What is a Novella?
Jul 24, 2022
Length
A Novella’s length varies from 17,500 to 40,000 words.
Type
A Novella is Narrative Prose Fiction.
Structure (Narrative and Story Development)
The Novella began in the Italian Literature of the early Renaissance (1300s), grew out of a tradition of medieval short narrative forms, and the form also flourished in Spain.
In the late 18th and early 19th century, writers fashioned this form into a literary genre, complete with its own rules.
Structure (Stylistic and Literary Purpose)
The Novella went through several phases before settling on its final literary genre:
- Written as Medieval Short Narrative Forms (Italy)
- More emphasis was given to the depiction of human character and social background (Spain)
- Flourished as a literary genre and focused on the realistic mode
Divergence
Despite its formal literary genre creation, the Novella garnered a different path in Germany:
- Ranges from a few pages to hundreds of pages
- Contain a concrete symbol, which is the narrative’s focal point
- Restricted to a single, suspenseful event, situation, or conflict leading to an unexpected turning point, provoking a logical, but surprising end
Issues
In the modern world, a Novella is often viewed as a short novel.