Literary Genres: Lyric and Drama Characteristics
Lyric Genre: An In-Depth Look
The lyric genre encompasses a broad and varied range of literary forms, themes, and attitudes. It is based on the intensive use of poetic language, far exceeding that found in narrative and drama. It is characterized by the presence of emotive function, manifested in the expression of feelings, imaginations, and emotions of the author.
Common elements to poetic texts are:
- Concentration and brevity, a product of life experiences and internalization, stripped of accessories and anecdotes.
- Waiver of the development of spatial-temporal frameworks, or, in any case, these serve as mere support without detracting from the expression of subjectivity. There is unlikely to be a plot. Poetry focuses on a matter of fact, on fragments that the receiver must interpret.
- The poem focuses on a particular topic. It tries to avoid thematic dispersion.
- The use of verse compared to prose; however, there is also poetic prose.
- The use of stylistic versification of the message.
The verse provides the appearance of other elements specific to the lyric genre:
- Rhythm, which is achieved by the repetition of sounds, distribution of pauses and accents, aural or syntactics, etc.
- Musicality. Thanks to verse, the word is getting closer to music.
The lyric genre supports a wide variety of topics, forms, tones, and intentions: ironic, satirical, thoughtful, etc. The same issue can receive many treatments, according to the author’s intention.
Main Lyric Subgenres
- Elegy: Expresses pain over the death of a loved one. It usually contains a lament and praise for the deceased.
- Eclogue: The poet describes his feelings of love through shepherds in a natural and idealized countryside. It became fashionable in the Renaissance.
- Ode: A poem of variable length, usually addressing a serious and elevated subject.
- Anthem: A poem to honor an outstanding person, celebrate a memorable event, or express joy.
- Satire: Composition (in prose or verse) that censors and ridicules faults or defects.
Drama or Theater
Theater is the live presentation of drama in the form of direct dialogue between characters, actions that create a plot, happy or unfortunate, for the viewer. The main purpose, therefore, is representation before the public.
The dramatic poetics appear in Poetics by Aristotle, who describes the main theatrical subgenres. In the rules of classical theater, respect is given to the so-called rule of three unities:
- Unity of Action: A work must develop a single argument.
- Unity of Place: Everything must happen in one place.
- Unity of Time: What happened must not extend beyond 24 hours.
Throughout the history of theater, these unities have not always been respected. This has happened in the Spanish Golden Age theater, Romanticism, and in most contemporary theater.
Theatrical Elements
A dramatic work consists of the following:
- Written text, containing:
- All the dialogues of the characters.
- The stage directions: precise instructions for the representation. These include facts about the scenic representation, place, scenery, scenic movements, the attitude of the characters, tones employed, etc. Stage directions appear inserted in parentheses and italics.
- Director: Handles the staging.
- Actors: Give life to characters through words, gestures, and movements.
- Set Design: The combination of elements or sets and props used for the representation.