Literary genre
- Literary genre
A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by
literary technique , tone,content , or even (as in the case of fiction) length. Genre should not be confused with age category, by which literature may be classified as either adult, young-adult, or children's. The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, often with subgroups.The most general genres in literature are (in loose chronological order) epic,
tragedy , [Bakhtin 1981, p.3]comedy ,novel ,short story , andcreative nonfiction .Fact|date=June 2007 They can all be in the genresprose orpoetry , which shows best how loosely genres are defined. Additionally, a genre such assatire ,allegory orpastoral might appear in any of the above, not only as a sub-genre (see below), but as a mixture of genres. Finally, they are defined by the generalcultural movement of thehistorical period in which they were composed. The concept of "genre" has been criticized byJacques Derrida . [Derrida 1981] [Michael Herzfeld, [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-7294(198303)2%3A85%3A1%3C195%3AON%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D review] of "On Narrative",American Anthropologist 1983, p.195]Sub-genres
Genres are often divided into sub-genres.
Literature , for instance, is divided into three basic kinds of literature, classic genres of Ancient Greece,poetry ,drama , andprose . Poetry may then be subdivided into epic, lyric, and dramatic. Subdivisions of drama include foremostcomedy andtragedy , while eg. comedy itself has sub-genres, includingfarce ,comedy of manners , burlesque,satire , and so on. However, any of these terms would be called "genre", and its possible more general terms implied.Dramatic poetry, for instance, might include
comedy ,tragedy ,melodrama , and mixtures liketragicomedy . This parsing into sub-genres can continue: "comedy" has its own genres, for example, includingcomedy of manners ,sentimental comedy , burlesque comedy, andsatirical comedy .Creative nonfiction can cross many genres but is typically expressed in essays, memoir, and other forms that may or may not be narrative but share the characteristics of being fact-based, artistically-rendered prose.Often, the criteria used to divide up works into genres are not consistent, and may change constantly, and be subject of argument, change and challenge by both authors and critics. However, even a very loose term like
fiction ("literature created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or situation") is not universally applied to all fictitious literature, but instead is typically restricted to the use for novel, short story, and novella, but not fables, and is also usually a prose text.Genres may easily be confused with
literary technique s, but, though only loosely defined, they are not the same; examples areparody ,Frame story ,constrained writing , stream of consciousness.List of literary genres
*
Autobiography ,Memoir ,Spiritual autobiography
*Biography
*Diaries and Journals
*Electronic literature
*Erotic literature
*Essay
*Fable ,Fairy tale ,Folklore
*Fiction
**Adventure novel
**Comic novel
**Crime fiction
***Detective fiction
**Fantasy (for more details seeFantasy subgenres ;fantasy literature )
**Gothic fiction (initially synonymous with horror)
**Historical fiction
**Horror
**Medical novel
**Mystery fiction
**Philosophical novel
**Political fiction
**Romance novel
***Historical romance
**Saga ,Family Saga
**Satire
**Science fiction (for more details seeScience fiction genre )
**Slave narrative
**Stream of consciousness
**Thriller
***Conspiracy fiction
***Legal thriller
***Psychological thriller
***Spy fiction/Political thriller
**Tragedy
*Short Story Notes
References
*
Bakhtin , M. M. (1981) " [http://books.google.com/books?id=JKZztxqdIpgC The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays] ". Ed. Michael Holquist. Trans. Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist. Austin and London: University of Texas Press.
* John D. Dorst " [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-8715%28198310%2F12%2996%3A382%3C413%3ANAADOG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I Neck-Riddle as a Dialogue off Genres: Applying Bakhtin's Genre Theory] " The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 96, No. 382 (Oct. - Dec., 1983), pp. 413-433 doi:10.2307/540982
*Derrida , Jacques " [http://www.jstor.org/view/00931896/ap040025/04a00050/0 The Law of Genre] " " [Critical Inquiry] " Vol. 7, No. 1, On Narrative. (Autumn, 1980), pp. 55-81. [http://www.unm.edu/~loboblog/mort/archives/009207.html] . essay contained in "On Narrative"W.J.T. Mitchell , ed. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.External links
* [http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/intgenre.html An Introduction to Genre Theory by Daniel Chandler]
* [http://www.cuebon.com/ewriters/genres.html List of fiction subgenres, definitions, and indicative words]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Libelle (literary genre) — A libelle is a political pamphlet or book which slanders a public figure.[1] Libelles held particular significance in France under the Ancien Régime, especially during the eighteenth century, when the pamphlets’ attacks on the monarchy became… … Wikipedia
Genre fiction — is a term for fictional works (novels, short stories) written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. In contemporary fiction publishing, genre is an… … Wikipedia
Genre studies — are a structuralist approach to literary theory, film theory, and other cultural theories. When studying a genre in this way, one examines the structural elements that combine in the telling of a story and find patterns in collections of stories … Wikipedia
Literary fiction — is a term that has come into common usage since around 1970, principally to distinguish serious fiction (that is, work with claims to literary merit) from the many types of genre fiction and popular fiction (i.e., paraliterature). In broad terms … Wikipedia
Literary nonsense — (or nonsense literature) is a broad categorization of literature that uses sensical and nonsensical elements to defy language conventions or logical reasoning. Even though the most well known form of literary nonsense is nonsense verse, the genre … Wikipedia
Literary forgery — Literary forgery, also Literary forgeries and mystifications, pertains to some writing, especially in literature, such as a manuscript, presented as an original, when in fact it is a fake. It is sometimes confused with plagiarism, which it… … Wikipedia
Literary merit — is a quality of written work, generally applied to the genre of literary fiction. A work is said to have literary merit (to be a work of art) if it is a work of quality, that is if it has some aesthetic value. The concept is important in law… … Wikipedia
literary sketch — ▪ literary genre short prose narrative, often an entertaining account of some aspect of a culture written by someone within that culture for readers outside of it for example, anecdotes of a traveler in India published in an English… … Universalium
Literary adaptation — is the adapting of a literary source (e.g., a novel, short story, poem) to another genre or medium, such as a film, a stage play, or even ace video game. It can also involve adapting the same literary work in the same genre or medium, just for… … Wikipedia
literary criticism — Discipline concerned with philosophical, descriptive, and evaluative inquiries about literature, including what literature is, what it does, and what it is worth. The Western critical tradition began with Plato s Republic (4th century BC). A… … Universalium