types of literature Flashcards
Allegory
A story in verse or prose with characters that represent virtues and vices. There are two meanings: symbolic and literal.
Ballad
A story that is told or sung—usually in verse—and accompanied by music. Earliest forms were anonymous folk ballads.
Drama
Plays (comedy, modern, or tragedy) that are typically performed in five acts. Plot development is advanced through dialogue. Literary devices include asides, soliloquies, and the chorus, which represents public opinion. Considered by many to be the greatest of all dramatists/playwrights is William Shakespeare.
Epic
A long poem usually of book length that reflects values inherent in the generative society. Epic devices include an invocation to a Muse for inspiration, an overall purpose for writing, universal setting, a protagonist and antagonist who possess supernatural strength and acumen, and interventions of a God or
the gods. Comparatively, there are few epics in literature: Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, etc.
Epistle
A letter that is not always originally intended for public distribution, but due to the fame of the sender and/or recipient, one that becomes public domain.
Essay
Typically, a limited length prose work focusing on a topic and propound- ing a definite point-of-view and authoritative tone
Fable
A terse tale offering up a moral or exemplum. Chaucer’s “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” is a fine example of a bete fabliau (or beast fable) in which animals speak and act characteristically human, illustrating human foibles.
Legend
A traditional narrative or collection of related narratives, popularly regarded as historically factual but actually a mixture of fact and fiction.
Myth
Stories that are more or less universally shared within a culture to explain its history and traditions.
Novel
The longest form of fictional prose containing a variety of characteriza- tions, settings, local color, and regionalism. Most have complex plots, expanded description, and attention to detail. Some of the great novelists include Austen, the Brontës, Twain, Tolstoy, Hugo, Hardy, Dickens, Hawthorne, Forster, and Flaubert.
Poem
The only requirement for a poem is rhythm. Subgenres include fixed types of literature such as the sonnet, elegy, ode, pastoral, and villanelle.
Romance
A highly imaginative tale set in a fantastical realm that deals with the conflicts between heroes, villains, and/or monsters.
Short Story
A concise narrative that has less background than a novel, but that typically includes many of the same plot developments and techniques.
As mentioned before, some of the most notable short story writers include Hemingway, Faulkner, Twain, Joyce, Jackson, O’Connor, de Maupassant, Saki, Poe, and Pushkin.
