Literary Genres

The most general genres in literature are Prose, Poetry and Drama. They also can be put in chronological order epic, tragedy, comedy, novel, short story, and creative nonfiction. Additionally, a genre such as satire, allegory or pastoral might appear in any of the above, not only as a sub-genre (see below), but as a mixture of genres. Finally, they are defined by the general cultural movement of the historical period in which they were composed. The concept of "genre" has been criticized by Jacques Derrida. A genre is a group or collection of books with a similar theme or style. Following are descriptions of various genres: Picture Books are stories written around one or two themes with the illustrations being an integral part of the book. Easy To Read books are fiction stories that are written at a level for beginning readers. Fantasy books are a type of fiction that contains elements such as characters or settings that could not exist in life as we know it today. Examples include characters such as dragons or animals with human characteristics. Settings might be magical or other-world. Historical fiction books are those that give a historically accurate portrayal of life during a particular time in history. They have a strong sense of place and time. Mystery books are stories that involve a suspenseful event (often a crime of some type). The reader uses clues from the story and gradually discovers who has committed the crime to solve the mystery by the end of the story. Realistic fiction books are those set in present-day. Characters encounter modern day difficulties and dilemmas. Realistic fiction includes mysteries, adventure stories, humorous stories, and much more. Nonfiction books are informational books written by credible authors. Nonfiction books explain how things work, tell facts about many different topics, and show us how to do various things. Folktales are stories that have been passed down to us over the years by real people. There are many types of folktales, including fables, tall tales, myths, and fairy tales. Fables are brief stories that teach a lesson or moral. The characters are usually animals, but they are given human characteristics. An example of a fable is "The Fox and the Grapes." Tall Tales are folktales that have a key element of exaggeration, such as Paul Bunyan. Fairy Tales usually have magical elements with characters that could be fairies, giants, or elves. Many times magical deeds are performed. Cinderella is an example of a fairy tale. Myths are stories that serve to explain some phenomenon of nature. Many incorporate gods and goddesses within the story. The story of King Midas is a myth. Poetry books are those that include verses or poems. Poems may be humorous, serious, lyrical, or narrative (tells a story). Many poems have a rhythm and meter. Poems create imagery. Biographies are histories of a person's life or parts of his/her life. A biography that is written by a person about his/her own life is called an autobiography. Sometimes biographies of several people are grouped together within one book. These are called collective biographies.

Literary Elements Characters are people, animals, etc. in stories. The most important person in the story is the main character. Character traits show what a person is like and offer clues to a person's behavior and actions. Plot is the plan or pattern of events in a story. The turning point of a story is when an event happens that lets the reader know something is about to change. The climax of the story comes at the end, when the details come together and form a resolution. Point of View is a way of looking at things. Each story is told from a person's viewpoint. Setting is where and when a story takes place. Settings can change in different parts of the story. Theme is the main subject or idea of a book.

Literary genre
A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even (as in the case of fiction) length. Genre should not be confused with age category, by which literature may be classified as either adult, young-adult, or children's. They also must not be confused with format, such as graphic novel or picture book. The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, often with subgroups.

Sub-genres
Genres are often divided into sub-genres. Literature, for instance, is divided into three basic kinds of literature, the classic genres of Ancient Greece, poetry, drama, and prose. Poetry may then be subdivided into epic, lyric, and dramatic. Subdivisions of drama include foremost comedy and tragedy, while eg. comedy itself has sub-genres, including farce, comedy of manners, burlesque, satire, and so on. However, any of these terms would be called "genre", and its possible more general terms implied. Dramatic poetry, for instance, might include comedy, tragedy, melodrama, and mixtures like tragicomedy. This parsing into sub-genres can continue: "comedy" has its own genres, including, for example, comedy of manners, sentimental comedy, burlesque comedy, and satirical comedy. Creative nonfiction can cross many genres but is typically expressed in essays, memoir, and other forms that may or may not be narrative but share the characteristics of being fact-based, artistically-rendered prose. Often, the criteria used to divide up works into genres are not consistent, and may change constantly, and be subject of argument, change and challenge by both authors and critics. However, even a very loose term like fiction ("literature created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or situation") is not universally applied to all fictitious literature, but instead is typically restricted to

the use for novel, short story, and novella, but not fables, and is also usually a prose text. Semi-fiction spans stories that include a substantial amount of non-fiction. It may be the retelling of a true story with only the names changed. The other way around, semifiction may also involve fictional events with a semi-fictional character, such as Jerry Seinfeld. Genres may easily be confused with literary techniques, but, though only loosely defined, they are not the same; examples are parody, Frame story, constrained writing, stream of consciousness.