Question

Difficulty: HardTypes and Genres of Prose

Complete the passage below by identifying the correct prose subgenres based on their structural and thematic characteristics.

Answer:A prose narrative that self-consciously draws attention to its own artificiality and narrative construction is classified as 【metafiction】, whereas a prose work written explicitly to illustrate and promote a specific political, philosophical, or moral doctrine is known as a 【thesis novel】.

Answer

The first blank requires 'metafiction' (or 'metafictional narrative'), and the second blank requires 'thesis novel' (or 'roman à thèse').
Metafiction describes fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices and nature of fiction itself. A thesis novel (roman à thèse) is a didactic novel constructed specifically to illustrate and defend a particular ideological or philosophical argument.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the defining characteristics of the first blank's prompt.
The narrative self-consciously exposes its own artificiality, breaking the illusion of reality to reflect on the process of storytelling.
This structural technique defines metafiction.
2
Analyze the defining characteristics of the second blank's prompt.
The prose work is structured primarily as a vehicle for a specific philosophical, political, or moral argument.
Prose fiction designed predominantly to demonstrate an ideological stance is termed a thesis novel (or roman à thèse).

Key Concept

Distinguishing specialized prose subgenres by narrative self-reflexivity and ideological intent.
Rate this question