|
Verisimilitude is the "lifelikeness" or believability of a work of fiction. The word comes from (ラテン語:verum) meaning truth and ''similis'' meaning similar.〔 Oxford English Dictionary Online, Second Edition 1989.〕 Language philosopher Steve Neale distinguishes between two types: cultural verisimilitude, meaning plausibility of the fictional work within the cultural and/or historical context of the real world, outside of the work; and generic verisimilitude, meaning plausibility of a fictional work within the bounds of its own genre (so that, for example, a character's regularly singing about her feelings is a believable action within the fictional universe of a musical).〔Hall, Stuart. ''(Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices )''. London: Sage in association with the Open University, 1997. p. 360.〕 ==Original roots== Verisimilitude has its roots in both the Platonic and Aristotelian dramatic theory of mimesis, the imitation or representation of nature. For a piece of art to hold significance or persuasion for an audience, according to Plato and Aristotle, it must have grounding in reality. This idea laid the foundation for the evolution of mimesis into verisimilitude in the Middle Ages particularly in Italian heroic poetry. During this time more attention was invested in pinning down fiction with theory. This shift manifested itself in increased focus on unity in. No matter how fictionalized the language of a poem might be, through verisimilitude, poets had the ability to present their works in a way that could still be believed in the real world. Verisimilitude at this time also became connected to another Aristotelian dramatic principle, decorum: the realistic union of style and subject. Poetic language of characters in a work of fiction as a result had to be appropriate in terms of the age, gender or race of the character.〔 Gordon Teskey: Renaissance Theory and Criticism. ''The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism'': Second Edition 2005.〕 This classical notion of verisimilitude focused on the role of the reader in his/her engagement in the fictional work of art. The goal of the novel therefore, as it became a more popular form of verisimilitude, was to instruct and offer a pleasurable experience to the reader. The novel had to facilitate the reader's willingness to suspend his/her disbelief, a phrase used originally by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.〔 Robert P. Ashley: What Makes a Good Novel. ''The English Journal''. Vol. 60, No. 5 (May 1971), pp. 596–598.〕 Verisimilitude became the means to accomplish this mindset. To promote the willing suspension of disbelief, a fictional text needed to have credibility. Anything physically possible in the worldview of the reader or humanity's experience was defined as credible. Through verisimilitude then, the reader was able to glean truth even in fiction because it would reflect realistic aspects of human life. Also in the original roots, people or characters may seem to act differently or strange. The original roots sounds like in a story a person may not change and stay the same but its the complete opposite. People usually do change. They can either change their emotions or their physical appearance. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Verisimilitude (fiction)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|