LITERARY FORMS

(from Latin litterae (plural); letter) is the art of written work, and is not confined to published sources (although, under some circumstances, unpublished sources can also be exempt). The word literature literally means "things made from letters" and the pars pro toto term "letters" is sometimes used to signify "literature," as in the figures of speech "arts and letters" and "man of letters." The four major classifications of literature are poetry, prose, fiction, and non-fiction.

DIFFERENT LITERARY FORMS:

FICTION
Fiction that has been derived from the Latin word fingere which means to create or to form literally is the opposite of fact. Similarly in literature fictional pieces are the stories that talk of the imagined events of the author. They have no connection to reality and make no factual claims. At the same time they have been and remain till today an important part of literature. Fiction ranges over a long list of literary pieces. They include novels, short stories, fables, fairy tales, comics and even myths to a certain extent. Fiction is also broadly classified as popular fiction (science fiction, mystery fiction) and literary fiction (William Faulkner, Marcel Proust). Though they may just include parts of ones wildest dreams, fictional writing has been passed on over generations to instill certain beliefs and values. It is also noticed that fiction may over time blend with factual accounts and develop into mythology. Fi ction is a fundamental part of human culture.the art of creating fiction may be restricted to a few, but thanks to books there exists a wide range of opportunities for the rest of Humanity to enjoy the benefit of this.

MYSTERY
Though the word mystery is derived Greek verb myein meaning to close, in general usage it refers to something that is inconceivable, unknown or unexplainable. Mystery novels are mostly classified under fiction and but at cases can also be a description of ones real life incidents. The Mystery part of literature has always kept readers, the young as well as the old spell bound. Mystery books may start from the early reading days of a child in the form of Enid

Blyton books and may later grow into a strong liking towards more famous books like Sherlock Holmes etc.

ADVENTURE
An adventure in the literal sense is an activity that is comprised of risky, dangerous, or uncertain experiences that are for the sake of physical or emotional excitement. Books have always portrayed the adventure as a dangerous situation in which the major characters are consistently involving risks and living solely dependent on their skills and wits but at the same time having a lot of fun.

SCIENCE FICTION
Science fiction has come a long way since its early days, when Isaac Asimov defined it as "that branch of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance upon human beings" (Modern Science Fiction, 1953). By the 70s, the genre of science-based ideas had grown; it wasn't just concerned with science, but with consequences. It asked "what if?" What if a world existed in which this or that were true? Pamela Sargent dubbed it "the literature of ideas."

COMICS
Comics are a form of visual art which consists of images that are combined with text usually in speech balloons or thought clouds to entertain the readers. Comic stories are best known as the comic strips in newspapers and magazines, like Garfield etc but are also equally famous in the form of books like Calvin and Hobbes. The comics too have been growing with time. The comics seem to have traced their origins from the Egyptian hieroglyphics and went through stage of drawing with pencil and stand today as a product of the digital means to create artwork. McCloud's definition sates that "...comics consist of pictorial narratives or expositions in which words (often lettered into the picture area within speech balloons) usually contribute to the meaning of the pictures and vice versa."

CLASSICS
Classics may be interpreted often usually as a widely-read book; however, it usually is a book marking a turning point in history. Others may reflect the traditional views of earlier societies or report social conflicts during that time. Certain classics may contain revolutionary ideas or fact. Classics usually dominate in literature that suggests a social or philosophical change. Some people enjoy classics because of the clever development of the plot and/or characterization. Classics can be enjoyed by people of all ages, usually ranging from young teens to older adults. Classics comprise what some call a "canon" of world literature but Mark Twain famously wrote that a "classic" was a "book which people praise and don't read.

NON FICTION
Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be factual. This presentation may be accurate or notthat is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question however, it is generally assumed that authors of such accounts believe them to be truthful at the time of their composition or, at least, pose them to their audience as historically or empirically true. Note that reporting the beliefs of others in a non-fiction format is not necessarily an endorsement of the ultimate veracity of those beliefs, it is simply saying it is true that people believe them (for such topics as mythology, religion). Non-fiction can also be written about fiction, giving information about these other works.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The word autobiography, was derived from the Greek auton, 'self', bios, 'life' and graphein, 'write' and is the events that took place in the life of the writer himself. Traditionally, an autobiography focuses on the "life and times" of the character. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was the first secular biography published in the United States and served as a model for subsequent American autobiographies. An auto biography is entirely different from a memoir as the latter consists of a more intimate focus on writers emotions, feelings and autobiographies are: Boy & Going Solo- Roald Dahl memories. The present day literature holds Diaries and Letters as memoirs. A few notable

My Experiments with truth- Mahatma Gandhi The Story of My Life-Helen Keller Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl- Harriet Jacobs

BIOGRAPHY
Biography (from the Greek words bios meaning "life", and graphein meaning "write") is a genre of literature. a biography develops a complex analysis of personality, highlighting different impersonal facts like birth, education, work, relationships and death. It also delves into the emotions of experiencing such events. The first known biographies were written by scribes. Ancient Greeks developed the biographical tradition which we have inherited, although until the 5th century AD, when the word 'biographia' first appears, in Damascius' Life of Isodorus, The "Golden Age" of English biography emerged in the late 1700s, the century in which the terms "biography" and "autobiography" entered the English lexicon. The classic works of the period were Samuel Johnson's Critical Lives of the Poets (1779-81) and James Boswell's massive Life of Johnson (1791). Generally, American biography followed the English model, however, the lives of great men were important to understanding society and its institutions. Nirad C. Chaudhuri, (1897-1999) - Clive of India, Max Muller Alfred Ainger, (1837-1904) - Charles Lamb H. F. M. Prescott, (1896-1972), Mary I of England - 'Bloody Mary' incorporating Thomas Carlyle's view that biography was a part of history. Carlyle asserted that aspects of it and including intimate details of experiences. A biography is more than a list of

POETRY
Poetry (from the Greek poiesis, a "making" or "creating") is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. Poetry may be written independently, as discrete poems, or may occur in conjunction with other arts, as in poetic drama, hymns or lyrics. Poetry often uses particular forms and conventions to expand the literal meaning of the words, or to evoke emotional or sensual responses. Devices such as assonance, alliteration and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. Poetry's use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to disparate imagesa layering of meanings, forming connections previously not perceived. Kindred forms of resonance may exist, between individual verses, in their patterns of rhyme or

multiple interpretations. Similarly, metaphor and simile create a resonance between otherwise

rhythm. Poetic Diction describes the manner in which language is used and refers not only to the sound but also to the underlying meaning and its interaction with sound and form. Many languages and poetic forms have very specific poetic dictions, to the point where separate grammars and dialects are used specifically for poetry.

TRAVELOGUE
Travel literature is literature which records the people, events, sights and feelings of an author who is touring a foreign place for the pleasure of travel. An individual work is sometimes called a travelogue. Travelogue might also include fictional travelogues such as the mythical journey in Homer's Odyssey and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.

Kinds of literature according to structure:

Poetry -- is an artistic piece of philosophical, personal, imaginative or inspirational nature that is laid out in lines.

Prose -- is a literary piece that is written without metrical structure.

The difference between poetry and prose is the structure/measurement. In addition, poetry pertains to poems with or without rhyme. On the other hand prose is a story that can be sub classified into fiction and non-fiction.

OTHER PROSE LITERATURE Philosophy,history, journalism, and legal and scientific writings traditionally ranked as

literature. They offer some of the oldest prose writings in existence; novels and prosestories earned the names "fiction" to distinguish them from factual writing or nonfiction, which writers historically have crafted in prose.

Drama
A play or drama offers another classical literary form that has continued to evolve over the years. It generally comprises chieflydialogue betweencharacters, and usually aims at dramatic

/ theatrical performance(see theatre) rather than at reading. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, opera developed as a combination of poetry, drama, and music. Nearly all drama took verse form until comparatively recently. Shakespeare could be considered drama. Romeo, for example, is a classic romantic drama generally accepted as literature.

Oral literature

The term oral literature refers not to written, but to oral traditions, which includes different types of epic, poetry and drama, folktales, ballads, legends, jokes, and other genres of folklore. It exists in every society, whether literate or not. It is generally studied by folklorists, or by scholars committed to cultural studies and ethno poetics, including linguists, anthropologists, and even sociologists.

OTHER NARRATIVE FORMS

ELECTRONIC LITERATURE is a literary genre consisting of works which originate in digital environments Films, videos and broadcast soap operas have carved out a niche which often parallels the functionality of prose fiction. Graphic novels and comic books present stories told in a combination of sequential artwork, dialogue and text.

Types of literature.
1. POETRY 2. HISTORY 3. BIOGRAPHY 4. LETTERS

5. PHILOSOPHY 6. ORATORY 7. APOCALYPSE

1.

POETRY
metric patterns, with various regular rhythms of short and long sounds.

a) GREEK POETRY - writing that created emotional responses through meaning and

b) EPIC POETRY - started the written Greek literary tradition by the transcriptions of Homer'sand Hesiod's poems during the Archaic Age (7th and 6th centuries BC) c) LYRIC POETRY - originally meant to be sung, occurred in varied rhythms and often expressed personal emotions and experience. d) POETIC DRAMA - tragedy and comedy in rhythmic meters -- developed from sung chorusesin the Classical Age (5th - 4th centuries) in Athens. e) POETRY OF THE HELLENISTIC AGE (3rd - 1st centuries BC) often reflected on earlier poetry byimitation or allusion.

2.HISTORY
Greek history was a chronological record of significant events (often of a political group,institution, or military campaign), sometimes explaining their causes.

3.BIOGRAPHY
Greek biography contained narrative of the events of a person's life and illustration of history her character. Greek biography had varying forms, styles, length, and degrees of relative truth.

4. LETTERS

Greek letters were direct or personal written messages addressed to a person or group, for private or public communication. Greek letters included; correspondence of famous people "open" letters of advocacy (Isocrates, Plato, Demosthenes) letters of moral advice (Plutarch and Paul) Halicarnassus) technical and scholarly treatises in letter form (Dionysius of letters attributed to famous people (for instance, Socrates, and heroes of earlyChristianity, such as James, John, and Peter).

5. PHILOSOPHY
Greek philosophy involved a search for a general understanding of values and reality. Philosophical writings in the Greek tradition are preserved in various forms: Dialogues Letters Treatises accounts of philosophers (biographies and lists of teacher/student relationships) speeches collections of doctrines or sayings

6. ORATORY
Spoken communication was vastly important in ancient Greek culture and flourished for long centuries after writing became common. Speeches were recorded by lawyers and politicians from the 5th century BC onward. Also, teachers of the public speaking(rhetoric) provided written models as they trained ambitious young men. Speech as a medium of teaching was preserved as:

lectures exhortations sermons

Philosophical speeches in question-and-answer format, known as diatribes, becamecommon

among philosophers in the 3rd to 1st centuries BC, and many similar elementsoccur in the New Testament writings of Paul in the 1st century AD. Some NewTestament letters, such as the letter of James, reflect their probable beginnings asexhortations or sermons.

7. APOCALYPSE
Apocalypse was a genre of literature developed in Judaism, represented in the Hebrew Scriptures by the book of Daniel, and outside the Bible by documents composed by both Jews and Christians. These were often concerned with great historical crises or visionary trips to heaven