This document discusses different genres in language studies and literature. It divides language studies into three strands: language, linguistics, and literature. Literature is composed of verse and prose and can be divided into four main genres: poetry/drama, fiction, non-fiction, and subgenres of each. Some key subgenres of fiction discussed include science fiction, romance, fantasy, horror, detective fiction, westerns, children's literature, and more. Examples of major authors and works in each genre are provided.

1. Genre
Studies
By Dr. Koshy A.V.

2. genre
/ˈʒɒ
̃ rə,ˈ(d)ʒɒnrə/
noun
a style or category of art,
music, or literature.
"the spy thriller is a very
masculine genre"

3. Language studies can be divided into 3 strands.
• Language (Grammar,syntax,
vocabulary, reading, writing,
speaking, listening, not
necessarily in that order.
• Linguistics – phonology.
morphology etc.
• Literature – verse and
prose.

4. Literature which is made up of verse and prose
can be divided into four genres.
Poetry/ Drama
• Drama can be poetry (verse drama) or
fictional or based on real events (non
fictional) so it is an intersection.
• Poetry can be divided into forms or
genres. Genres are epic, lyrics, ode,
elegy etc., and forms are things like
haikus and sonnets.
Fiction & Non fiction
• The difference between fiction and non
fiction is that one happened to real
people in real places and one did not as
in fiction is imaginative and imaginary in
the setting, plot or characters. It can
even be that in the point of view used as
in fiction you can use shifting points of
view as well the omniscient one and
play with time and have places that
don’t exist.

5. Fiction and its sub genres
1. Science fiction.
• Starts with HG Wells (Time Machine, War
of the Worlds), Jules Verne (Journey to
the Centre of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues
under the Sea, Around the World in 80
Days) and writers like Edgar Rice
Burroughs (the Mars series) as well as
serials like Star Trek and Star Wars.
Great science fiction writers include Isaac
Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Ray Bradbury,
Philip K Dick, William Gibson.
Features
• Time travel
• Travel to other planets, stars, galaxies.
• Inventions that are not yet existent
• Robots and other such artificial sentient
life. Aliens.
• Futuristic. (As in Blade Runner, the film)

6. Romance.
Authors and books
• Charlotte Bronte – Jane Eyre
• Emily Bronte – Wuthering Heights
• Daphne du Maurier – Frenchman’s
Creek
• Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice
• Famous bestselling romance writers
include Barbara Cartland, Georgette
Heyer (historical romance) etc.
Features
• A relationship that ends happily or
unhappily. Themes may include love,
hate, sex and romance and settings that
aid the same.

7. Fantasy
Authors and books/series
• JRR Tolkien and Lord of the Rings
• Narnia Chronicles by CS Lewis
• Harry Potter series by J K Rowling
• Other famous writers include George
RR Martin of Game of Thrones fame,
Philip Pullman, Ursula Le Guin, Michael
Moorcock, Terry Pratchett, Christopher
Paolini etc.
Features
• Imaginary places
• Characters never seen in real life drawn
from myth, folklore etc.
• Magical happenings.
• Creatures drawn from the imagination
or legends etc.

8. Horror
Authors and Works
• The king of horror is Stephen
King, author of The Shining.
• The Exorcist is a famous horror
film.
• So is Hitchcock’s Psycho and
The Birds.
Features.
• Creates fear in the reader.
• By setting
• By evil characters
• By suspense
• By deeds that are uncanny or
unacceptable etc.

9. Tragedy/Comedy
Authors and Works
• For Tragedy we speak of Aeschylus,
Euripides, Shakespeare etc.
• For Comedy we speak of Shaw,
Wilde etc. We see this has some
connection to drama.
• Hamlet (tragedy), The Importance of
Being Earnest (comedy(
Features
• Ends happily (comedy) or sadly
(tragedy).
• Tragedy has a sombre tone.
• Comedy has a light hearted tone.
• Comedy may have more of humour
in it and is often said to be meant for
an audience of any age.

10. Other sub genres of fiction
Detective fiction
• Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock
Holmes stories
• Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot
stories.
• Georges Simenon – Jules
Maigret.
Murder mysteries
• Called whodunits. (solve who did
it)
• Raymond Chandler’s works.

11. More genres.
Spy stories
• Ian Fleming - James Bond
• The comics of Modesty Blaise.
• John le Carre – The Spy who
Came in from the Cold.
Action/Thriller
• Richard Ludlum – The Bourne
series
• Authors like Alistair Maclean,
Frederick Forsythe, Sidney
Sheldon, Steig Larsson
(Millenium Trilogy)

12. More genres
Adventure stories.
• Tine and the Faraway Mountain.
• Enid Blyton’s stories like Five go
to Kirrin Island, Swiss Family
Robinson, Robinson Crusoe by
Daniel Defoe and to a lesser
extent William Golding’s Lord of
the Flies
Westerns
• Authors like Zane Grey, Louis
L’Amour, John Thomas Edson
and movies like The Good the
Bad the Ugly, Fistful of Dollars,
Few Dollars More and Sholay.

13. More genres in fiction and non fiction.
Children’s literature.
• The Noddy series by Enid Blyton.
This is not about children but written
for children.
Non fiction
• Essays
• Journals
• Diaries
• Autobiographies and biographies
• Treatise political or on other
disciplines
• Travelogues etc.

14. For I Nurture and Jain University, SET (II Sem
2022)
Prepared by Dr Koshy AV
• English for Specific Purposes
material for beginners in genre
studies.
An end note
• War books and many other
categories have not been
mentioned and genres can
overlap.
• Drama is basically divided into
comedy and tragedy.