Buku Ajar Prose
Buku Ajar Prose
Buku Ajar Prose
A. Definition of Prose.
The word ‘prose’ is a noun, it means written or spoken langauge that is not
in verse (Hornby, 1995: 931), In Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (2003:899), it is
stated that the word ‘prosa’ n Sas “karangan bebas (tidak terikat oleh kaidah yang
terdapat dalam puisi); seperti irama yang teratur, majas, rima, asonansi, disonansi,
dan citra”. In short, prose can be defined as a free literary writing, it is a spoken or
writen literary work in the form of fiction and non fiction of which does not
require any rhyme and rhythm as in poetry.
B. Division of Prose
Prose as a literary work is mainly divided into fiction and non fiction.
According to Cleanth Brooks, Jr., and Robert Penn Warren that fiction is a story, a
made-up story, about characters. They immediately realize that such a definition is
oversimplified because they believe that it would be necessarily complicated and
abstract. For this reason, they believe that it will be more fruitful to work toward
an understanding of fiction through an investigation of particular instances. Let us
try to see prose fiction from another point of view. In broad sense, prose fiction is
an imaginative literature; it is literature that is not intended to be, and is not
judged by the usual standard of truth and falsity. It is imaginative, in the sense that
it is a work of imagination, which is different from an essay, which is also prose
but it is not fiction.
In our discussion of elements of prose fiction in the following chapter, we
shall deal with literary truth which is different from historical or factual truth. It is
only necessary to underline here that prose fiction has its own standard of truth,
which can only be judged using all information contained in the fiction itself.
In the creative proses, a writer is stirred emotionally and intellectually by life,
or the external world. Life which stirs the writer, is anything outside and inside
himself: people, nature, man-made objects, other people’s ideas, knowledge, and
also his feeling and intellectual activities. Using his imagination, that particular
writer forms a concept (i.e., his theme or main idea), which finds its way through
into a definite form, using a certain structure. The form can be a poem, a play, or
prose fiction, and each of these forms has its own unique structure. A poem will
be in musical words written in lines or verse, and group into stanzas. A play will
be in a dialogue, a short story will require a character put in a system of action
which consists of beginning, middle, and end.
In narrower sense, prose fiction has five characteristics. First, it is fiction in
the broad literary sense, is something invented, so it is not the same as factual
truth. Second, it is non dramatic. Like drama, prose fiction may have dialogue as a
means of commuincation to convey the story and character; but unlike drama,
prose needs narration and description, while drama does not need narration and
description. Third, it is narrative as it tells a story. The narration is used to tell the
reader a story about a certain character in a certain setting (i.e. time and place),
doing or having certain experience, conflict or clash of action. Fourth, it is
descriptive.In telling the story the writer also uses description, of a character,
situation, place. The fifth or the last, it is prose. It is not written poetic style of
writing, e.g., in seperate lines, but it is frequently written by using poetic words or
phrases. It is uncommon practiced for a prose fiction writer to write in the langu-
age of poetry, but still, it is prose in form. In short, fiction is invented, it has a
dialogue, narration, and description.
Based on length, complexity of theme and development of character and
plot, prose fiction can be classified into the short story, novelette, novel, and the
romance. For example: Guy de Maupassant’s The Diamond Necklace (short
Story) Feanz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis (novelette), Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
is the example of novel.
Short Story
Definition
A short story typically takes the form of a brief fictional work, usually
written in prose. The earliest precursors to the short story can be found in the oral
storytelling tradition, as well as episodes from ancient Mediterranean epics, such
as 'The Epic of Gilgamesh' and Homer's 'Iliad'. Anecdotes, fables, fairy tales, and
parables are all examples of the oral storytelling tradition that helped to shape the
short story, such as 'The Painting of the Dog and His Reflection' from 'Aesop's
Fables'. In fact, 'Aesop's Fables', first collected in the 4th century B.C., may have
been the first anthology of short stories in Western literature. Over time, genres
and writers all around the world have influenced the development of the short
story. For example, Norse legends, Irish ballads, and Gothic ghost stories have all
played a major role in directing both its structure and subject matter. Let's take a
look at some of the major characteristics of the short story. (Instructor: Joshua
Wimmer:http://study.com. Diakses pada tanggal 2 Oktober 2016).
The short syory (sometimes spelled the short-story) is the essence of
economy consisting of approximately 2,000 words, but length is not the sole
criteria for a short story. Structurelly, the short story must contain itself with few
characters, few insidents, scenes, or episodes, few settings, and it takes place in a
brief span of time and it can develop only one or two characters with approaching
fullness. It is pressed for time.
Stylistically, the short story must make every word count and a short story
writer must always be aware of inconsistencies in style, tone, and point of view. It
is different from a novelist, he is not free to use different point of view in one
shorth story. The short story must strive to achieve modest effects – usually a
single effect, it has “neither the resources nor the time to achieve anything more”
(Steinman, and Willen, 1967:120).
The short story writers agree in making every word in the story count. Allan
Poe in his review of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Twice-Told Tales published in
Graham’s Magazine, May 1842 (republished in What is the Short Story, eds.
Eugene Current-Garcia and Walton R. Patrick, 1961:5) wrote: “In the whole
compositin there should be no word written, of which the tendency, direct or
indirect, is not to the one pre-established design.” He seems quite aware of the
economy of word in the story, so that no word having no relation to thr story can
be printed in the stroy. In other words, if by deleting a word or phrase from the
story is still maintains the desired effect, that articular word or phrase is counted
as redundant. Concerning the use of different points of view in a single short tory
there seems to be some disagreements.
Ernest Hemingway in The snows of Kalimanjaro uses a combintion of a
third and first person points of view, sometimes referring to “he” or “she”, but
once or twice uses “we”. (Adopted from The Anatomy of Prose Fiction by
Koesnosoebroto, 1988, Dikbud, Jakarta).
The Necklace
Guy de Maupassant, who was well known for his twist endings, crafted 'The
Necklace', which tracks the troubles of a materialistic young woman who must
replace a priceless piece of jewelry. Inspired by the literary realism of Gogol, Guy
de Maupassant published this short story in 1884.
Summary
A short story is a brief work of fiction, usually written in prose and running
1,600 to 20,000 words in length. The literary roots of the short story can be found
in oral storytelling traditions, such as anecdotes, fables, fairy tales, and
parables.
The German 'novellen' and the Russian 'povest' are also forms of the short
story. Key characteristics of the short story include its length, limited number of
characters, subject matter, and tendency to begin 'in medias res', which is
Latin for 'the middle of things.'
Famous American short stories include 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' by
Washington Irving, 'The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calveras County' by
Mark Twain, and 'The Gift of the Magi' by O. Henry.
O. Henry' was inspired by French author Guy de Maupassant, who wrote
'The Necklace'. Many short story writers also find inspiration from Nikolai
Gogol's 'The Necklace.'
We have already discussed that the difference between a short story and a
novel is in kind, noort not in length. A short novel is called a novella or novelette,
and never becomes a long short story. It is in this light that we discussed the
novelette and the novel under the same heading, because the principles applied to
the novel will work also for the novelette.
The length of a novella or novelette is between 18,000 to 40,000 words. As
the novelette is longer than a short story, it can accomodate further development
of character (s), and can have insidents, scenes, or episodes, more settings, and
can take place in a longer s pan of time. It is these characteristics which
distinguish a novelette from a short story, not merely their difference in length. A
short story may be long but still, it has to follow the principles laid down about
being a good one, i.e., its singleness of effect, its single predominant insident, and
a single chief character.
The full length novel may consist of over 100,000 words, contains a number
of characters – some of them are fully developed, have more insidents, scenes, or
episodes, have a number of settings, and may take place in a long span of time. It
may have more than one theme, may have both minor and major crises (conflicts),
and climaxes.
The length of a novel perhaps required for multiple structure. It gives space
to several protagonists and more characters , both round and flat. Thre may be
plots and counterplots and subplots, stories outside the main story, often arranded
for contrast or ironic comment. Besides, it has more space for social and historical
complexity, more psychological backgrounds of characters, motive, and choice. In
short, the length of a novel is one aspect that makes it different from the short
story.
Another great difference between the short story and the novel lies in the
fact that the novel must be a love story, while the short story does not deal with
love at all. However, this perhaps, no longer true as we can read varios themes in
the novel. In conclusion that the short story and the novel are not only different in
lenght, but also in kind, the number of characters and incidents, etc.
Prose is spoken or written language that is different from verse or poetry. In a
broad sense, prose fiction is an imaginative literature; it is literature that is not
intended to be judged by the usual standards of truth. It is imaginative, in the
sense that it is a work of imagination, which is different from an essay, which is
also prose, but it is not fiction. Prose is mainly divided into fiction and non-
fiction. Fiction consists of Romance, Novel, novelette, and short story. As a
literary work novel comes later than poem and drama. Novel derives from the
Greek word, means ‘new’. As a literary work, novel is an invented story in prose,
long enough to fill a complete book. The first English novels are: 1. Robinson
Crusoe by Daniel Defoe published in 1719 (8th century). 2. Mall Flanders by
Daniel Defoe (1722). 3. Pamela by Samuel Richardson (1740-1741). 4. Henry
Fielding by Joseph Andrew (1742). 5. Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (1748),
6. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (1749), and 7. Tristrane Shandy by Laurence
Sterne (1760).
According to the history of the English literature, there are two different
opinions on the first English novel. Some people say that Pamela written by
Samuel Richardson in 1740 is considered the first English novel. This novel
comprises 4 volumes and it was successively published between 1740 and 1741.
This work tells about a maid who gets temptation from her master, while other
says that the first English novel is Robinson Crusoe written by Daniel Defoe
which was published in 1719 (Peck and Coyle,1984:102). This novel tells about a
man (a sailor) who is grounded alone on a desert island at the Pacific Ocean. The
only way that the readers can use to decide which one of these novels is older to
see the year of publication. Based on the year of, it is apparent that the first
English novel is Robinson Crusoe as it was first published in 1719 while Pamela
in 1740-1741.
In a narrower sense, prose fiction has five characteristics. First, in the broad
literary sense, it is invented. For exmple: Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crosoe,
Charlotte Bronter’s Jane Eyre, E. M. Foster’s A Passage to India, Samuel
Richardson’s Pamela; Indonesian literary works, such as Hamka’s Atheis,
Tenggelamnya Kapal Vaderwiek, Marah Rusli’s Sitti Nurbaya, Abdul Muis’s
Salah Asuhan, Habibie’s Habibie Ainun, etc. Fiction is something invented, so it is
not the same as factual truth. Second, it is non dramatic. Like drama, prose fiction
may have dialogue as a means of communication to convey the story and
character; but unlike drama, it also has narration and description. In drama there is
no need for narration. Third, it is narrative, it tells a story. The narration is used to
tell the reader a story about a certain character in a certain setting (time and
place), doing or having experience, conflict or clash of action. Fourth, it is
descriptive. In telling the story, the writer uses description of character, situation
and place. The last or the fifth, it is prose in the sense that it is not written in
poetic style of writing, e.g., in a separate line, but it is frequently written using
poetic words or phrases. It is not practiced for a prose fiction writer to write in the
language of poetry, but still in a prose form. Thus, a prose fiction is prose,
invented, has a dialogue, narration and description.
Please be in my imagination
CLIMAX Titik kulminasi
Complication Resolusion
Complication
Points of attack
INTRODUCTION CONCLUSION
Beginning
It is certainly true that every story must have a beginning, in the sense of a
first sentence with a capital letter, but the beginning of a modern literary story is
not likely to do all the things that the book on writing say abeginning ought to do.
From The diamond Necklace by Guy de Maupassant we can read:
The girl was one of those pretty and charming young cretures who
sometimes are born, as if by a slip of fate, into a family of clerks. She has no
dowry, no expectations, no way of being known, understood, loved, married by
any rich and distinguished man; so left herself be married to a little clerk of the
Ministry of Public Instruction.
The two sentences at the beginning of the story prrovide an initiation, an
introduction into the situation and character, and reading this we already suspect
that something unpleasant to the main character will happen. The reader can feel
that the girl, not yet introduced by name, is mistakenly misplace by fate, into gthe
wrong society, the wrong circle of unwealthy people. Being such unfortunate, she
married a minor civil servant at the Ministry of Education. This adds to the unfor-
tunate condition of the character.
According to Robert C. Mereith in his book The Professuonal Story Writer
and His Art that there are requirements or aims for the beginning of the story:
1. The beginning must be placed in time as close to the ending as ;possible.
Like the beginning in medias res of the epic, the formula story commences
either with a full – nblown complication or with minor problem that swiftly leads
to a major complication, so that the reader may grasp immediately that something
exciting is at issue. This method exploits the dramatic interest of the story in order
to wrap up the reader’s curiosity and to present simply and and cogently to him
the nature of the dilemma.
2. If the complication itself is not immediately presented, a minor problem
leading the complication must be given.
The structure of the short story is very much like a funnel. At the opening of
the funnel, there is reatively large space for the volume of liqid to move about in.
But very quickly, the walls of the funnel narrow, and the liquid, if it is not to spill
over, must rush through the constriction. So with the beginning of the short story,
very rapidly the reader’s interest be brought to flow in a narrow and tightly
directed channel, so that it will have an aim and focus.
3. The scene must be set.
The story writer may have airy fancies at the back of his mind, but he will
cheat the reader by not placing him in some time – conditioned, concrete reality.
The reader must know where he is when the story commences.
Middle
“Complication” and “development” are two terms related to the role of the
middle of the story. As we have already mentioned before, terms used in the
theory of prose fiction are mostly inherited from the theory of drama, so is the
term “com- pliction,” and this term is used here to refer to the plot, not to the
theme. In a short story, unlike in a novel the term has little relevance, because the
plot of the short story is seldom complicated, and it certainly should not!
According to Aristotle, ‘ complication’ is all from the beginning of the story
gto the point just before the change of the hero’s fortune. From this alone we are
convincedterm is better applied to drama, as it relly intended to be We can find
evidence from a diagram proposed by a German novelist conc erning the pattern
of of risi ng and falling action in a play.
For the middle, Meredith (1963:32ff) proposes four requirements:
1. The middle must be given the background of the circumstances that produced
the complication.
If vthe reader considers even momentarily what has been said, this
prescription will make immediate sense. One of the most obvious questions to
occur after the presentation of the minor or major complicaion is what produced
the situation in the first place. We normally demand satisfaction in terms of the
historical or causative elements of an event. That is whenever the circumtance
occurs that requires somekind of solution, we normally question how this
happened. A causal connection, as weentioned before, is required.
The most important principle in presenting background material is to let
trickle through into tye present action, keeping the reader’s eye mainly on the
development of present events within the story, and citing the past only as events
In the past clrify, illuminate, and put into relief what is of present significance. A
story that is told mainly in the past perfect tense can hardly be said to have
movement.
2. The middle must present a series of efforts (usually three) in which the
protagonist attempts to solve the complication only to meet with failure.
We shall see in the outlining a complication, this tep required by the formula
story is always omitted. The writer will have to create these attempts when he
fuses his own outline to the steps of the formula plot. It is worth to underline here
that this step is essential one in the formula story since each successive attempt of
the protagonist to slove his complication, if the writer hendles it with skill and
originality, will more and more move the reader into an impasse. When the reader
gives up and imagines that no means exists by which the protagonist can extricate
hbimself from his difficulty, then the sucessful solution, which the reader will
come to see as truly “right”, will suprise and delight him. He will feel convinced
that it is the only way the story could hace ended.
KINDS OF PLOT
1. PLOTS OF FORTUNE COMPRISES:
a) The action plot. This is considered the most common, and the sole interest
in what happens next. This resembles the idea of plot which Foster called
plot in apposition to character.
b) The pathetic plot. There is a sympathetic protagonist who undergoes
misfortune through no particular fault of his own, and hence this type is
primarily a plot of suffering. Such as plot seems a favourite of those modern
or postmodern works concerned with the antiheroic, such as Tess of the
d’Urbevilles, The Three Sisters, Death of a aslesman, A Streetcar Named
Desire, From Hete to Eternity, A Fafrewell to Arms, where a brooding sense
of human frailty and futility pervades the whole, leaving one with a feeling
of pity, sorrow, and loss in the face of the inscrutable steamroller of
circumstances crushing the mewling kitten of human hopes.
c) The Tragic Plot.
If a sympathetic protagonist has also strength of will in adition to a certain
degree of sophistication or ability to change his thought, his responsibilty
for what he does or causes to happen may be correspondingly greater, and
hence our satisfaction in his downfall is thereby made clearer. When such a
man suffers misfortune, part or all of which he is responsible for through
some serious mistake or error in judgement on his part, and subsequently
discovers his error too late, we have the tragic plot. Examples of famous
plays having tragic plot are Oedipus the king, Antigone, Othello, Hamlet,
King lear, and Julis Caesar.
d) The Punitive Plot. Here we a protaginist whose character is essentially
unsympathetic in that his goals and his purposes are repugnant, yet who may
perhaps be admirable for his strength of will and intelletual sophistication,
suffering well- deserved misfortune. This typical of the satanic or
machiavellian hero- Villain close to the hearts of the Elizabethan and
Jacobean writers, as in Doctor Faustus and The duchess of Malfi.
e) The Sentimental Plot. Coming now to those plots in which the change in
start with a protagonist who was at one time sympathetic and full of
ambition, and subject him to some crucial loss which results in his utter
disillusionment. He then has to choose between picking up the threads of his
life and starting over again, or giving up his goals and ambitions altogether,
or it may be as in The Immoralis, he may end midway between these two
alternatives, not knowing what to do next. Chekov seems to have been
obsessed with the problem with how a person can live after all his ideals,
hopes, and goals have been shattered, but the most frequently had his
protagonists choose the latter course, as in Ivanov and The Seagull.
PLOT OF THOUGHT
a) The Education Plot.
The most common type involves a change in thought for the better in terms
of the protagonist’s conceptions, beliefs, and attitudes. It resembles the
maturingplot in that his thought at the outset is somehow inadequate and is then
improved but it doesn’t continue 0n to demonstrate or comfirm the effects of his
benefcialchange on his behaviour. This inadequacy may be either sophisticated or
naive. The examples of the former are All the King’s Men and The Confiden tial
Agent, the latter are The Death of Ivan Illich by Leo Tolstoy.
Types of Character
The characters in a narrative works comprise some types such as flat and
round characters. According to E.M. Foster (1985), the English novelist, in
his Aspects of the Novel that the flat character is built around “a single idea or
quality” and it is presented in outline and without much individualizing detail,
and so can be fairly adequately decribed in a single phase or sentence. A flat
character is charac terized by one or two traits.
Definition
A short story typically takes the form of a brief fictional work, usually written in
prose. The earliest precursors to the short story can be found in the oral
storytelling tradition, as well as episodes from ancient Mediterranean epics, such
as 'The Epic of Gilgamesh' and Homer's 'Iliad'.
Anecdotes, fables, fairy tales, and parables are all examples of the oral
storytelling tradition that helped to shape the short story, such as 'The Painting of
the Dog and His Reflection' from 'Aesop's Fables'. In fact, 'Aesop's Fables', first
collected in the 4th century B.C., may have been the first anthology of short
stories in Western literature.
Over time, genres and writers all around the world have influenced the
development of the short story. For example, Norse legends, Irish ballads, and
Gothic ghost stories have all played a major role in directing both its structure and
subject matter. Let's take a look at some of the major characteristics of the short
story.
Characteristics
Although authors and critics have debated the length of the short story throughout
literary history, most agree on a minimum of 1,600 and a maximum of 20,000
words. In his own contribution to the debate, Edgar Allen Poe suggested that a
short story should take 30 minutes to two hours to read.
'In medias res': Short stories usually take place in a single setting and begin 'in
medias res', which means 'into the middle of things' in Latin.
In general, short stories tend to begin and end abruptly, with little to no prior
information and no major lapses in time. As they involve just one plot line and are
limited in word length, there is little room or need for the extended developments
we frequently find in novels.
Limited number of characters: Due to the limitations of the genre, short stories
typically focus on just one or a couple characters.
As short stories usually cover such brief periods of time, even a single character
may never be fully developed. However, historical examples, like some of
Geoffrey Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales,' may find interesting ways of involving
many different people, as we'll discuss next.
Examples
'Canterbury Tales'
Geoffrey Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' may very well be the first collection of
short stories in English literature. Composed in Middle-English verse or prose and
written in the early 14th century, Chaucer's collection revolves around a
storytelling contest among pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.
'The Overcoat'
The Russian form of the short story, or povest, helped revolutionize the genre
worldwide. Written by Nikolai Gogol in 1842, 'The Overcoat' concerns a poor
clerk, whose successful efforts to buy a new winter coat eventually lead to the loss
of a costly possession and his death. In its celebration of remarkably ordinary
people, places, and things, as well as its contribution to literary realism, 'The
Overcoat' stands out in the history of the short story. In fact, Gogol's work was so
influential that his fellow Russian author, Ivan Turgenev, once claimed that: 'We
have all come out from under his overcoat'.
'The Necklace'
Guy de Maupassant, who was well known for his twist endings, crafted 'The
Necklace', which tracks the troubles of a materialistic young woman who must
replace a priceless piece of jewelry. Inspired by the literary realism of Gogol, Guy
de Maupassant published this short story in 1884.
'The Gift of the Magi' by O. Henry, a classic short story about a devoted husband
and wife, was published just in time for Christmas in 1905. Like Guy de
Maupassant, this American author was known for his surprise endings. In 'The
Gift of the Magi', the husband sells his watch so he can buy his wife a comb, and
his wife cuts and sells her long hair so she can buy him a watch chain - gifts
neither of them can use at the end of the story.
Today, one of the greatest honors a short story writer can receive is the O. Henry
Award.
Lesson Summary
A short story is a brief work of fiction, usually written in prose and running 1,600
to 20,000 words in length.
The literary roots of the short story can be found in oral storytelling traditions,
such as anecdotes, fables, fairy tales, and parables.
The German 'novellen' and the Russian 'povest' are also forms of the short story.
Key characteristics of the short story include its length, limited number of
characters, subject matter, and tendency to begin 'in medias res', which is
Latin for 'the middle of things.'
O. Henry' was inspired by French author Guy de Maupassant, who wrote 'The
Necklace'. Many short story writers also find inspiration from Nikolai Gogol's
'The Necklace.'
The following are interesting examples of a short story: Guy de Maupassant’s The
Diamond Neclace which has shocking surprise. Franz Kafka’s The
Metamorphosis is a good example of a novelette. Lord Jim is an example of a
novel which set in Indonesia, written by Joseph Conrad.