Talk:Bildungsroman

Capitalization

Why is the word inconsistently capitalized? Should it be capitalized or not? I don't think it should be, but I'm not sure. Spectralancer (talk) 04:38, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

It should not be, per MOS:CAPS. ENeville (talk) 18:50, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

It is capitalized by the Oxford English Dictionary. See: . 32.218.33.5 (talk) 04:45, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

The link leads to: "the book is a bildungsroman of sorts". This seems to be US usage (see link address above) and "The word Bildungsroman is typically capitalized because of its German origin (in German, all nouns are capitalized)"(). The full OED online, that I accessed from a Canadian university library, capitalizes the word. Rwood128 (talk) 00:32, 1 February 2020 (UTC)

How the word is capitalized in German (and the spelling of its plural) is not relevant to this page on English Wikipedia. It is common for English words that were taken from other languages to not follow all the grammatical and other rules of their parent language. The Encyclopaedia Britannica does not capitalize it, nor does the American dictionary Merriam-Webster. Also crucially, the relevant Wikipedia guideline specifies that literary genres are not capitalized. --Noren (talk) 23:54, 14 March 2023 (UTC)

Borrowed words, follow the origin grammar. Denarius and denarii, for example. Antenna, antennae. Have you ever seen "Doppelgänger" NOT capitalised? 185.85.154.91 (talk) 17:33, 24 July 2025 (UTC)

Harry Potter

Really? REALLY??? I think every example in that list that isn't cited should be removed.69.250.117.1 (talk) 19:35, 31 October 2009 (UTC)

I don't see what the problem is, Harry Potter fits perfectly in with most all the listed characteristics listed. Sherick (talk) 05:04, 5 December 2009 (UTC)

Definitely not. Harry Potter is about children. 185.85.154.91 (talk) 17:34, 24 July 2025 (UTC)

I agree with those questioning the inclusion of Harry Potter. The character goes through several years at a school, true--but what 'growth' does he go through other than the physical? He knows more magic spells at the end than in the beginning, but what's different about his values or character? Another point (not Potter-related, but I didn't want to begin a new section): I'm surprised that the page uses "Tom Sawyer" instead of "Huckleberry Finn," particularly given that the specific features mentioned in that section appear to describe the latter novel more closely.Gheelnory (talk) 01:26, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

In Harry Potter, Harry changes significantly from the Philosopher's Stone to the Deathly Hallows. It seems impossible to think that anyone would ever consider the idea that Harry Potter is not an example of the Bildungsroman. One very clear example of this is his journey with death. At the end of the Deathly Hallows he realises that everything he has done in destroying the horcruxes has been in vain. He has gotten Voldemort closer to death, however he realises that he must die in order for Voldemort to die. There is a very significant growth in character if you look at the moments when he realises he has to die, where he realises that he is not supposed to fight death any longer, he's supposed to embrace it. Then if you look at after he has spoken with Dumbledore and has come back alive again, his whole way of thinking has changed. Instead of fearing death, he realises there is far worse in this world than dying. This is just one example of many throughout the books. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.226.139.28 (talk) 07:52, 13 September 2016 (UTC)

Precursors

Including Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as a precursor makes no sense whatsoever. If somebody wants to make the case for this, they need to reference a secondary author who claims that it is a precursor. On the surface of it, it bears no similarities to the genre, being a single year in the life of an adult. Martin Turner (talk) 09:57, 4 May 2025 (UTC)