What is romance? Also define Narrative Verse?

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What is romance? Also define Narrative Verse?

1. Romance

A romance is a verse narrative which was popular in the ‘Middle Ages’. Romances were mainly in verse, but later they were written in prose as well. A romance is mainly about legendary, supernatural, or amorous subjects and characters.  The romance is a form of entertainment. The romance and the epic are similar forms, but epics tend to be longer and less concerned with courtly love. In this regards, Abrams (1993) writes, “The romance is distinguished from the epic in that it represents, not a heroic age of tribal wars but a courtly and chivalric age, often one of highly developed manners and civility”.

The characters of the romance are from the country world. The plot of the romance revolves around the “elements of fantasy, improbability, extravagance and naivety. It also suggests elements of love, adventure, the marvelous and the mythic.” Nowadays, romances are not composed.

1. Narrative verse?

A narrative verse is a poem that tells a story ballad, epic and material romance belong to this category of literary genre. The narrative verse exists in all literatures. However, Cuddon (1991) argues that there are a very large number of narrative poems which don’t fit into any of the above categories. Mathew Arnold’s Sohrab and Rustum and T.S. Eliot’s The Journey of the Magi are such poem. Chancer’s Conterbury Tales (1385-1400) is one of the outstanding narrative verse in English.

 

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