2023-03-29 22:25:33
What are the main genres in literature?
At the most basic level, there are main genres for literature -
poetry,
prose and
drama - each can be broken down even further, resulting in dozens of subgenres.
Poetry tends to be written in verses, and typically employs a rhythmic and measured approach to composition. It has melodic tone and uses creative language that is often imaginative and symbolic in nature. It is typically divided into two main subgenres, narrative and lyric, and can be fiction and non-fiction.
The word “poetry” comes from the Greek word
poiesis, which essentially means making or creating, which is translated into the “making of poetry”.
Prose
is
essentially identified as written text that aligns with the flow of conversation in the form of sentence and paragraph, as opposed to verses and stanzas in poetry, and employs common grammatical structure and a natural flow of speech.
It can be broken down into a number of subgenres including both fiction and non-fiction works. Examples of prose can range from news, biographies and essays to novels, short stories, plays and fables.
The word “prose” derives from Latin
prōsa ("straightforward") from the term prōsa ōrātio ("a straightforward speech- i.e. without the ornaments of verse").
Drama
is defined as theatrical dialogue performed on stage and traditionally is comprised of five acts. It is generally broken down into four subgenres including comedy, melodrama, tragedy and farce. In many cases, dramas will actually overlap with poetry and prose, depending on the writing style of the author.
Dramatic pieces can be written in both poetic and prose style, and can be fiction or nonfiction.
Some resources will cite only genres:
fiction and
non-fiction, though many classics will argue that fiction and non-fiction can, and do, both fall under poetry, drama or prose.
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