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bildungsroman
Sign in to saveAlso known as novel of formation, coming-of-age novel, coming-of-age fiction, apprenticeship novel, initiation story, coming-of-age story
In literary criticism, a Bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'education') and ('novel').
A Bildungsroman is a novel that follows a young person's psychological and moral development as they grow from childhood into adulthood. This genre matters because it explores the internal changes and life lessons that shape who we become, making it a powerful way to understand human maturation and self-discovery.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
15 sectionsContents
- Origin
- Plot outline
- Examples
- Precursors
- 16th century
- 17th century
- 18th century
- 19th century
- 20th century
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Bibliography
- Further reading
- External links
In literary criticism, a Bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'education') and ('novel').
==Origin== The term was coined in 1819 by philologist Johann Karl Simon Morgenstern in his university lectures, and was later famously reprised by Wilhelm Dilthey, who legitimized it in 1870 and popularized it in 1905. The genre is further characterized by a number of formal, topical, and thematic features. The term coming-of-age novel is sometimes used interchangeably with Bildungsroman, but its use is usually wider and less technical.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “bildungsroman” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.