Literature And Genre

Literature the word is taken from Latin word 'Littera' meaning 'letters’ and refers to the written words. It is the written work of a specific culture, sub culture, religion,philosophy and the study of written works that appear in poetry or in prose.The concept or meaning of literature changed over time through the inclusion of texts and non written verbal art forms. Literature is classified into Fiction or Non Fiction and Poetry or Prose. It can also be classified into novel, short story and drama.

That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you are not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.

Genre the word is taken from French which means 'kind' or 'type and it is a broad term that refers to the works that share certain similar characteristics. General genres in literature are epic, tragedy,comedy, and creative nonfiction andcan be in the form of prose or poetry. Therefore Fiction, Poetry and Non-Fiction are the three main categories separating the different genres of literature.

A main literary genre is Poetry and it is the art of rhythms. This genre of literature is for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts through the usage of figurative devices like a simile, metaphor, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, alliteration, rhyme.

The genre poetry may be subdivided into the genres of lyric, epic, and dramatic. The lyric includes all the shorter forms of poetry like song, ode, ballad, elegy, and sonnet. Dramatic poetry might include comedy, tragedy, etc. Epic poetry refers to the long narrative poetry portraying heroic deeds and serious subject matter. For example, John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost.

The genre of Fiction can be defined as narrative literary works whose content is more based on imagination rather than facts and it is any work written in prose that is not real and can also use elaborate figurative language. Genres of fiction include:

1. Fantasy which is the formation of mental images which leads to the suspension of reality.

2. Fable is related to stories about supernatural or extraordinary people.

3. Realistic Fiction is a story that is true to real life.

4. Mystery is a genre of fiction that deals with unravelling of secrets and solution to the crimes.

5. Historical Fiction is related with fictional characters and events in a historical setting.

6. Other types are Short stories, Folklore, Legend, Fairy tales, Tall tales, Humour, etc.

The genre of Non-Fiction is also known as General genre and it is an information text that deals with real life subject. Therefore works of nonfiction are all based in real-world experiences and thus is in complete opposite to that of Fiction. Non Fiction includes:

1. Essays are a short literary composition that reflects author’s point of view on a particular theme or subject.

2. Biography contains a written account of another person’s life.

3. Autobiography is basically the history of a person’s life, written or told by that person.

4. Speech is the power of speaking and ability to express one’s thoughts and emotions by speech, sounds, and gesture.