See Also: short story(encyclopedia)
short story(dictionary)
sob story(dictionary)
story(2)(dictionary)
story(1)(dictionary)
Story(medicine)
story(dictionary)
mystery story(encyclopedia)
horror story(encyclopedia)
detective story(encyclopedia)

short story (sh)




Brief fictional prose narrative.

It usually presents a single significant episode or scene involving a limited number of characters. The form encourages economy of setting and concise narration; character is disclosed in action and dramatic encounter but seldom fully developed. A short story may concentrate on the creation of mood rather than the telling of a story. Despite numerous precedents, it emerged only in the 19th century as a distinct literary genre in the works of writers such as E.T.A. Hoffmann, Heinrich Kleist, Edgar Allan Poe, Prosper Merimee, Guy de Maupassant, and Anton Chekhov.