Overview
This lecture introduces the main literary genres, explains their features, and highlights how genres and sub-genres are evolving in literature.
What is a Genre?
- A genre is a type or category of something, like music or literature.
- Literary genres are the main categories literature falls into.
Major Literary Genres
- Main genres include: Fiction, Non-Fiction (Expository Writing), Drama, Poetry, Folklore, and Graphic Novels.
- Genres evolve over time, such as graphic novels, which now have their own category.
Graphic Novels
- Graphic novels are book-length works presented in comic panels, usually over 50 pages.
- They include both fiction and non-fiction stories with rich text and dialogue.
Folklore
- Folklore includes anonymous or retold stories such as fairy tales, legends, tall tales, myths, fables, and nursery rhymes.
- Examples: Cinderella (fairy tale), The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (legend), John Henry (tall tale), Hercules (myth).
Poetry
- Poetry is writing that expresses feelings or nature’s beauty in various forms like haiku, limerick, prose, or sonnet.
- Emphasizes creative form and language.
Drama
- Drama is literature written in script form for performance.
- Characters express story through dialogue; can be comedy or tragedy.
Non-Fiction / Expository Writing
- Non-fiction is true writing, including personal narratives, memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, essays, interviews, articles, textbooks, and reference materials.
Fiction and Sub-Genres
- Fiction is imaginative writing divided into short stories (read in one sitting, single problem) and novels (multiple sittings, complex themes).
- Realistic fiction features characters in believable settings.
- Historical fiction is set in a true historical period with fictional characters.
- Science fiction involves imagined or futuristic worlds, often with apocalyptic or dystopian themes.
- Fantasy features magical or imaginary elements, like dragons.
- Mystery centers on solving a puzzle or crime.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Genre — A category or type of literature or art.
- Graphic Novel — A long comic-style book, often over 50 pages, with detailed text and dialogue.
- Folklore — Traditional stories passed down, often of anonymous origin.
- Poetry — Creative writing using condensed language and structure.
- Drama — Scripted works for performance, presented as dialogue.
- Non-Fiction/Expository Writing — Factual writing based on real events or information.
- Fiction — Literature originating from the imagination.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review your current reading to identify its genre and sub-genre.
- Familiarize yourself with examples of each genre for future reference.