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Literary genre
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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.
They also must not be confused with format, such as graphic novel or picture book. 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,[1] comedy,

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novel, short story, and creative nonfiction. [citation needed] They can all be in the genres prose or
poetry, which shows best how loosely genres are defined. Additionally, a genre such as satire,
allegory or pastoral 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 general cultural movement of the historical period

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in which they were composed. The concept of "genre" has been criticized by Jacques Derrida.[2][3]

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Contents [hide]
1 Genres
2 Notes
3 References
4 External links

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Genres

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For more details on this topic, see List of literary genres.

Genres are often divided into sub-genres. Literature, for instance, is divided into three basic kinds of
literature, the classic genres of the Ancient Greece, poetry, drama, and prose. Poetry may then be
subdivided into epic, lyric, and dramatic. Subdivisions of drama include foremost comedy and
tragedy, while e.g. comedy itself has sub-genres, including farce, comedy of manners, burlesque, and
satire.
Dramatic poetry for instance, might include comedy, tragedy, melodrama, and mixtures like
tragicomedy. This parsing into sub-genres can continue: "comedy" has its own genres, including, for
example, comedy of manners, sentimental comedy, burlesque comedy, and satirical comedy.
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. Types of fiction genres are science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, realistic fiction and
mysteries.
Semi-fiction spans stories that include a substantial amount of non-fiction. It may be the retelling of a
true story with only the names changed. The other way around, semi-fiction may also involve fictional
events with a semi-fictional character, such as Jerry Seinfeld.
Genres may easily be confused with literary techniques, but, though only loosely defined, they are
not the same; examples are parody, frame story, constrained writing, stream of consciousness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_genre[25/02/2012 17:37:30]

Literary genre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Notes
Trke

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1. ^ Bakhtin 1983, p. 3.
2. ^ Derrida 1981
3. ^ Herzfeld, Michael (March 1983). "Reviewed work(s): On Narrative by W. J. T. Mitchell". American
Anthropologist 85 (1): 195. JSTOR676084 .

References

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Bakhtin, Mikhail M. (1983). "Epic and Novel" . In Holquist, Michael. The Dialogic Imagination:
Four Essays. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN0292715277.
Derrida, Jacques; Ronell, Avital (Autumn 1980). "On Narrative: The Law of Genre"
Inquiry (The University of Chicago Press) 7 (1): 5581.

. Critical

Dorst, John D. (Oct. - Dec., 1983). "Neck-Riddle as a Dialogue off Genres: Applying Bakhtin's
Genre Theory". Journal of American Folklore 96 (382): 413433. JSTOR540982 .

External links

[edit]

List of fiction subgenres, definitions, and indicative words

Narrative

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Character
Plot

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Antagonist/Archenemy Characterization Deuteragonist False protagonist Focal character

Foil character Protagonist Supporting character Tritagonist Viewpoint character
Climax Conflict Dnouement Dialogue Dramatic structure Exposition Falling action
Plot device Subplot Trope-Clich

Setting

Dystopia Fictional city Fictional country Fictional location Fictional universe Utopia

Theme

Leitmotif Moral Motif

Style

Diction Figure of speech Imagery Literary technique Narrative mode Stylistic device
Suspension of disbelief Symbolism Tone

Form

Fable-Parable Fabliaux Fairy tale Flash story Folktale-Legend Hypertext Novel Novella
Play Poem Screenplay Short story List of narrative forms

Genre

Adventure Comic Crime Docufiction Epistolary Erotic Faction Fantasy Historical

Horror Magic realism Mystery Paranoid Philosophical Political Romance Saga Satire
Science Speculative Superhero Thriller Urban

Narrator
Tense

Alternating person First-person Second-person Third-person (Limited Objective Omniscient

Subjective) Stream of consciousness The narrative types of the narrator Unreliable
Past tense Present tense Future tense

Medium

Screenwriting

Related

Audience Author Fiction writing Creative nonfiction Literary theory Narrative structure
Narratology Other narrative modes Rhetoric Storytelling
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Categories: Genres

Literary genres

Literature

Fiction

This page was last modified on 20 January 2012 at 16:54.

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Literary genre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_genre[25/02/2012 17:37:30]