What are the 5 Main Literature Genres?

Categorizing Literature Genres

Back in ancient Greece, literature was divided into two main categories: tragedy and comedy.
Nowadays the list of possible types and literature genres can seem endless. But it is still possible
to narrow down the vast amount of literature available into a few basic groups.

The five genres of literature students should be familiar with are Poetry, Drama, Prose,
Nonfiction, and Media—each of which is explained in more detail below. You’ll see some
overlap between genres; for example, prose is a broader term that includes both drama and
non-fiction. At the end of this article, we’ll also touch on a couple of narrower but still important
literary categories.

Poetry

This is often considered the oldest form of literature. Before writing was invented, oral stories
were commonly put into some sort of poetic form to make them easier to remember and recite.
Poetry today is usually written down but is still sometimes performed.

A lot of people think of rhymes and counting syllables and lines when they think of poetry, and
some poems certainly follow strict forms. But other types of poetry are so free-form that they
lack any rhymes or common patterns. There are even kinds of poetry that cross genre lines, such
as prose poetry. In general, though, a text is a poem when it has some sort of meter or rhythm,
and when it focuses on the way the syllables, words, and phrases sound when put together.
Poems are heavy in imagery and metaphor and are often made up of fragments and phrases
rather than complete, grammatically correct sentences. And poetry is nearly always written in
stanzas and lines, creating a unique look on the page.
Poetry, as experienced in the classroom, is usually one of three types. There are the shorter,
more modern poems, spanning anything from a few lines to a few pages. Often these are
collected in books of poems by a single author or by a variety of writers. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The
Raven," is one of the most commonly taught poems of this type. Then there are the classical,
formulaic poems of Shakespeare’s time, such as the blank verse and the sonnet. And finally,
there are the ancient, epic poems transcribed from oral stories. These long, complex poems
resemble novels, such as Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey.
"Sorry, Wrong Number" Study Guide

Plot and Plot structure:

'Sorry, Wrong Number' is a play written by Lucille Fletcher. The main character is Mrs.
Stevenson, an invalid, who has been attempting to get in touch with her husband, who is
working late. However, the line is busy, and she ends up overhearing a phone conversation
between a killer named George and his boss. They are discussing the specifics of a pending
murder of a woman at 11:15 p.m. that same night.

Plot:

Mrs. Stevenson attempts to get the call traced. The operator urges her to contact the police,
which she does. The police can only say they will check into things. Mrs. Stevenson then learns
that her husband will not be home that evening. She realizes that she is the intended murder
victim.

She desperately tries to get back in touch with the police, but she is too late. The murderer is already in
the house and listening in on the call. Just before she is connected to the police, Mrs. Stevenson is
murdered.

MRS. STEVENSON
-Upset
-panicked
-Imperious or demanding
-bad-tempered
-querulous
-annoying
SGT. DUFFY
-disinterested
-apathetic
-unconcerned
-bland

Characters and Characterization:

1.Sergeant Duffy-The disinterested and apathetic Sergeant Duffy heads up the night shift at
Precinct 43. He speaks by phone to Mrs. Stevenson.

2.George-A contract killer who harbors no remorse for his victims.

3.Hospital Receptionist Seeking medical assistance and company for the night, Mrs.Stevenson
gets in touch with the hospital receptionist at Henchley Hospital.
4.Elbridge Stevenson-Mentioned but never seen, Elbridge Stevenson is the husband of Mrs.
Stevenson and the suspected mastermind behind the murder.

5.Mrs. Stevenson-is an "invalid" who is bed-ridden due to an unspecified illness or condition.

She referred to as a querulous, self-centered neurotic.Throughout the course of the radio play,
Mrs.Stevenson grows more and more agitated, demanding, and panicked.

Setting:

New York New York is the city in which the play is set. It is the location of the Queensboro
Bridge, Mrs. Stevenson's bedroom, Murray Hill, and Second Avenue.

Theme:

1. Mystery-is a dominant theme in the play.

2. Terror-a underlying theme in the story. Terror in the story revolves around the character of
Mrs. Stevenson.

Suspense and atmosphere:

The tension begins to build right from the start as we find an invalid lady home alone late in the
evening trying to reach her husband on the phone but getting only busy signals. It cranks up

another notch when she overhears the murder plot and from there it just never stops. As Mrs.
Stevenson gradually pieces together what’s happening, and her mood becomes more and more
frantic, the suspense builds and builds to a shattering conclusion.

Conflict:

Conflict is portrayed when the character, Mrs. Stevenson, is struggling with herself. When Mrs
Stevenson heard the sound of the phone receiver being lifted on the same extension line as her,
“(Click of receiver being put down on Mrs.Stevenson’s line)” She was attempting to get help
from the Operator yet the Operator was not bothering about her at all. She is scared, thinking
that if she does not pick it up, if she does not let

them hear her and she is quiet, they would not realize that she is there and eventually they’ll
leave her house.