Literary Genres Flashcards
Genres
Different ways literature s packaged and presented to readers
Stream of consciousness
Describes thoughts in the minds of the characters using words
Soliloquy
Dramatic speech where the character talks to themself allowing the audience to overhear and judge their state of mind
Satire
Uses sarcasm to show foolishness in society or politics example is The Daily Show
Paradox
A statement whose two parts seem contradictory but upon further review they make sense and convey a deeper truth. Example: think of paradoxical commandments
Deus ex machina
an outside force swooping into a play, movie, or novel to neatly tie up the plot, resolve conflict, and generally save the day.
Absurdist Fiction
- Play or novel that presents humanities plight at meaningless and without purpose.
- Reaction against war (because of 20th century where you have WWI), society and stresses of modern life
Writers:
- Samuel Beckett = Waiting for Godot
- Joseph Heller = Catch 22
Allegory
A literary device in which a piece has a 2nd meaning on top of its overt (obvious) story. Characters represent human qualities (aka personification)
Writers:
- John Bunyan = Pilgrim’s Progress
- CS Lewis = The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe
- George Orwell = Animal Farm
Ballad
- Songlike poems that tell a story
- Has refrains (repeated line/s)
- Most in iambic form
- Very popular in Europe during Middle Ages
- Murders, revenge, and violence
Writers:
1. Rudy Kipling
Comic Novel
- Feature of British/American Lit
- Seeks to amuse the reader with larger than life characters and outlandish events
Writers:
- Evelyn Waugh
- PG Wodehouse
- Mark Twain
Dystopia
- Narrative that depicts an anti utopia
- Totalitarian government
Writers:
- Huxley = Brave New World
- Zamy = We
- Orwell = 1984
Epic
- Long narrative poetic work popular by Homer during Ancient Greek and Classical Greek literature.
- Has gods that get in the middle of human problems like in the Illiad
- Most were performed oral until they were able to be written down
Epistolary Novels
- Letters, diaries, and journal entries
Fables
- A tale that provides a moral lesson
2. Features animals with human characteristics
Fairy Tale
- Story has fantasy characters from folklore
2. Begins with once upon a time and ends happily ever after
Fantasy
Blends historical materials with invented elements like wizards with magical powers, or dragons and unicorns. Think of Lord of the Rings
Farce
A comedy that makes use of highly exaggerated/funny situations
Legend
Traditional story that has become part of experience of a nation, ethnic group or culture
Lyric Poem
Brief poem in verse and addresses the reader directly and expresses the poet’s feelings
Myth
myth is a story which is not true and involves supernatural beings - or at any rare supra-human beings, always concerned with creation, embodies feeling and concept
Parody
Imitate another author’s style or imitate another genre in order to make fun of it and mock its conventions. Example: Marlon Wayne’s a Scary Movie series
Poetic Forms
- Lyric
- Haiku
- Limerick
- Ode
- Pastoral
- Sonnet
- Triolet
- Villanelle
LL HOPS inside TV
Haiku Poem
Traditional form of Japanese poetry. Sometimes includes a seasonal word/image to compare two things. Has 3 lines, first two have 5 syllables and middle has 7
How to remember it:
I am first with five
Then seven in the middle
Five again to end
Limerick Poem
Comedic poem with 5 lines. Rhyme scheme AABBA
Ode Poem
Lyric poem that addresses/celebrates a person, place or thing or idea.
Pastoral Poem
Depicts rural life or life of Shepards in a perfect form
Sonnet
2 types:
- Shakespearean sonnet: 14 lines (3 quatrains, and last two are rhyming couplet), each line has 10 syllables, rhyme is ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG
- Petrarchan sonnet: 14 lines (first 8 are octet and rhyme ABBA, last six are whatever)
Triolet Poem
Has 8 lines and rhymes: AB, AA, ABAB
Villanelle Poem
19 lines (5 stanzas with 3 lines each, last 4 have a couplet) First stanza: Ra,B,Rb and last stanza: AB,Ra,Rb other 4 are AB first two lines and last line alters from Ra to Rb
