ENGL 4310

Before we d0 a lot of research and discussion of the short story, I wanted, out of my own curiosity, to record how I have learned (I realize my own experience reading and taking lit classes etc. have shaped my understanding) to define the short story. When I think of defining the short story, I want to establish a basis for judgment according to the genres of poetry and the novel (have I just learned to do this?). I tend to compare these three not necessarily according to form, but from a personal experience of reading and writing.
First, poetry is such a precise means of communicating ideas, images, or some sort of story, theme etc. As a reader I know that every word is important and significant to the overall meaning of the poem., every word contributes. Novels are a much more relaxed form of writing and therefore language less qualifying. We are told a story, but there may be digressions that, though they may contribute to tone or mood of a particular moment or a character at a given point, it may not express an importance to the main themes etc. of the book. A short story falls somewhere in-between. Because it is much shorter, there is less room for unimportant or insignificant information. I have always understood that any image, character, scene, etc. is important to the whole of a short story. It is there for a reason and it creates an overall unity. I remember a teacher in one of my classes telling us to ask “why is that in there?” both when we write and when we read.
Because a short story is short, I’ve learned to pay closer attention to repetitions in words or phrase use, in colors or images. I’ve learned they are clues to help in understanding the story. These can be, but aren’t always, important in a novel and there is more room in a to deviate from the main ideas to form many more themes. I’ve learned to pay attention to the opening of stories. In a novel that first chapter can tell you a lot. In a short story that important set up for the story is compacted into a few paragraphs, so I always reread the opening as well as the ending few paragraphs. One teacher I had claimed that everything about the outcome of a short story was there somewhere in the opening few paragraphs. I think it could be a strong argument.
Well, that’s not much. I believe in stories for stories sake. I love them for pure entertainment, but I recognize that the more unified the elements, the more effective the story becomes and the more I enjoy rereading them. The more unified or “tight” they are I find that I learn more or see more in a reread as I recognize more fully those contributing elements.