Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway: A Study In The Tension Of Life

The word ‘novel’ as a literary term, connoting a literary genre in
English, has its origin in the 18th century. Earlier than this, however, Chaucer and Bunyan told stories using characters as vehicles to propagate morals. But Chaucer told his stories in verse, and Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress is a mere record of many adventures which the hero takes with utmost divine virtues and
magic powers. It appears more like a fantastic story than a novel.One important thing, which stands out prominently in the history of the English novel, is its immense popularity in the 20th century. It has eclipsed the poetry and the drama, it is the only literary form which has competed successfully with the radio and the cinema, and it is in this genre that work of the greatest merit is being produced. Compression is the best characteristic feature both of the poetry and the drama, the modern man is under the influence of science requires more discussion, detail clarification, explanation and analysis. This is possible only in the novel and hence the preference for it.