Literary Genres Flashcards
What is a literary genre?
A literary genre is “a loose set of criteria for a category of literary composition.” Genres can be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even (as in the case of fiction) length.
What are the most general genres in literature?
The most general genres in literature are Prose and Poetry.
What is prose?
Prose is writing that resembles everyday speech. Prose generally lacks the formal structure of meter or rhyme that is often found in poetry.
What are the two categories in a prose?
It can be subdivided into two categories, fiction and non-fiction.
What are the 5 categories of fiction?
Fiction - literary works of imagination: novels and stories that describe imaginary people and events.
a. Science Fiction - fiction based on futuristic science: a form of fiction, usually set in the future, that deals with imaginary scientific and technological developments and contact with other worlds
b. Mystery – fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of a crime.
c. Folktale - traditional story: a story or legend that is passed down orally from one generation to the next and becomes part of a community’s tradition.
d. Fable - story that teaches a lesson: a short story with a moral, especially one in which the characters are animals.
Modern Fantasy - The genre is often characterized by its use of time travel, or imaginary beings from other planets, or animals that talk.
e. Modern Fantasy - The genre is often characterized by its use of time travel, or imaginary beings from other planets, or animals that talk.
What are the 3 categories of non-fiction?
Non-Fiction – writing that uses real people, settings, and plots to convey actual events.
a. Historical - novel set in the past: a novel set in the past that includes real events and people from that period.
b. Autobiography - life story written by self: an account of somebody’s life written by that person.
c. Biography - account of somebody’s life: an account of somebody’s life, for example, in the form of a book, movie, or television program, written or produced by another person.
What is poetry?
Poetry: verse that uses sounds, rhythm, and word choice to convey ideas.
What are the 4 types of poetry?
Poetry: verse that uses sounds, rhythm, and word choice to convey ideas.
- Epic - long narrative poem: a lengthy narrative poem in elevated language celebrating the adventures and achievements of a legendary or traditional hero, for example, Homer’s Odyssey
- Sonnet - fourteen-line rhyming poem with set structure: a short poem with fourteen lines, usually ten-syllable rhyming lines, divided into two, three, or four sections. There are many rhyming patterns for sonnets, and they are usually written in iambic pentameter.
- Haiku - short Japanese poem: a form of Japanese poetry with 17 syllables in three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables, often describing nature or a season.
- Acrostic - written lines containing word: a number of lines of writing, especially a poem or word puzzle, in which particular letters, for example, the first, in each line spell a word or phrase
What are the 3 types of plays?
Plays:
- Comedy - comic works, especially plays, considered as a literary genre. In these plays, the protagonist usually resolves the conflict within the storyline successfully.
- Tragedy - tragic play: a serious play with a tragic theme, often involving a heroic struggle and the downfall of the main character
- History - historical play: a play that deals with historical events
