help with poe and bronte?

Question

I've noticed that in some things by Charlotte Bronte and Edgar Allen Poe the dates are hyphened... for example: "18--"

and also with the names of town like "----shire" or something like that. I was wondering why they do that?

Answer 1

This is a device to tell the reader, "I could tell you if I wanted..." It is meant to give greater reality to the story. "In 18--," something happened. You would know what it was if I told you when it was." (Oh My Goodness! This is a true tale!) Or, this happened in a certain shire, certain county, if I told you which, you'd know too much LOL!

In Russian novels, the author says, "Once upon a time in the city of N...," This does not mean Novgorod. Also, when Vladimir Ulianov adoped the revolutionay name, "N. Lenin," this does not mean that N. stood for Nikolai. It was rather like X. The name was Lenin.

Another such trick is that the story s not the author's own. Rather, the writer of the story found a manuscript of the story and now presents it to readers. One example is "Manuscript Found at Saragossa," written by Count Potocki in 1805-1820. Another is a parody written by Charles Dickens in "The Pickwick Papers."

Answer 2

It's because they don't want to give you too much information that everything is exact. They are telling a story but thry want the reader to be involved and that does it.

Answer 3

no