Overview of Literary Genres and Subgenres
Literary Devices
Epiphora: Repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences (Anaphora is similar but occurs at the beginning).
Homophony: Two or more words with the same pronunciation but different meanings.
Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate natural sounds.
Paranomasia: Use of words that sound alike but have different meanings in close proximity.
Polysyndeton: Repetition of conjunctions (e.g., and, or, but).
Hyperbaton: Alteration of the normal word order in a sentence.
Literary Genres
Literary genres are categories used to classify literary works based on their form, content, or style.
Poetry
Written in verse, poetry emphasizes aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language to evoke emotions and express ideas. It can be distinguished from prose by its focus on form and imagery. Poetry is a genre where the poet expresses their subjective feelings and thoughts.
Theater
Written in verse or prose, theater is intended for performance. Unlike other genres, it lacks a narrator and relies on dialogue and action to tell the story. Originating in ancient Greece, theater initially involved a single actor and a chorus, gradually evolving to include multiple actors. Traditionally, women were excluded from acting, and actors were trained in singing, recitation, and dancing. Plays are typically structured into acts, scenes, and settings. The three major theatrical genres are:
- Tragedy: Features characters of high social standing who face a predetermined fate. It aims to evoke catharsis, a release of emotions, in the audience.
- Comedy: Imitates everyday life with relatable characters, often from specific social classes. It has a humorous tone and aims to entertain.
- Drama: A mixed genre blending elements of tragedy and comedy. It portrays ordinary characters facing serious conflicts.
Subgenres of Drama
- Melodrama: Features exaggerated characters (good vs. evil) and often incorporates music.
- Tragicomedy: Combines tragic and comic elements, often with a tragic ending but featuring common characters.
- Musical Theater: Works where characters sing, including opera (entirely sung dialogue), operetta, zarzuela, and revue (partially sung dialogue).
- Other Theatrical Genres:
- Entremés: Short sketches in verse or prose, performed during intermissions of longer plays.
- Farce: Short comedic play with exaggerated characters and situations.
- Comedy Sketch: Short scene depicting humorous situations or character types, often performed at the end of plays.
Lyric Poetry
Lyric poetry presents reality from the subjective perspective of the author. It was originally created to be sung and performed before an audience.
Divisions of Lyric Poetry
- Author-Known Compositions:
- Anthem: Expresses collective feelings, often with a serious and patriotic tone.
- Ode: Addresses religious or philosophical subjects with a personal tone.
- Elegy: Laments the death of someone, usually a public figure.
- Song: Expresses themes of love and is meant to be sung.
- Satire: Criticizes or ridicules the flaws of an individual or society.
- Anonymous Compositions:
- Religious Song: Praises religious figures, often the Virgin Mary.
- Carol: Sung during Christmas celebrations.
- Corrandes: Short folk songs with varied content.
Narrative
Narrative recounts events in a sequential order. It features a narrator, either internal or external, and can be written in verse or prose. Subgenres include epic and ballad (in verse), and novel, short story, and others (in prose).
Key elements of narrative include:
- Plot: The sequence of events and actions.
- Theme: The underlying message or idea.
- Point of View: The perspective from which the story is told (internal or external).
- Structure: Typically includes an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
- Discourse: Can include narration, description, dialogue, and monologue.
- Speech: Can be direct (characters’ exact words) or indirect (reported speech).
Narrative in Verse
- Epic: A long narrative poem recounting the heroic deeds of a legendary or historical figure. It can be further divided into:
- Epopee: Focuses on the deeds of kings and nobles, impacting the history of their people.
- Chanson de Geste: Medieval epics centered on historical or legendary heroes.
Narrative in Prose
- Novel: A fictional narrative of considerable length, classified by various themes (detective, fantasy, historical, science fiction, romance, adventure) and treatments (realistic, psychological, thesis, etc.).
- Short Story: A brief fictional narrative focused on a single event or theme.
- Legend: A narrative based on a historical event, often embellished with fictional elements.
- Folktale: A traditional narrative that blends real and fantastical elements, often with a moralistic purpose, intended for children.
- Diary: An autobiographical narrative recounting daily events.
- Memoir: A narrative written in the first person, recounting personal experiences and memories.
- Essay: A prose composition where the author expresses personal opinions and ideas on a specific topic. It’s often published in the press and addresses a general audience. Essays typically have a defined structure, combining exposition and argumentation. They use formal language, incorporate figures of speech, and employ the first person perspective. Grammatically, they feature abstract terms and a consistent vocabulary.