Literature By Formula

I remember that in my second lecture on Science (which I've mentioned a couple of times in my last few posts), I had occasion to talk about the science of literature. Famous fellows like Robert Graves and Joseph Campbell (and of course, their great thematic ancestor, Sir James Frazer) have of course attempted to codify the origins of human narrative in their own ways. You can also add to their number people such as Robert Heinlein of SF fame and many others.

But here is a summary of the various basic plots that a story can consist of, and what they might mean in terms of the seasons of a man's life, or the tone of it, or the politics of it. It makes for bitter-sweet reading, but also farce and beauty. Without further ado, I present to you...

Literary Formulae

Mar-Apr:

• Boy meets girl
• Spring
• Comedy
• Liberal-Conservative

This is the most innocent phase of the hero's life; it's all about beginnings, ideals, and youth.

May-Jun:

• Boy grows up
• Early Summer
• Comedy-Romance
• Conservative

This part is mostly innocent, but it's also the season in which things begin to get serious.

Jul-Aug:

• Boy goes questing
• Late Summer
• Romance
• Anarchistic

This is the phase in which things begin to turn, and the hero questions his identity and purpose.

Sep-Oct:

• Boy saves world
• Autumn
• Tragedy
• Anarchistic-Radical

This is when the hero discovers what he thinks his purpose is, and his ideals and ideas are tempered by bitter experience.

Nov-Dec:

• Boy comes home
• Early Winter
• Tragedy-Satire
• Radical

Of course, when the boy returns, he is not the same boy, and neither is his home the same home...

Jan-Feb:

• Boy grows old/dies
• Late Winter
• Satire
• Liberal

By this time, our boy has reached the point in what's left of his life at which he feels he can say anything and do anything.

(Sources: Campbell, Frye, Gellis, Heinlein, White et al)

There's an interesting afternote to all this. The infamous David Eddings was very frank about how his best-selling novels were written to prove that books could be written to a formula and make lots of money. To prove it, he wrote five fat books, then wrote the same thing again a different way, and made twice as much money. If you were one of those suckers who enjoyed the Belgariad and the Malloreon as much as I did, consider yourself a victim of literary science.