercules de Kerkabon (''Hercule de Kerkabon''). Having grown up outside of European culture, he sees the world in a more 'natural' way, causing him to interpret things directly. He is unaware of what is customary, leading to comic misinterpretations. After reading the Bible, he feels he should be circumcised and calls upon a surgeon to perform the operation, which is stopped through the intervention of his 'family'. After his first confession, he tries to force the priest to confess as well since he inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zadig
''Zadig; or, The Book of Fate'' (; 1747) is a novella and work of philosophical fiction by the Enlightenment writer Voltaire. It tells the story of Zadig, a Zoroastrian philosopher in ancient Babylonia. The story of Zadig is a fictional story. Voltaire does not attempt any historical accuracy. The singular narrative and unique journey of Zadig still stands as a philosophical reference to “nothing is either good or bad without the comparison of one with the other.” It was originally published as ''Memnon'' in Amsterdam (with a false imprint of London given) and first issued under its more familiar title in 1748. The book makes use of the Persian tale '' The Three Princes of Serendip''. It is philosophical in nature, and presents human life as in the hands of a destiny beyond human control. Voltaire challenges religious and metaphysical orthodoxy with his presentation of the moral revolution taking place in Zadig himself. ''Zadig'' is one of Voltaire's most celebrated works ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
