One app for all your study abroad needs
‘The Story’ is the sixth essay in the NCERT Class 11 English Woven Words textbook. Written by E.M. Forster, this essay explores the fundamental role of storytelling in novels, emphasising its primitive yet essential nature. Forster examines how the narrative of events in time sequence forms the backbone of all novels, while also reflecting on its limitations compared to the deeper values novels can convey. This blog provides a comprehensive summary, key highlights, themes, and critical points from the essay to aid students in effective revision. You can also download a free PDF for quick exam preparation.
Contents
Explore Notes of Class 11 English Woven Words
NCERT Notes Class 11 English Woven Words Essay 6: The Story
Here we provide the NCERT notes for Class 11 English Woven Words Essay 6: The Story, covering author insights, detailed summary, themes, and literary devices.
About the Author and Key Highlights
E.M. Forster, a renowned English novelist and critic, is known for works like A Passage to India and Howards End. In ‘The Story’, drawn from his Aspects of the Novel (Clark Lectures, 1927), Forster discusses the universal and fundamental role of storytelling in novels. He describes the story as a simple, time-based narrative that captivates readers through suspense, yet views it as a primitive form compared to the novel’s nobler aspects. The essay highlights the tension between the story’s basic appeal and the richer values a novel can offer, using the example of Scheherazade to illustrate the power of suspense.
Synopsis of the Essay
Forster begins by asserting that the novel’s core is its storytelling aspect, though different people respond to this in varied tones—some casually, some aggressively, and some, like Forster himself, with regret. He defines a story as a narrative of events arranged in time sequence, its sole merit being the ability to sustain curiosity about “what happens next.” Using the example of Scheherazade from One Thousand and One Nights, Forster shows how suspense is a powerful tool that kept her alive by captivating her audience. However, he considers the story a “low atavistic form,” like a tapeworm, essential but unrefined compared to the novel’s capacity to convey deeper values. He contrasts the time-bound nature of stories with life’s non-chronological aspects, such as intensity and value, and notes that while novelists can manipulate time (as in Wuthering Heights or Tristram Shandy), they cannot escape the story’s temporal framework.
Main Characters in the Essay
Understand the key figures who drive the narrative:
- E.M. Forster (Narrator): The reflective voice who analyses the role of the story in novels, expressing both respect for its necessity and regret for its dominance.
- Scheherazade: The legendary storyteller from One Thousand and One Nights, who uses suspense to survive by keeping her husband curious about what happens next.
- The Audience: Represents readers or listeners, from primitive Neanderthals to modern readers, driven by curiosity to know what happens next in a story.
Also Read: NCERT Notes Class 11 English Woven Words Chapter 7: Glory at Twilight (Free PDF)
Themes in the Essay
The essay explores several significant themes, explained below in simple terms:
- The Primacy of Storytelling: The story, as a time-based narrative, is the fundamental aspect of all novels, driven by the universal human curiosity for what happens next.
- Suspense as a Literary Tool: Suspense is the key mechanism that keeps audiences engaged, as exemplified by Scheherazade’s survival through storytelling.
- Limitations of the Story: The story is a primitive, “low atavistic” form, less admirable than the novel’s capacity to convey deeper values like truth or emotion.
- Time vs. Value in Life and Literature: While stories are bound by chronological time, life and novels also encompass non-temporal values like intensity, which transcend mere sequence.
- The Novel’s Dual Allegiance: A good novel balances the temporal narrative of the story with the deeper, value-driven aspects of life.
Literary Devices in the Essay
The narrator uses various literary devices to enhance the narrative:
- Contrast: Between the story’s simplicity and the novel’s complex values; between life in time and life by intensity.
- Metaphor: The story as a “backbone” or “tape-worm,” emphasising its essential yet unrefined nature.
- Allusion: References to Scheherazade and One Thousand and One Nights to illustrate the power of suspense in storytelling.
- Personification: The story as a living entity, like a wriggling worm, and the audience as primitive “shock-heads” around a campfire.
- Humour and Irony: Forster’s playful tone, such as his regretful “oh dear yes” and depiction of the aggressive golfer, adds a conversational lightness.
- Imagery: Vivid images like Neanderthals around a campfire or Scheherazade pausing at sunrise to sustain suspense.
Class 11 English Essay 6: The Story Summary
The essay The Story by E.M. Forster examines the essential role of storytelling in novels, describing it as both fundamental and limiting. Below is a detailed summary of the key points clearly and concisely:
The Universal Appeal of the Story
Forster begins by noting that the novel’s core is its storytelling aspect, though people respond differently—some casually, some enthusiastically, and some, like Forster, regretfully. He respects the casual reader, fears the aggressive one who demands only stories, and aligns with the regretful perspective that wishes novels could prioritise higher forms like truth or melody.
Defining the Story
A story is a narrative of events in time sequence, its only merit being its ability to make the audience want to know what happens next. Its only fault is failing to sustain that curiosity. Forster calls it the “highest factor common to all novels” but also the “lowest and simplest” literary form.
The Power of Suspense
Using Scheherazade from One Thousand and One Nights, Forster illustrates how suspense is the story’s key weapon. Scheherazade survived by keeping her husband curious, pausing her tales at sunrise to ensure he wanted more. This demonstrates the universal human desire for narrative continuation.
The Story’s Primitive Nature
Forster traces storytelling to prehistoric times, imagining Neanderthals listening to stories around a campfire, driven by suspense. He compares the story to a “tape-worm,” essential but unlovely, with arbitrary beginnings and ends, unlike the novel’s nobler aspects.
Time in Stories and Life
Stories are bound by time sequence (e.g., Tuesday follows Monday), mirroring daily life’s temporal structure. However, life also includes non-temporal “value” measured by intensity, not chronology. Novels must include time but can also convey value, unlike stories, which are solely time-bound.
Novelists and Time
While novelists like Emily Brontë, Laurence Sterne, or Marcel Proust manipulate time in their works, they cannot escape the story’s temporal framework. Without it, a novel becomes unintelligible, making the story an inescapable foundation.
From Aspects of the Novel
Forster notes that the essay comes from his informal 1927 Clark Lectures, retaining a conversational tone with words like “I,” “you,” and “of course” to reflect the novel’s colloquial nature and make its secrets accessible.
Moral of the Essay
Below are the key moral lessons from the essay:
- Storytelling is the essential foundation of all novels, driven by the universal human curiosity for what happens next.
- While suspense is a powerful tool, the story is a primitive form compared to the novel’s capacity to convey deeper truths and values.
- A good novel balances the temporal narrative of the story with the timeless, value-driven aspects of life.
- Novelists must adhere to the story’s time sequence, even if they manipulate it, to avoid becoming unintelligible.
Download more NCERT Solutions of Class 11 English ‘Woven Words’ here!
| Essay 1: My Watch |
| Essay 2: My Three Passions |
| Essay 3: Patterns of Creativity |
| Essay 4: Tribal Verse |
| Essay 5: What is a Good Book? |
Explore Notes of Other NCERT Class 11 Subjects
| Geography | History | Political Science | Psychology | Sociology |
FAQs
The essay argues that storytelling, defined as a narrative of events in time sequence, is the fundamental aspect of all novels, driven by suspense, but it is a primitive form compared to the novel’s deeper values.
He compares the story to a tapeworm to highlight its essential yet unrefined nature, with arbitrary beginnings and ends, running through novels as a basic, time-bound structure.
Scheherazade exemplifies the power of suspense in storytelling, surviving by keeping her husband curious about what happens next, showing how stories captivate audiences.
Life in time follows a chronological sequence, like stories, while life by values is measured by intensity and transcends time, a quality good novels incorporate alongside their stories.
For more topics, follow LeverageEdu NCERT Study Material today!
