It began as a rephrasing of the word "history" as part of a feminist critique of traditional historiography, which they believe is traditionally published as "his tale," i.e., from the male perspective. The term "his story" came to be used as an alternative, more inclusive way to describe the historical record.
In 1997, Canadian scholar Beryl Smelcer began the first full-scale academic study of hisstory writing. She defined hisstory as "a transnational genre that shares characteristics of history and autobiography by telling the stories of individuals or groups of people over time." Hisstory writers often focus on marginalized subjects within history, such as women, minorities, refugees, aboriginals, and others who may not be included in conventional histories.
Hisstory writing has similarities with both history and autobiography. It is history because of its focus on important events in the lives of individuals or groups of people. It is autobiography because these events are often related in detail through interviews with contemporaries or secondary sources.
Smelcer argues that hisstory writing is a unique form that combines elements from both history and autobiography. It is written by individuals who are either excluded from or underrepresented in traditional histories. As a result, hisstory writers can offer new perspectives on past events because they have not been told before.
Historical fiction is described as films and books in which a tale is made up but is set in the past and occasionally borrows genuine qualities of the historical period in which it is set. A novel that tells the account of a genuine Civil War fight is an example of historical fiction. So, too, is a book about Napoleon Bonaparte written during World War II, when many people had both American and French flags in their homes.
The term "historical novel" is often used interchangeably with historical fiction, but this is incorrect. A historical novel is a novel that is set in history and may include actual events as background to the story, but it is not required to do so. For example, Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist is a historical novel because it is set in 18th-century England and includes characters such as Fagin and Bill Sikes, but it is also a story about poverty in 19th-century England after the Industrial Revolution. There are other examples of historical novels that are not necessarily historical fictions: George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra is a historical novel that features as its main character a young Julius Caesar who is killed in 44 BC; it was first published in 1923. It is set in Egypt at the time of Christ's birth and focuses on the political conflicts between Pompey, Caesar, and Augustus. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is another example of a historical novel that is not necessary a historical fiction.
The Greek term historia originally meant inquiry; both the process of seeking knowledge and the knowledge gained through enquiry. From there, it's only a short step to the descriptions of occurrences that a person can piece together as a result of their inquiries—what we would call tales. The first written account in English is credited to John George Hodson in 1614, but the word itself is derived from the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484-425 B.C.).
The great majority of memoirs, autobiographies, and personal histories are written in the past tense, in the "first person." It makes sense: you're narrating your own life tales about events in the past, so it feels more natural. However, even those who write in the third person often include some reference to "he" or "she" doing something. The reason for this is that even if you aren't present at an event, you can still refer to it as having happened by saying what "he" or "she" did or decided after it had occurred.
In other words, even if you are not one of the participants in a given incident, you can still write about it by referencing what others did or decided after the fact. For example, if I were to write an autobiography, I would likely mention things like what grade I got on my SAT test or which college I attended because these are facts that no one could ever guess based on how I feel about them now. Even though I was not there when they happened, these events have still marked me forever.
As another example, suppose that I were to write about my childhood. Even if I weren't alive when it happened, people would still want to know what kind of environment I was raised in, so I would need to reference other people's actions or decisions afterward.
A tale's point of view is the standpoint through which the story is told. Writers can narrate their stories from one of three perspectives: First-person: mostly "I" or "us" Third-person: primarily "he," "she," or "it," with knowledge that might be restricted (single character knowledge) or omniscient (all-knowing). Second-person: also called "voice" or "aspect." In fiction written in the second person, characters speak directly to the reader or audience. They use the word "you" and often address them by name.
First person: the narrator tells the story from his or her own perspective. This type of narrative voice is common in autobiographical works and other personal accounts. The first person also indicates that only the speaker is aware of certain facts about his or her life such as who else was present at important moments or how he or she feels about things.
Third person: the narrator describes events as if they were observing them rather than participating in them. This type of narrative voice is used for scenes where the author doesn't want to reveal too much about the protagonist's thoughts or feelings but still wants to give an overall picture of what's happening throughout the story. Examples include scenes in newspapers and magazines that don't need to identify each individual in order to tell the story effectively.
Second person: the narrator speaks directly to the reader or audience.
The MasterClass crew wrote this. When writing fiction, an author might transport the reader from the present plot to a previous era in the life of a character. A flashback is a storytelling device. An author may use it for several reasons: to reveal more information about a character or situation, to illuminate some aspect of the story, or to comment on events that have been overlooked or ignored by the main action.
The term "flashback" comes from the fact that these scenes are viewed retrospectively, as if seen through a mirror. The viewer sees what happened before they did, as if looking back at their own life.
In literature, a flashback is any scene or portion of a scene that takes place in the past but which the audience learns about through the mind or eyes of one of the characters present in the current scene or action. The classic literary flashback is probably found in James Joyce's Ulysses: Leopold and Molly Bloom drive through Dublin and discuss past events in their lives. Flashbacks can also occur within scenes, as when a character recalls an event that shaped their personality.
Flashbacks are often used by novelists to explain how someone came to possess an object that plays a significant role in the story; for example, a gun that features later in the narrative.
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