Prose Forms: Essay, Short Story and Novel
Prose Forms: Essay, Short Story and Novel
Prose literature supplies roughly eight questions and this topic gives two of them. The paper asks less about definitions and more about the first example of each form and its leading writers, so learn every form along with one name and one work attached to it.
The Major Prose Forms
| Form | Nature |
|---|---|
| Essay | the writer's ordered thought on a subject |
| Short story | one event, one effect, few characters |
| Novel | an extended narrative with many characters |
| Drama | written for performance |
| Criticism | the evaluation of literature |
| Biography and autobiography | an account of a life, one's own or another's |
Prose really developed only in the modern age, which is why Shukla also called that period the Gadya Kal. Before it, Hindi literature was written almost entirely in verse.
The Essay
Two kinds of essay are asked — vicharatmak, built on thought, and bhavatmak, built on feeling. Acharya Ramchandra Shukla's collection Chintamani is regarded as the highest example of the reflective essay in Hindi.
- Acharya Ramchandra Shukla — Chintamani, essays on feeling and the passions.
- Hazari Prasad Dwivedi — Ashok ke Phool, Kutaj; the tradition of the lalit essay.
- Balmukund Gupt — Shivshambhu ke Chitthe; largely satirical.
- Pratap Narayan Mishra — an essayist of the Bharatendu circle.
Short Story and Novel
A short story carries a single effect and can be read at one sitting; a novel gives an extended picture of life with many characters and sub-plots. That basic difference is what gets asked.
| Question | Generally accepted answer |
|---|---|
| First Hindi novel | Pariksha Guru — Lala Srinivas Das, 1882 |
| First Hindi short story | Indumati — Kishorilal Goswami, 1900 |
| First Hindi play | Nahush — Gopalchandra Giridhardas |
One caution is necessary. The first story and the first novel are both disputed — some historians name Ek Tokri Bhar Mitti as the first story and Bhagyavati as the first novel. The paper usually keeps the answers given above, but do not be startled if another name appears among the options.
✗ Historians agree on which is the first Hindi short story | ✓ It is disputed; Indumati is the most accepted answer but other names are also given
विधा पहचानने का सरल सूत्र: अभिनय के लिए है तो नाटक, एक ही घटना पर है तो कहानी, पूरा जीवन-चित्र है तो उपन्यास, और लेखक अपने विचार क्रम से रख रहा है तो निबंध।
TRE pointer: Pariksha Guru of 1882 and Indumati of 1900 are the answers asked most often, though both are disputed. The pair Chintamani by Shukla and Ashok ke Phool by Dwivedi is a settled question. That the modern age is also called the Gadya Kal is asked too.
60-Second Recap
- Prose developed in the modern age, which is why it is called the Gadya Kal.
- Essays are mainly of two kinds — reflective and emotive.
- Chintamani is a collection of essays by Acharya Ramchandra Shukla.
- Ashok ke Phool and Kutaj are essays by Hazari Prasad Dwivedi.
- Pariksha Guru of 1882 is taken as the first Hindi novel.
- Both the first story and the first novel are disputed questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the first Hindi novel?
The most widely accepted answer is Pariksha Guru by Lala Srinivas Das, published in 1882. Some historians name Bhagyavati by Shraddharam Phillauri instead. Examinations usually treat Pariksha Guru as the correct answer, but the dispute is worth knowing.
What is the basic difference between a story and a novel?
A short story turns on a single event, keeps its characters few and leaves one single impression. A novel gives an extended picture of life, carries many characters and sub-plots, and covers a longer span of time. That is the distinction the paper tests.
Whose work is Chintamani?
Acharya Ramchandra Shukla's. It is a collection of his essays and is regarded as the finest example of the reflective essay in Hindi. It gathers his essays on the passions such as fear, compassion, reverence and greed, which is what gives it its standing.
Why is the modern age called the Gadya Kal?
Because all the major prose forms — essay, short story, novel, drama and criticism — developed during it. Before this period Hindi literature was written almost entirely in verse, so Acharya Shukla gave the age this second name.