Journalism

Journalism is the activity of collecting, writing and editing news stories for newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and so on.

It is usually addressed to a middle-class public and it has a moral aim, that is it wants to teach the reader something. It is also made to entertain, since in that period there was more money, and consequently more sparetime.

Journalism deals with subjects of general interest, and presents a clear and simple style, as the reading people aren't highly educated. Of course, it reflects the opinions and the beliefs of the century.

"The Spectator" and "The Tatler" were two of the most known periodicals, and they concerned literature, fashion, manners and history. The majority of the novelists of the time, such as Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe, started their careers as journalist.


The Novel

Prose  any literary form or expression that does not depend upon metrical versification.

Novel  a long fictitious prose work, in which characters and actions should give the impression of the actual life of past and present time, remaining within the limits of our common experience.

The main character of the novel is a enterprising hero, belonging to the middle class.

Since readers ask for a realistic type of fiction, the novel must present a well organized plot, a clear, simple and realistic style, and lifelike characters. There can be either a first-person or third-person narrator.

The main features of a novel are: