Throughout history humankind has enjoyed various types of brief narratives: jests, anecdotes, studied digressions, short allegorical romances, moralizing fairy tales, short myths, and abbreviated historical legends. But although in this sense it may seem to be a uniquely modern genre, the fact is that short prose fiction is nearly as old as language itself. Despite its relatively limited scope, though, a short story is often judged by its ability to provide a “complete” or satisfying treatment of its characters and subject.īefore the 19th century the short story was not generally regarded as a distinct literary form. The form encourages economy of setting, concise narrative, and the omission of a complex plot character is disclosed in action and dramatic encounter but is seldom fully developed. The short story is usually concerned with a single effect conveyed in only one or a few significant episodes or scenes.

Short story, brief fictional prose narrative that is shorter than a novel and that usually deals with only a few characters. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!Īnalyze short fiction elements evidenced in “The Gift of the Magi,” “The Necklace,” and “The Magic Shop” See all videos for this article.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.

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