Literature is a vague and interesting world to delve into. It has a wide array of works that have moved and inspired people for quite some time. But because of its broadness, its prospects might become confused, especially those who are new to reading books, writing stories, and telling tales. To start, an individual must get acquainted with the different literary terms and aspects that are playing great roles in literature. A literary genre is a term you often hear in picking the next novel to read, planning the next bestselling book, etc. What could it be?
Literary Genre
A literary genre, in the broadest sense, refers to the classification of composition. It is often determined through the narrative technique, tone, and content used in a particular work. In most cases, a genre can transform from abstract categories that are eventually sub-divided to tangible variations. The differences between genres and classifications are versatile and indistinctly defined.
Furthermore, the word “genre” also pertains to any writing that possesses certain traits. If there are a handful of characteristics that two pieces share, then they may belong to a particular genre. In the literary realm, there are four main genres that will definitely help each reader to project their expectations for the work, although these categories can be split further.
Types of Literary Genre
Fiction
This genre houses millions of books written by brilliant authors. It pertains to any creative piece comprising of individuals, activities, or places that are the products of the writer’s imagination. Thus, works of this category are not based on fact or history but are more imaginative and free.
A fictional work highlights the creative building of an imaginary realm. The way work is fictionalized widely recognized; so, its target readers basically anticipate it to vary in some factors in the real world instead of introducing characters that are real people or representations that are factually correct.
There are many sub-genres that fictions have. Most of them are beloved and widely patronized by many readers, such as the following:
- Adventure
- Science Fiction
- Romance
- Young Adult Fiction
- Mystery
- Horror Fiction
- Crime & Thriller
Nonfiction
Nonfiction is the branch of literature that is opposite to fiction. It is made up of works that are factual instead of imaginative. Thus, most of the writings under it are narrative prose that frequently provides insights or speculations on reality, such as history, memoirs, essays, self-help books, travelogues, journals, and the likes.
But, nonfiction books are not written not only focused on depicting reality but are also written using figurative language but as long as it doesn’t alter the factual information conveyed in work. In this day and age, nonfiction works are also selling millions of copies worldwide. In addition, there are also various remarkable authors who penned promising works, such as the following:
- Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Isabel Wilkerson
- Jerry Delaney
- Paul Kalanithi
- Daniel Kahneman
Poetry
Are you fond of reading poems? Did you know that poetry is more than stanzas, aesthetics, and ambiguity? It is considered one of the main genres of literature. Most poems possess the same characteristics, which can be seen in their structure, writing style, and tone. There are works under this genre that follow firm rules when it comes to how many lines and stanza they should contain and what rhyming scheme they must follow. But, there are also other works that are following the free verse. Moreover, poems make use of figurative language. With the said literary device, the poets can deepen the meaning and symbolism conveyed in their works.
Among the popular poems ever written are:
- The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
- Still, I Rise by Maya Angelou
- The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Prose
Prose pertains to the writings that follow a standard grammatical structure, which is in contrast to poetry, for it follows a particular metrical structure and lives up to a writer’s poetic license. It is defined as a language that observes the natural patterns often heard in daily speeches. It is the most basic type of writing, which is frequently utilized in both fiction and nonfiction.
There are different kinds of prose that everyone should know:
- Nonfictional prose
- Fictional prose
- Heroic prose
- Prose poetry
The Happy Hammock 