# VII: Prophecy explained — Aspects of the Novel > Chapter companion for Aspects of the Novel by E. M. Forster. ## What happens Forster defines prophecy in the novel not as foretelling the future or moralizing, but as a distinctive tone of voice—a song that arises from the fiction, often breaking the furniture of common sense. He contrasts prophetic novelists (Dostoevsky, Melville, D. H. Lawrence, Emily Brontë) with non-prophetic ones (George Eliot, Hardy, Conrad, Joyce), emphasizing that prophecy demands humility and suspension of humor from the reader. Using Moby Dick as a central example, he explores how prophetic fiction flows athwart action and surface morality, offering a sense of unity and song rather than reflection or workmanlike construction. ## Themes in this chapter ### Fantasy and Prophecy Prophecy is defined as a tone of voice, distinct from fantasy; it demands humility and suspension of humor, and its face is toward unity. ### Art, Pattern, and Rhythm Prophetic fiction gives the sensation of song or sound; its roughness of surface becomes smooth after reading, akin to aesthetic pattern. ### Criticism and Pseudo-Scholarship Forster distinguishes between prophetic and non-prophetic novelists through close reading of passages, critiquing the limits of classification. ## Character check-ins ### Dostoevsky Contrasted with George Eliot as a prophetic novelist; his work reaches back to pity and love, exemplified by Mitya's 'bad dream'. ### George Eliot Non-prophetic novelist; her scene of Hetty in prison is compared to Dostoevsky's, showing similarity in theme but difference in prophetic voice. ### Herman Melville Central prophetic novelist; Moby Dick is analyzed for its prophetic song, the sermon on Jonah, and the friendship with Queequeg. ### Moby Dick The White Whale symbolizes evil; the book's prophetic song flows athwart action and surface morality, with no explicable solution. ### D. H. Lawrence Mentioned as a prophetic novelist; readers of Lawrence will understand the wrecked air of a novel after bardic influence. ### Emily Brontë Listed as one of four prophetic novelists, left to the last in the lecture. ## Key lines > Prophecy—in our sense—is a tone of voice. Forster redefines prophecy as a distinctive vocal quality in the novelist's writing, not as prediction or moral teaching. _Central definition of the chapter._ > The prophetic aspect demands two qualities: humility and the suspension of the sense of humour. Readers must approach prophetic fiction with humility and set aside their sense of humor to properly hear the prophet's voice. _Key reader requirement for engaging with prophetic novels._ > The essential in Moby Dick, its prophetic song, flows athwart the action and the surface morality like an undercurrent. It lies outside words. The deeper meaning of Moby Dick is not in its plot or moral lessons but in an underlying, wordless song that runs counter to the surface narrative. _Forster's interpretation of Melville's prophetic quality._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/chapters/vii-prophecy - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/chapters