Verisimilitude in Realist Literature

A really big word used to describe “truth” in literature.

Definitions

• The faithful representation of reality.• The quality of seeming true, of

believability.• The action represented must be

convincing according to the reader’s knowledge.

Setting

• Does this work actually reflect the time period’s attitudes and historical facts?

Characterization

• Do the characters possess recognizable human qualities?

• Do the characters closely imitate real people in their speech, mannerisms, dress, and material possessions?

• How realistic is the character?• Are the actions/reactions of the

characters authentic?

Narrative

• Could this really happen? If not, is that the author’s point?• Is the outcome too predictable?• Does what is probable take

precedence over what is merely possible?

Verisimilitude in…

• Frederick Douglass’s My Bondage and My Freedom (p. 430)• Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at

Owl Creek Bridge” (p. 530)• Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”

(p. 550)• Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby”