26 terms
Literary Genres and Subgenres
literary
of or about literature
literary genre
a type or category of literature
literature
books and other writing, usually by expert authors
fiction
(genre) a story that did not actually happen in real life
nonfiction
(genre) writing that is real or factual
drama
(genre) a play for theater told by character dialogue (talking)
poetry
(genre) writing that uses language and sounds in special ways to express ideas
literary subgenre
a smaller category of literature within a genre
comedy
(subgenre of drama) a funny, or humorous, drama with a happy ending
tragedy
(subgenre of drama) a drama that ends in death and sadness
historical fiction
(subgenre of fiction) a fiction story based on real history
folklore
(subgenre of fiction) old stories in a culture
fantasy
(subgenre of fiction) a story in a fantasy world
science fiction
(subgenre of fiction) a story in the future with advanced technology, or aliens
mystery
(subgenre of fiction) a story about a crime
romance
(subgenre of fiction) a love story
realistic fiction
(subgnere of fiction) a story that seems real but isn't
thriller or suspence
(subgenre of fiction) a story that makes readers nervous or excited
autobiography
(subgenre of nonfiction) a story about a story the author writes about himself or herself
biography
(subgenre of nonfiction) a story about a person's life
narrative nonfiction
(subgenre of nonfiction) a story that happened in real life
periodicals
(subgenre of nonfiction) magazines, newspapers, and journals written regulary
reference materials
(subgenre of nonfiction) books with facts in alphabetical order--includes dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedia
lyric
(subgenre of poetry) a poem about the speaker's thoughts--includes elegy, ode, and sonnet, and haiku
narrative
(subgenre of poetry) a poem that tells a story--includes epic, a long poem about a hero
dramatic
(subgenre of poetry) words spoken by a character--includes soliloquy, dialogue, and monologue