WORLD LIT (GENERAL TYPES OF LITERATURE)

PROSE

Form of language based on grammatical structure and the natural flow of speech

Latin expression prosa oratio

straightforward or direct speech

Tends to comprise of full grammatical sentences, building to paragraphs

LITERARY GENRES

Category of literary composition

May be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length

FICTION

Product of the imagination of the writer

Latin word fictus - to form

It is not represented as fact though it may be based on a true story or situation

NONFICTION

A broad genre of writing that encompasses all books that aren’t rooted in a fictional narrative

Can be based in history and biography , can be instructional, it can offer commentary and humor, and it can ponder philosophical questions

Prose writing that presents and explains ideas or tells about real people, places, objects, or events.

NOVEL

Narrative of considerable length and a certain complexity that deals imaginatively with human experience

Through a connected sequence of events involving a group of persons in a specific setting

SHORT STORY

Narrative shorter than a novel usually dealing with a few characters and aiming at unity of effect and often concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot

One challenge

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Nonfiction

Tells a life story of its author

Written record of the author’s life

It comes through the person’s own pen, in his own words

DRAMA

Fiction

Succession of events in real life having the dramatic progression or emotional affect, characteristics of a play and intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue

FABLE

Usually featuring animals that behave and speak as human beings

Highlight human follies and weaknesses

A moral - or lesson for behavior is often explicitly formulated at the end

DIARY

Discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other periods

LEGEND

Traditional story or group of stories told about a particular person or place

May include supernatural beings, elements of mythology, or explanations of natural phenomena

Associated with a particular locality or person and are told as a matter of history

PARABLE

Short, realistic story that is written for the purpose of teaching a moral or religious lesson, often written in response or to address a particular issue

Stories from the bible

ESSAY

Short piece of writing that expresses information as well as the writer’s opinion.

It is also a written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue of subject

MYTHOLOGY

Often have religious origins that explains the action of gods or heroes

Provide explanations for natural phenomena, offer moral insight and include supernatural beings

FAIRYTALE

Imaginative story or piece of literature told in a variety of media

Based on magic and fantastical settings, plots ,characters and happy endings

BIOGRAPHY

Written history or accounts of a person’s life wand intended to give an objective portrayal of person written in the third person

POETRY

Arouses a complete imaginative feeling by choosing appropriate language and selective words and arranging them in a manner that creates a proper pattern, rhyme and rhythm

It is in the form of verses, which constitutes stanzas, that follows a meter

The number of verses in a stanza depends upon the type of poem

NARRATIVE POETRY

longer form of poetry that tells an entire story with a beginning, middle and end

Contain all of the elements of a fully developed story: characters, plot, conflict, resolution

Typically told by just one narrator or speaker

EPIC

Oldest form of literature

Lengthy, narrative work of poetry

Typically detail extraordinary feats and adventures of characters from a distant past

Extraordinary doings of the extraordinary men and women who, in dealing with the gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants, the poet and their audience, to understand themselves as a people or nation

METRICAL ROMANCE

Chivalric romance

Typically centers on courtly love, knights, and chivalric deeds

Dominant among royalty, nobility, and wealthy landowners during the renaissance

Always have a happy ending

BALLAD

Tells a story and was traditionally set to music

Often dealing with adventure or romance

English language ballads are typically composed of four line stanzas that follow and ABCB rhyme scheme

LYRIC POETRY

concerned with feelings and emotions and presents a character in the first person

Combination or lyric and poetry where a piece of poetry is written as a lyric

ODE

Lyrical stanza

Elaborately structured poem praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally

Ex. “Ode to the West Wind” - Percy Bysshe Shelley

ELEGY

Reflects upon death or loss

Contains themes of mourning, loss, and reflection

Can also explore themes or redemption and consolation

SONNET

14 line poem typically concerning the topic of love

Some contain internal rhymes within their 14 lines

Exact rhyme scheme depends on the style of a sonnet

PASTORAL POEM

dealing with shepherds or rural life in a usually artificial manner.

Drawing a contract between the innocence and serenity of the simple life and the misery and corruption of city and court life

HAIKU

unrhymed verse form of Japanese origin

Brief moment in time

Sense of sudden illumination or enlightenment

Usually composed of 17 syllables in 3 short lines with a 5-7-5 format