M.A. (Information Science) / A need exists for criteria with which to evaluate formalistic popular fiction in the public library. The love story is one of the types of formalistic fiction which is very popular and which is found in great numbers in the collections of public libraries, but which is not bought in a responsible, professional way. Meaningful criteria for evaluating the love story cannot be developed without knowledge of the nature and characteristics of this type of story. This study examines the characteristics of formula fiction in general and of the formalistic love story in particular. Formula fiction is fiction written according to the requirements of specific formulae. Formula fiction can be regarded as a genre because it contains certain characteristics with a specific aesthetic impact, in accordance with the requirements of a genre. A fiction formula is a narrative structure which is used in a great number of individual works and which leads to the genesis of a story type. The most well-known story types or sub-genres of formula fiction which have originated in this way are love stories, science fiction, Wild West stories, espionage- and detective stories and social melodramas. "The most important characteristic of formula fiction which has been identified is that it is standardized. This standardization causes certain stereotypes to appear in formula fiction, namely stereotyped characters, themes and background and language usage. Each of the sub-genres of formula fiction, including the love story, has its own specific stereotyped characters, themes and background and language usage. The stereotypes existing within the love story are described extensively. The stereotypes in formula fiction acquire aesthetic impact when the author succeeds in adding a new element which regenerates the stereotype. The most important criterion for evaluating the formulistic love story is therefore the way in which stereotypes are handled in these stories. The formalistic nature of the love story is therefore accepted, but the regenerative handling of the formula must be evaluated in order to distinguish the better love story from the weaker one. Three love stories are evaluated to demonstrate how this criterion, namely the establishing of the extent of regeneration of stereotypes, can be applied to assess the merits of a love story. This study points out that the successful love story is the one in which the regeneration of stereotypes is done successfully. The use of this criterion for establishing the quality of individual love stories offers the opportunity for public libraries to decide in principle to include the popular love story in their collections, but to establish a responsible point of interception according to which the weak love story will not be bought.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:4573 |
| Date | 01 April 2014 |
| Creators | Janse van Vuren, Anette |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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