Brief Introduction to literary genres

1. Literary Genres
Arpita Ghosh
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Ramananda Centenary College

2. Genre
• French word meaning ‘a kind’
• a literary type or class
• Genre refers to art, literature, or music
distinguished by a specific form, content,
and style. For example, literature has four
main genres: poetry, drama, fiction, and non-
fiction
• Classification of genres varies over time,
region, and cultural preferences
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3. Poetry
• Earliest genre of literature
• poetry is a form of text that follows
a meter and rhythm
• Types of poetry include
- Epic ( Iliad, Mahabharata, Paradise Lost)
- Lyric
- Ode
- Sonnet
- Elegy
- Ballad
- Song
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4. Drama
• Drama refers to any work meant to be
performed on a stage by actors
• Types of drama include
- Tragedy (Oedipus, Macbeth)
- Comedy (As You Like It, Frogs)
- Tragicomedy (The Merchant of Venice)
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5. Fiction
• Fiction includes any imaginative work
• Types may be
- Novel (Oliver Twist, Robinson Crusoe)
- Short story (The Fly)
- Novella (The Old Man and the Sea)
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6. Non-fiction
• Non-fiction literary genre includes any kind of
work that has factual elements.
• Examples include
- Memoirs
- Biography
- Autobiography
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