A Study of Novel as Genre in Terms of Genre Modification in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century

The article examines a genre of a short story and its genre modifications in literature with an anecdote, a legend and a fairy tale, an essay and a story. It is considered how a frivolous-erotic and anecdotal content of the early Italian Boccaccio short story defines compositional features of the genre. These are the brevity and the dynamics of the plot deployment, the lack of lyrical digressions, dialogues, descriptions, etc. The early short story is related to the comic in literature and it is close to a fable, an anecdote, a fabliau. The author traces the connection of the classical short story with such genres as a fairy tale, a legend. A romantic short story made a shift in the genre structure of the short story. It gains the element of fantastic story, magical bi-peace, and fatalism. The short story acquires the features of a hybrid genre that combines the features of a romantic fairy tale and a short story. In the post-romantic period, the structure of the short story is also changing, a little though, and in many respects retains its structural type. Further, in the article the short story’s connection to such genres as an essay and a story is examined.