Muhammad Ali Dinakhel Ph.

D Scholar

Literary genre
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Literature

Major forms

Novel Poem Drama Short story Novella

Genres

Comedy Drama Epic Erotic Nonsense Lyric

Mythopoeia Romance

Satire Tragedy

Tragicomedy

Media

Performance (play)

Book

Techniques

Prose Poetry

History and lists

Outline of literature Glossary of terms History (modern)

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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. The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, often with subgroups. The most general genres in literature are (in loose chronological order) epic, tragedy,[1] comedy, and creative nonfiction.[citation needed] They can all be in the form of prose or poetry. Additionally, a genre such as satire, allegory or pastoral might appear in any of the above, not only as a subgenre (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. Genre should not be confused with age categories, 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 concept of "genre" has been criticized by Jacques Derrida.[2][3]

Contents

1 Genres 2 Notes 3 References 4 External links

Genres
For more details on this topic, see List of literary genres. Just as in painting, there are different types: the landscape, the still life, the portrait; there are different types of literary works. These types tend to share specific characteristics. Genres describe those works which share specific conventions.[4] Genres are often divided into sub-genres. Literature, is divided into the classic three forms of Ancient Greece, poetry, drama, and prose. Poetry may then be subdivided into the genres of lyric, epic, and dramatic. The lyric includes all the shorter forms of poetry, e.g., song, ode, ballad, elegy, sonnet.[4] Dramatic poetry might include comedy, tragedy, melodrama, and mixtures like tragicomedy. The standard division of drama into tragedy and comedy derives from Greek drama.[4] Comedy itself has sub-genres, including farce, comedy of manners, burlesque, and satire. This parsing

into sub-genres can continue: comedy has its own sub-genres, including, for example, comedy of manners, sentimental comedy, burlesque comedy, and satirical comedy. 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, artisticallyrendered 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. Types of fiction genres are science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, realistic fiction and mysteries. 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, semi-fiction 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.

List of fiction subgenres, definitions, and indicative words

Character

Literature

Literary genres are determined by literary technique, tone, content and by critics' definitions of the genres.

A literary genre is a category, type or class of literature.

Major forms of literature

The major forms of Literature are:

Novel Poem Drama Short story Novella

Various works of literature are written in and further categorized by genre. Sometimes forms are used interchangeably to define genre. However, a form, e.g., a novel or a poem, can itself be written in any genre. Genre is a label that characterizes elements a reader can expect in a work of literature. The major forms of literature can be written in various genres. Genre is a category characterized by similarities in style, or subject matter. The classic major genres of Literature are:

Drama Romance Satire Tragedy Comedy Tragicomedy

Genre categories: fiction and nonfiction

Genre may fall under one of two categories: Fiction and Nonfiction. Any genre can be either: a work of Fiction (nonfactual descriptions and events invented by the author) or a work of Nonfiction (a communication in which descriptions and events are understood to be factual).
Common genres: fiction

Subsets of genres, known as common genres, have developed from the archetypes of genres in written expression. The common genres included in recommended Literature from kindergarten through grade twelve by the California Department of Education are defined as:[1]

Drama stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action Fable narration demonstrating an useful truth, especially in which animals speak as humans; legendary, supernatural tale Fairy tale story about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children Fantasy fiction with strange or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality Fiction narrative literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact Fiction in verse full-length novels with plot, subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the narrative is presented in (usually blank) verse form Folklore the songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as handed down by word of mouth Historical fiction story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting Horror fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread and sometimes fear in both the characters and the reader Humor Usually a fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain and sometimes cause intended laughter; but can be contained in all genres Legend story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, that has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative material Mystery fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets Mythology legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods Poetry verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that creates emotional responses Realistic fiction story that is true to life Science fiction story based on impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually set in the future or on other planets roghanay korbana khyalona Short story fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots Tall tale humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with nonchalance

Common genres: nonfiction

Biography/Autobiography - Narrative of a person's life. A true story about a real person.

Essay - A short literary composition that reflects the author's outlook or point. Narrative nonfiction - Factual information presented in a format which tells a story. Speech - Public address or discourse. Textbook - Authoritative and detailed factual description of a topic.

Literary fiction vs. genre fiction

Literary fiction is a term used to to distinguish certain fictional works that possess commonly held qualities that constitute literary merit. Genre works are written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. Literary fiction may fit within a classification of market fiction, but also possesses generally agreed upon qualities such as "elegantly written, lyrical, and ... layered" that appeals to readers outside genre fiction. Literary fiction has been defined as any fiction that attempts to engage with one or more truths or questions, hence relevant to a broad scope of humanity as a form of expression. There are many sources that help readers find and define literary fiction and genre fiction.[2][3]

Genres and subgenres

Absurdist fiction o Literary nonsense Adventure novel o Epic o Imaginary voyage o Lost World o Men's adventure o Milesian tale o Picaresque novel (picaresco) o Robinsonade Apocalyptic robinsonade Science fiction robinsonade o Sea story Brit lit Children's literature o Young-adult fiction Class S Light novel Comic novel o Black comedy o Parody o Romantic comedy o Satire Picaresque novel Political satire Education fiction o Campus novel Campus murder mystery

School story Varsity novel Experimental fiction o Antinovel o Ergodic literature Erotic fiction o Erotic romance o Picaresque novel (picaresco) o Women's erotica Historical fiction o Historical romance Metahistorical romance o Historical whodunnit o Holocaust novel o Plantation tradition o Prehistoric fiction o Regency novel Regency romance Literary fiction Mathematical fiction Memoir o Autobiographical novel o Bildungsroman o Slave narrative Contemporary slave narrative Neo-slave narrative Metafiction Nonfiction novel o Biographical novel Autobiographical novel Semi-autobiographical novel I novel Occupational fiction o Hollywood novel o Legal thriller o Medical fiction Medical romance o Musical fiction o Lab lit o Sports fiction Philosophical fiction o Existentialist fiction o Novel of ideas o Philosophical horror o Platonic Dialogues Political fiction o Political satire Pulp fiction

o o

Quantum fiction Religious fiction o Christian fiction Christian science fiction Contemporary Christian fiction o Luciferian literature Saga o Family saga Speculative fiction o Science fiction Hard science fiction Soft science fiction Space opera Military Punk Cyberpunk Biopunk Nanopunk Postcyberpunk Steampunk Clockpunk Dieselpunk Atompunk Dystopian Alternative universe Alternative history Post-apocalyptic Alien invasion Scientific romance o Horror Gothic fiction Southern Gothic Supernatural / Paranormal Ghost story Monster literature Jiangshi fiction Vampire fiction Werewolf fiction Cosmic (Lovecraftian) Occult detective Psychological Erotic Body horror Splatterpunk o Fantasy by Theme Comic fantasy Dark fantasy

Contemporary fantasy Heroic fantasy Magic realism Fantasy of manners Mythic Paranormal fantasy Shenmo fantasy Superhero fantasy Sword and sorcery By setting Epic / High fantasy Low fantasy Hard fantasy Historical fantasy Prehistoric fantasy Medieval fantasy Wuxia Urban fantasy Paranormal romance o Speculative cross-genre fiction Science fantasy Planetary romance Sword and planet Dying Earth Weird fiction Suspense fiction o Crime fiction o Detective fiction o Gong'an fiction o Mystery fiction Westerns Women's fiction o Class S o Femslash o Matron literature o Romance novel o Yaoi o Yuri Workplace tell-all Tragedy o Melodrama Urban fiction Thriller o Conspiracy fiction o Legal thriller o Medical thriller o Political thriller Spy fiction

Psychological thriller Techno-thriller General cross-genre o Historical romance o Juvenile fantasy o LGBT pulp fiction Gay male pulp fiction Lesbian pulp fiction Lesbian erotica fiction o Paranormal romance o Romantic fantasy o Tragicomedy

o o

Nonfiction genres
These are genres belonging to the realm of nonfiction. Some genres listed may reappear throughout the list, indicating cross-genre status.

Biography o Autobiography, Memoir Spiritual autobiography Creative nonfiction Diaries and Journals Erotic literature Essay, Treatise Fable, Fairy tale, Folklore History o Popular history o People's history o Official history o Academic history o Narrative history o Whig history Letter Religious text o Apologetics o Proverbs o Scripture o Christian literature o Islamic literature o Buddhist texts Philosophy

References
1. Jump up ^ Literary Genres Recommended California Department of Education

2. Jump up ^ Nancy Pearl, Now Read This: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction, Libraries Unlimited, 1999, 432 pp. (1-56308-659-X) 3. Jump up ^ Saricks, J. (2001). The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. Chicago and London: American Library Association. [hide]

v t e

Narrative

Character

Antagonist Antihero Archenemy Characterization Deuteragonist False protagonist Focal character Foil Protagonist Stock character Supporting character Tritagonist Narrator Character arc Clich Climax Conflict Dialogue Dramatic structure Exposition Plot device Plot twist Reveal Subplot Trope Kishtenketsu Alternate history Dystopia Fictional city Fictional country Fictional location

Plot

Setting

Fictional universe Utopia Leitmotif Moral Motif Diction Figure of speech Imagery Literary technique Narrative mode Stylistic device Suspension of disbelief Symbolism Tone Fable Fabliau Fairy tale Folktale Hypertext Flash fiction Legend Novella Novel Epic Parable Play Poem Screenplay Short story List of narrative forms Adventure Comic Crime Docufiction Epistolary Erotic Faction Fantasy Historical Horror Magic realism Mystery

Theme

Style

Form

Genre

Paranoid Philosophical Political Romance Saga Satire Science Speculative Superhero Thriller Urban Western First-person Second-person Third-person narrative Stream of consciousness Unreliable Past tense Present tense Future tense

Narrator

Tense

Thesaurus Legend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms Noun 1. literary genre - a style of expressing yourself in writing writing style, genre drama - the literary genre of works intended for the theater prose - ordinary writing as distinguished from verse expressive style, style - a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period; "all the reporters were expected to adopt the style of the newspaper" form - an arrangement of the elements in a composition or discourse; "the essay was in the form of a dialogue"; "he first sketches the plot in outline form" poesy, poetry, verse - literature in metrical form Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

literary genre

A literary genre is a style of writing. Your favorite literary genre might be science fiction, for example. The word genre means "artistic category or style," and you can talk about a movie's genre, or the genre of music that drives you crazy. When you use the term literary genre, you make it clear that you're talking about books and writing. Bookstores sometimes use literary genres as a way to separate books into different sections, like "classics" or "mysteries." The word genre is French, and it means "kind, sort, or style."

DEFINITIONS OF: literary genre

1 n a style of expressing yourself in writing Synonyms: genre, writing style Types: show 16 types... Type of: expressive style, style a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period Add to List... Thesaurus WORD FAMILY literary genre literary genres the "literary genre" family USAGE EXAMPLES

Cyberspace was popularized by novelist William Gibson, father of the literary genre known as cyberpunk. Scientific American Nov 27, 2013

It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre.

Newsweek Sep 19, 2013

Much of the pastoral literary genre has long been a solidly bourgeois form of escapism. The Guardian Jul 6, 2013

By literary genre, essentially: if it was written on the toilet wall but didn't appear in satire, it was likely to be properly rude. The Guardian May 23, 2013

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Genres of Literature
Genres of literature are important to learn about. The two main categories separating the different genres of literature are fiction and nonfiction. There are several genres of literature that fall under the nonfiction category. Nonfiction sits in direct opposition to fiction. Examples from both the fiction and nonfiction genres of literature are explained in detail below. This detailed genres of literature list is a great resource to share with any scholars. Types of Nonfiction: Narrative Nonfiction is information based on fact that is presented in a format which tells a story. Essays are a short literary composition that reflects the authors outlook or point. A short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative. A Biography is a written account of another persons life. An Autobiography gives the history of a persons life, written or told by that person. Often written in Narrative form of their persons life. Speech is the faculty or power of speaking; oral communication; ability to express ones thoughts and emotions by speech, sounds, and gesture. Generally delivered in the form of an address or discourse. Finally there is the general genre of Nonfiction. This is Informational text dealing with an actual, real-life subject. This genre of literature offers opinions or conjectures on facts and reality. This includes biographies, history, essays, speech, and narrative non fiction. Nonfiction opposes fiction and is distinguished from those fiction genres of literature like poetry and drama which is the next section we will discuss.

Genres of Fiction: Drama is the genre of literature thats subject for compositions is dramatic art in the way it is represented. This genre is stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action. Poetry is verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that evokes an emotional response from the reader. The art of poetry is rhythmical in composition, written or spoken. This genre of literature is for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts. Fantasy is the forming of mental images with strange or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality. Humor is the faculty of perceiving what is amusing or comical. Fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement which meant to entertain. This genre of literature can actually be seen and contained within all genres. A Fable is a story about supernatural or extraordinary people Usually in the form of narration that demonstrates a useful truth. In Fables, animals often speak as humans that are legendary and supernatural tales. Fairy Tales or wonder tales are a kind of folktale or fable. Sometimes the stories are about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children. Science Fiction is a story based on impact of potential science, either actual or imagined. Science fiction is one of the genres of literature that is set in the future or on other planets. Short Story is fiction of such briefness that is not able to support any subplots. Realistic Fiction is a story that can actually happen and is true to real life. Folklore are songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a person of folk that was handed down by word of mouth. Folklore is a genre of literature that is widely held, but false and based on unsubstantiated beliefs. Historical Fiction is a story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting. Horror is an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by literature that is frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting. Fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread in both the characters and the reader. A Tall Tale is a humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with an here of nonchalance. Legend is a story that sometimes of a national or folk hero. Legend is based on fact but also includes imaginative material.

Mystery is a genre of fiction that deals with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets. Anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown. Mythology is a type of legend or traditional narrative. This is often based in part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods. A body of myths, as that of a particular people or that relating to a particular person. Fiction in Verse is full-length novels with plot, subplots, themes, with major and minor characters. Fiction of verse is one of the genres of literature in which the narrative is usually presented in blank verse form. The genre of Fiction can be defined as narrative literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact. In fiction something is feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story. The Oxford English Dictionary is a great place to consult for any further definitions of the different genres of literature explained here.

2013 - All rights reserved by Genres of Literature

Here is a list of literary genres as defined by the California Department of Education: All Fiction

Drama Stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action. Fable Narration demonstrating a useful truth, especially in which animals speak as humans; legendary, supernatural tale. Fairy Tale Story about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children.

Fantasy Fiction with strange or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality. Fiction Narrative literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact. Fiction in Verse Full-length novels with plot, subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the narrative is presented in (usually blank) verse form. Folklore The songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as handed down by word of mouth. Historical Fiction Story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting. Horror Fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread in both the characters and the reader. Humor Fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain; but can be contained in all genres. Legend Story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, which has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative material. Mystery Fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets. Mythology Legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods. Poetry Verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that creates emotional responses. Realistic Fiction Story that can actually happen and is true to life. Science Fiction Story based on impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually set in the future or on other planets.

Short Story Fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots. Tall Tale Humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with nonchalance. All Nonfiction Biography/Autobiography Narrative of a person's life, a true story about a real person. Essay A short literary composition that reflects the author's outlook or point. Narrative Nonfiction Factual information presented in a format which tells a story. Nonfiction Informational text dealing with an actual, real-life subject. Speech Public address or discourse.

Literary Terms and Definitions: G

This page is under perpetual construction! It was last updated October 25th, 2013.

This list is meant to assist, not intimidate. Use it as a touchstone for important concepts and vocabulary that we will cover during the term. Vocabulary terms are listed alphabetically.

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z]
GAIR LLANW: In Welsh poetry such as the strict meters (cynghanedd), a common technique to fill out the necessary syllables in a line is to add a gair llanw, a parenthetical word or phrase--often functioning much like an epithet

in Greek literature. GALLERY: The elevated seating areas at the back and sides of a theater. GATHERERS: Money-collectors employed by an acting company to take money at the admissions or entrances to a theater. GEASA (also spelled geisa or geis, plural geissi): A magical taboo or restriction placed on a hero in Old Irish literature. For example, Cuchulainn in the Tain is forbidden to eat the flesh of a dog because his own name means "hound of Ulster." (On a symbolic level then, eating a dog's meat would be an act of autocannibalism.) Such restrictions are almost archetypal--compare with Sampson and Delilah in biblical literature. Also compare with the tynged in Welsh literature. GEMEL: A final couplet that appears at the end of a sonnet. See couplet and sonnet. GENDER, GRAMMATICAL: A grammatical category in most IndoEuropean languages. Three genders commonly appear for pronouns, nouns (and in inflected languages adjectives): masculine, feminine, and neuter. Note that these categories are only vaguely related to biological gender. GENERAL SEMANTICS: According to Algeo, "A linguistic philosophy emphasizing the arbitrary nature of language to clarify thinking" (319). GENERALIZATION, LINGUISTIC: As Algeo defines it, "A semantic change expanding the kinds of referents of a word" (319). I.e., in generalization, a word picks up broader meaning instead of becoming specialized, focused, and narrower in meaning. GENERATIVE GRAMMAR: Another term for transformational grammar. GENETIC CLASSIFICATION: A grouping of languages based on their historical development from a common source. GENITIVE: A declension in any synthetic (i.e. heavily inflected) language that indicates possession. In many Old English singular nouns, an -es declension attached to the end of that noun would indicate the genitive case. For instance, in the phrase "Godes wrath" (God's wrath), the -es indicates that the word wrath belongs to God. That ancient -es genitive declension survives today in fossilized form as the apostrophe followed by the letter s. For instance, the boy's ball. The use of the apostrophe is the result of a Renaissance misunderstanding. See his-genitive for more information.

GENRE: A type or category of literature or film marked by certain shared features or conventions. The three broadest categories of genre include poetry, drama, and fiction. These general genres are often subdivided into more specific genres and subgenres. For instance, precise examples of genres might include murder mysteries, westerns, sonnets, lyric poetry, epics, tragedies, etc. Bookstores, libraries, and services like Redbox or Netflix may label and subdivide their books or films into genres for the convenience of shoppers seeking a specific category of literature. GEOGRAPHICAL DIALECT (also called a regional dialect): A dialect that appears primarily in a geographic area, as opposed to a dialect that appears primarily in an ethnic group or social caste. GERMANIC: The northern branch of Indo-European, often subdivided into (1) East Germanic or Gothic, (2) West Germanic, and (3) North Germanic. Old Norse fits in the North Germanic sub-branch while Old English falls in the West Germanic sub-branch. GHOST CHARACTERS: This term should not be confused with characters who happen to appear on stage as ghosts. Shakespearean scholars use the word "ghost characters" to refer to characters listed in the stage directions or the list of dramatis personae but who appear to say nothing, take no explicit part in the action, and are neither addressed nor mentioned by any other characters in the play. For instance, some quarto editions of Much Ado About Nothing list such characters in the first stage directions and again in Act III. GHOST STORY: Any liteary or folklore narrative dealing with supernatural beings that return from the dead to haunt the living. Ghost stories appear in the traditions of a wide number of peoples and places including Amerindian and Polynesian tribes, the Middle East and Asia, and Europe. They may date back to prehistoric times and even today remain popular on " reality" television series, in horror films, and in online creepypastas. Ghost stories are often told with the explicit or implicit goal of evoking fear, suspense, and "goosebumps" in the listener. Many Gothic novels are ghost stories. Anthropologists suggest that, as is true with the current fascination with zombie apocalypse narratives, the fear implicit in a ghost story may originate in the instinctive revulsion and dismay humans (and many other animal species) feel when confronted with a dead body of their own species. Fear of and revulsion toward such dead bodies is a survival trait--obviously something dangerous to one's species--a predator, a poison, or a pathogen-killed the dead body. So, a strong desire to avoid the body and the surrounding area (i.e, a feeling of nausea or terror) would encourage others to keep their distance. The creators of ghost stories rely intentionally or unintentionally on this instinctive reaction toward the dead as one of the emotional engines to shape a reaction in their audience. Contrast with ghost characters, above.

GIMMAL: A term coined by Zireaux for a type of rhyme consisting of two words, and only two words, which rhyme perfectly in double or triple rhyme, and which appear related in meaning; additionally, no other standard English word can rhyme with them, making each set unique. Examples include beautiful/dutiful, achievement/bereavement, meager/eager, and cupid/stupid (Zireaux). Not to be confused with gimel, a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. GLIDE: Also called a semivowel, a glide is a diphthongized sound that accompanies another vowel. These sounds are classified as on-glide or offglide. For instance, Algeo notes the word mule [myule] contains an on-glide [y]. In contrast, the word mile [maIl] has an off-glide (319). GLOBE: One of the theatres in London where Shakespeare performed. Shakespeare's acting company built it on the Bankside south of the Thames--an area often called "Southwerke"--which was notorious for its brothels and taverns, since it lay outside the jurisdiction of London proper. Technically polygonal rather than a perfect sphere, it was sufficiently circular to earn its name. The area above the stage, which contained a small orchestra for playing music and a small cannon for making explosive sound effects, was referred to in actor's slang as "the heavens." The cellarage, or the area directly underneath the stage, accessible through a trapdoor called the hell mouth (q.v.), was known as "hell." GLOSA: The term has two meanings. (1) In linguistics, a synthetic language intended to be used as a communications tool amongst scientists across the world. Originally called interglossa, the language originates in the work of Great Britain's Lancelot Hogben. He first published the language as a whole in 1943. Interglosa was later modified and the name shortened to Glosa in 1978, three years after Hogben's death. (2) In poetry, a glosa is a genre or poetic form in which a later poet writes a poem commenting on or "glossing" a famous quatrain written by another poet. Canadian poet P. K. Page defines it as consisting of an opening quatrain written by another poet, four ten-line stanzas, each with concluding lines taken consecutively from the quatrain, and the sixth and ninth lines rhyming with the borrowed tenth line (Page, "forward"). Cf. gloss below. GLOSS (Orig. Grk glossa "language", adopted into Latin as glosa and becoming a verb by backformation as glosare, "to comment or explain in writing"): As a verb, to gloss is to write a scholarly or explanatory commentary on another text. This practice was common among medieval scribes and writers, particularly those commenting on biblical texts, who would write extensive glosses in smaller handwriting in the margins of bibles. Modern editors of scholarly editions often add their own glosses to literary works in the form of footnotes. See criticus apparatus. As a noun, a gloss is the actual written commentary itself. Glossation is the act of making such commentaries.

GLOTTAL: Any sound made using the glottis or the vocal cords. GOGYNFEIRDD: A collective term for the court poets in Northern Wales in the years 1000-1299 CE. GOIDELIC: One of the two branches of the Celtic family of languages descended from Proto-Indo-European. Goidelic includes Celtic languages such as Manx, Irish Gaelic, and Scots Gaelic. Contrast with the related Brythonic branch, which includes Cornish, Breton, and Welsh. The Goidelic language branch is also referred to as "Q-Celtic" because it tends to use a <q> or <c> in certain words where a <p> appears in Brythonic equivalents. GOLDEN AGE OF GREECE: The period around 400-499 BCE, when Athens was at its height of prestige, wealth, and military power. This term is often used as a contrast with the Heroic Age of Greece (c. 1200-800 BCE). GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION: The period between 1930 and about 1955 in which a growing number of science fiction short stories appeared in pulp fiction publications like the following:

Amazing Stories (first issued 1926 under the editorial control of Hugo Gernsback and the artistic control of Frank Paul) Weird Tales (first issued 1923 under J.C. Henneberger) Fantastic Adventures (first published 1952 under Ziff Davis) Science Wonder Stories (first published under Hugo Gernsback in 1930) Thrilling Wonder Stories (first published 1936 under Ned Pines)

The golden age is not necessarily designated thus because of the quality of the material, but rather in the sense of this being a "first age" in which science fiction was widely published and editors/authors/readers recognized it as a distinct genre. These early magazines often suffered from financial woes, frequently traded hands in terms of ownership, and often had circulations of less than 30,000 issues. By the 1950s however, these short stories had created a generation of young science fiction readers who turned into adult writers, paving the way for the science fiction novel. Many science fiction writers like A. E. Vogt, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula LeGuin, Arthur C. Clarke, L. Sprague de Camp, Robert Heinlein, Theodore Sturgeon, and Isaac Asimov wrote their first major works for these early publications. GOTHIC: The word Gothic originally only referred to the Goths, one of the Germanic tribes that helped destroy Rome. Their now-extinct language, also called Gothic, died out completely. The term later came to signify "Germanic," then "medieval," especially in reference to the medieval architecture and art used in western Europe between 1100 and 1500 CE. (The earlier art and architecture of medieval Europe between 700-1100 CE is known as

"Romanesque.") Characteristics of Gothic architecture include the pointed arch and vault, the flying buttress, stained glass, and the use of gargoyles and grotesques fitted into the nooks and crannies unoccupied by images of saints and biblical figures. A grotesque refers to a stone carving of a monstrous or mythical creature either in two dimensions or full-relief, but which does not contain a pipe for transferring rainwater. A gargoyle is a full-relief stone carving with an actual pipe running through it, so that rainwater will flow through it and out of a water-spout in its mouth. Manuscripts from the Gothic period of art likewise have strange monsters and fantastical creatures depicted in the margins of the page, and elaborate vine-work or leaf-work painted along the borders. The term has come to be used much more loosely to refer to gloomy or frightening literature. Contrast with horror story, Gothic literature and Gothic novel (below). GOTHIC LITERATURE: Poetry, short stories, or novels designed to thrill readers by providing mystery and blood-curdling accounts of villainy, murder, and the supernatural. As J. A. Cuddon suggests, the conventions of gothic literature include wild and desolate landscapes, ancient buildings such as ruined monasteries; cathedrals; castles with dungeons, torture chambers, secret doors, and winding stairways; apparitions, phantoms, demons, and necromancers; an atmosphere of brooding gloom; and youthful, handsome heroes and fainting (or screaming!) heroines who face off against corrupt aristocrats, wicked witches, and hideous monsters. Conventionally, female characters are threatened by powerful or impetuous male figures, and description functions through a metonymy of fear by presenting details designed to evoke horror, disgust, or terror (see Cuddon's discussion, 381-82). The term Gothic originally was applied to a tribe of Germanic barbarians during the dark ages and their now-extinct language, but eventually historians used it to refer to the gloomy and impressive style of medieval architecture common in Europe, hence "Gothic Castle" or "Gothic Architecture." The term became associated with ghost stories and horror novels because early Gothic novels were often associated with the Middle Ages and with things "wild, bloody, and barbarous of long ago" as J. A. Cuddon puts it in his Dictionary of Literary Terms (381). See Gothic, above, and Gothic novel, below. GOTHIC NOVEL: A type of romance wildly popular between 1760 up until the 1820s that has influenced the ghost story and horror story. The stories are designed to thrill readers by providing mystery and blood-curdling accounts of villainy, murder, and the supernatural. As J. A. Cuddon suggests, the conventions include wild and desolate landscapes; ancient buildings such as ruined monasteries, cathedrals, and castles with dungeons, torture chambers, secret doors, and winding stairways; apparitions such as phantoms, demons, and necromancers; an atmosphere of brooding gloom; and youthful, handsome heroes and fainting (or screaming!) heroines who face off against corrupt aristocrats, wicked witches, and hideous monsters. Conventionally, powerful

or impetuous male figure threaten virtuous female characters. The description functions through a metonymy of fear by presenting details designed to evoke horror, disgust, or terror (see Cuddon's discussion, 381-82). The term Gothic originally was applied to a tribe of Germanic barbarians during the dark ages and their now-extinct language, but eventually historians used it to refer to the gloomy and impressive style of medieval architecture common in Europe, hence "Gothic Castle" or "Gothic Architecture." The term became associated with ghost stories and horror novels because early Gothic novels were often associated with the Middle Ages and with things "wild, bloody, and barbarous of long ago" as J. A. Cuddon puts it in his Dictionary of Literary Terms (381). Alternatively, the label gothic may have come about because Horace Walpole, one of the early writers, wrote his works in a faux medieval castle). The best known early example is Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. Later British writers in the Gothic tradition include "Monk" Lewis, Charles Maturin, William Beckford, Ann Radcliffe, and Mary Shelley. American Gothic writers include Charles Brockden Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe. Famous novels such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula are also considered gothic novels. In modern cartoons, Scooby Doo would also fall into the category of mock gothic drama in animated form. Many Gothic novels are ghost stories. Gothic novels are also called gothic romances. GOTHIC ROMANCE: Another term for a Gothic novel. GRADATIO: Extended anadiplosis (see above). Unlike regular anadiplosis, gradatio continues the pattern of repetition from clause to clause. For instance, in The Caine Mutiny the captain declares: "Aboard my ship, excellent performance
is standard. Standard performance is sub-standard. Sub-standard performance is not allowed." Biblically speaking, St. Paul claims, "We glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope, and hope maketh man not ashamed." On a more mundane level, the character of Yoda states in Star Wars, Episode I: "Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hatred; hatred leads to conflict; conflict leads to suffering." Gradatio creates

a rhythmical pattern to carry the reader along the text, even as it establishes a connection between words. Anadiplosis and gradatio are examples of rhetorical schemes. GRADATION: In linguistics, another term for ablaut. GRADUS (Lat. "step," cf. passus): "A handbook used as an aid in a difficult art or practice, specifically a dictionary of Greek or Latin prosody used as a guide in writing poetry in Greek or Latin. From Gradus ad Parnassum (literally, a step to Parnassus), a 17th-century prosody dictionary long used in British schools" (Zireaux).

GRGAS LAWBOOK (Old Norse "greygoose"): A section of the Codex Regius text that deals with wergild and Icelandic law--an important source for understanding the conflict in Icelandic sagas. GRAMMATICAL FUNCTION: A category for words in inflected languages--typical examples include aspect, mood, and tense for verbs; person and case for pronouns; case and definiteness for articles, and number, case, and gender for nouns. GRAPHEME: In a writing system, the smallest written mark or symbol that has meaning, and which cannot be subdivided into smaller markings recognized as symbols in a particular written form of language. For example, in English, the marking for the letter "a" <A> involves two diagonal lines that slant upward and one horizontal line. If any one of those three lines are removed, the markings are no longer recognizably a letter. Thus, the letter <A> is a grapheme that cannot be further subdivided into smaller symbols. Linguists indicate graphemes and written words by placing them in chevrons or carroted brackets in order to distinguish the markings from phonemes when discussing the sounds of the spoken word. For phonetic transcription, they would place the symbols for the sounds in slashes like /this/. Thus, the markings <kitten> and <cat>would indicate the way English speakers write the words "kitten" and "cat," respectively, but linguists would use phonetic transcription /kitin/ and /kt/ respectively to indicate the way English speakers pronounce the words aloud. See also phoneme and morpheme. GRAMMATICAL GENDER: See gender. GREAT DIONYSIA: See Dionysia. GREAT VOWEL SHIFT: A remarkable change in the pronunciation of English, thought to have occurred largely between 1400 and 1450. Much of Middle English poetry (including all the works of Chaucer, Gower, Langland, and the Pearl Poet) was written before the Great Vowel Shift took place, and thus it should be pronounced differently than Modern English. In scholarly parlance, the Great Vowel Shift is usually referred to by its initials as GVS. Click here for more information. GRIMM'S LAW: A formulation or rule of thumb for tracing a language-shift in the Germanic branch of proto-Indo-European, i.e., the way certain consonants changed in the western or centum subfamily. The term comes from Jakob Grimm (the same scholar who with his brother collected the folktales in Grimm's Fairy Tales). Click here for specific information. GRISAILLE: Kathleen Scott tells us that, in the elaborate medieval artwork found in illuminated manuscripts, grisaille refers to "decorative work or illustrative scenes rendered mainly in shades of grey or muted brown; in

English 15th-century illustration, often in combination with colours or gold, i.e., figures in a monochrome tone against a coloured background; not common in 15th-century English book illustration" (Scott 372). It is, however, more commmon in continental manuscripts. GROUNDLINGS: While the upper class paid two pennies to sit in the raised area with seats, and some nobles paid three pennies to sit in the Lords' rooms, the majority of viewers who watched Shakespeare's plays were called groundlings or understanders. They paid a single penny for admission to the ground level in the yard of the Globe theatre and remained standing for the entire play (often up to four hours in length). The word groundlings for such audience members first appears in Hamlet. From this and other contexts, it appears that the groundlings were boisterous and not very bright, with a penchant for eating nuts and throwing the shells at the actors on stage. (Contrast with the wealthy observers in the lords' rooms.) GROUP GENITIVE: A genitive construction in which the 's appears at the end of a phrase modifying a word rather than the head or beginning of a phrase. For instance, "the applicant who lives in New York's resume arrived today." Here, the word applicant in red is the actual possessor of the resume, but because the long phrase who lives in New York appears between it and the possessed object (the resume), most English speaker's take the possessive marker and attach it to the proper noun New York. Collectively, this formation is a group genitive. GRUE LANGUAGE: In linguistic anthropology, any language using a single word to describe both the hue of green and the hue of blue simultaneously is called a "grue" language. An example is Welsh, in which the word gwyrdd (pronounced goo-irrth) is a general term for green, but the word glas can accomodate both blue and all shades of green (which is why the word for grass in Welsh literally translates as "blue straw"). One theory suggests any ethnic groups living in mountainous or equatorial areas will tend to speak grue languages because the stronger UV radiation in these locations causes the lens of the eye to yellow gradually, eventually making the eye less capable of perceiving short wavelenths (i.e. blue and green) in the spectrum. Such people arguably have a harder time distinguishing minor variations in color between blue and green, and hence use only one word to describe both hues. GUILD: A medieval organization that combined the qualities of a union, a vocational school, a trading corporation, and product regulations committee for the bourgeoisie. These associations of merchants, artisans, and craftsmen rose in power and numbers toward the late medieval period. Click here for an expanded discussion of guilds. GUIOT MANUSCRIPT, THE: Technically referred to as MS Bibliothque Nationale f. fr. 794, this mid-thirteenth-century manuscript is the most

important document containing Chrtien de Troyes's Arthurian romances after the so-called Annonay Manuscript was destroyed in the eighteenthcentury. GUSTATORY IMAGERY: Imagery dealing with taste. This is opposed to visual imagery, dealing with sight, auditory imagery, dealing with sound, tactile imagery, dealing with touch, and olfactory imagery, dealing with scent. See imagery. GVS: The abbreviation that linguists and scholars of English use to refer to the Great Vowel Shift. See Great Vowel Shift, above. GYRE (Latin gyrus, a spiral): A gyre is a spiral or circular motion. W. B. Yeats uses the image of a gyre in "The Second Coming" as his private symbol for the forces of history, taking the idea from medieval falconry. There, the falconer normally allowed the bird to circle outward in increasing distances, but he could not let it spiral out so far that it can no longer hear his commands. In the same way, Yeats thought of history as occuring in two-thousand year cycles, and thought that one such cycle was about to end in the twentieth century. Thus, his image for a world going out of control was that of a falcon moving too far away from the center or the falconer, which might represent God, tradition, morality, or some similar principle. (Note the word gyre is pronounced with an initial /j/ sound; compare with the pronunciation of gyroscope and gyrfalcon.)

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z] TO TOP OF THIS PAGE
I consulted the following works while preparing this list. I have tried to give credit to specific sources when feasible, but in many cases multiple reference works use the same examples or provide the same dates for common information. Students should examine these resources for more information than these humble webpages provide: Works Cited:

Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 6th edition. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Pub., 1993. [Now superseded by later editions.] ---. "Poetic Forms and Literary Terminology." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th edition. Volume 1. New York: Norton, 2000. 2944-61. 2 Vols. Algeo, John and Thomas Pyles. The Origin and Development of the English Language. 5th edition. U.S.A., 2004. Baugh, A. C. and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language. 5th edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2002. Brown, Michelle P. Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: A Guide to Technical Terms . London: The British Library and the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1994. Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. [Originally published 1977 as Griechische Religion der archaischen und klassischen Epoche.] Trans. John Raffan. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1985. Catholic University of America Editorial Staff. The New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1967-

79.

Corbett, Edward P. J. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. 3rd edition. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1990. Cuddon, J. A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. London: Penguin Books, 1991. Damrosch, David, gen. ed. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. 2nd Compact Edition. Volume A. New York: Pearson, 2004. 3 Vols. Deutsch, Babette. Poetry Handbook: A Dictionary of Terms. Fourth Edition. New York: Harper and Row, 1974. Reprint as Barnes and Noble Edition, 1981. Drout, Michael D. C. J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment . New York: Routledge, 2007. Duffy, Sen. Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge, 2005. Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory: An Introduction. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1983. Elkhadem, Saad. The York Dictionary Literary Terms and Their Origin: English, French, German, Spanish . York P, 1976. Gabel, John B. and Charles B. Wheeler. The Bible as Literature: An Introduction. New York: Oxford U P, 1986. Giroux, Joan. The Haiku Form. New York: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1974. Reprinted New York: Barnes and Noble, 1999. Greenblatt, Stephen. "Glossary." The Norton Shakespeare: Tragedies. New York: Norton, 1997. 1139-43. Guerin, Wilfred L., et al. "Glossary." A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. 2nd ed. New York: Harper and Row, 1979. 317-29. Harkins, Williams E. Dictionary of Russian Literature. The New Students Outline Series. Patterson, New Jersey: Littlefield, Adams, and Co., 1959. Harvey, Sir Paul and Dorothy Eagle, eds. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1969. Holman, C. Hugh. A Handbook to Literature. 3rd edition. New York: The Odyssey Press, 1972. Hopper, Vincent Foster. Medieval Number Symbolism: Its Sources, Meaning, and Influence on Thought and Expression. 1938. Republished Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2000. Horobin, Simon. Chaucer's Language. New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2007. Kane, George. The Autobiographical Fallacy in Chaucer and Langland Studies. London: H. K. Lewis, 1965. Lacy, Norris J. The New Arthurian Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing, 1996. Lanham, Richard A. A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms. 2nd edition. Berkeley: U of California P, 1991. Marshall, Jeremy and Fred McDonald. Questions of English. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1995. Mawson, C. O. Sylvester and Charles Berlitz. Dictionary of Foreign Terms. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 2nd ed. 1975. McManus, Damian. Ogam Stones At University College Cork. Cork: Cork U P, 2004. Metzger, Bruce M. and Michael D. Coogan, eds. The Oxford Companion to the Bible. New York: Oxford U P, 1993. O'Donoghue, Heather. Old Norse-Icelandic Literature: A Short Introduction. Malden, MA:Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Page, P.K. "Forward." Hologram. Brick Books, London, Ontario: 1994. Palmer, Donald. Looking At Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter. 2nd edition. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1994. Peck, Harry Thurston. Harper's Dictionary of Clasical Literature and Antiquities. New York: The American Book Company, 1923. 2 vols. Perelman, Ch. and L. Olbrechts-Tyteca. The New Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation. Notre Dame, U of Notre Dame P, 2000. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. Quinn, Arthur. Figures of Speech: 60 Ways to Turn a Phrase. Davis, California: Hermagoras P, 1993. Rae, Gail. Guide to Literary Terms. Staten Island, New York: Research and Educational Association, 1998. Roberts, Edgar V. and Henry E. Jacobs. "Glossary of Literary Terms." Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 6th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001. 2028-50. Scott, Kathleen L. Later Gothic Manuscripts, 1390-1490. A Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles 6. London: Harvey Miller Publishers, 1996. 2 Vols. Shaw, Harry. Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976. Shipley, Joseph T. Dictionary of World Literature: Criticism, Forms, Technique. The Philosophical Library. New York: Philosophical Library, 1943. Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary. 1989. Smith, David P. "Glossary of Grammar Terms." [Miscellaneous handouts made available to students in Basic Greek at Carson-Newman College in the Fall Term of 2006.] Swain, Dwight V. Creating Characters. The Elements of Fiction Writing. Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, 1990.

Williams, Jerri. "Schemes and Tropes." [Miscellaneous handouts made available to her graduate students at West Texas A & M University in the Fall Term of 1993.] Yasuda, Kenneth. The Japanese Haiku: Its Essential Nature, History, and Possibilities in English. Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1957. Zenkovsky, Serge A. Medieval Russia's Epics, Chronicles, and Tales. Rev Ed. New York: Meridian Books, 1974. Zireaux. E-mail Communication. 21 June 2012.

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LITERARY GENRE

Pronunciation (US): Dictionary entry overview: What does literary genre mean? LITERARY GENRE (noun) The noun LITERARY GENRE has 1 sense: 1. a style of expressing yourself in writing Familiarity information: LITERARY GENRE used as a noun is very rare.

Dictionary entry details

LITERARY GENRE (noun)

Sense 1 Meaning: A style of expressing yourself in writing Classified under:

literary genre [BACK TO TOP]

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents Synonyms: literary genre; writing style; genre Hypernyms ("literary genre" is a kind of...): expressive style; style (a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period) Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "literary genre"): drama (the literary genre of works intended for the theater) prose (ordinary writing as distinguished from verse) form (an arrangement of the elements in a composition or discourse) poesy; poetry; verse (literature in metrical form)

Learn English with... Proverbs of the week

"Don't cry over spilt milk." (English proverb) "Talk of the devil - and the devil appears." (Bulgarian proverb) "If you opress who is below you then you won't be safe from the punishment of who is above you." (Arabic proverb) "You will get furthest with honesty." (Czech proverb)

LITERARY GENRE: related words searches

verse meaning Definition of form Meaning of drama prose: pronunciation in phonetic transcription style definition

on.