Exploring ideas in Literature: Genres – Entry #7

What is Literature good for? Exploring literature may help people think about the important questions in life, and there is a variety of genres in literature. Genre also means "form" or "type". Therefore, each genre or form in literature has certain particular characteristics and there are different categories of genres: fiction,  poetry, drama and non-fiction.

·         FICTION. This genre refers to stories about non-real events and characters but that does not necessarily mean that in fiction everything can be made-up. Some authors invent every element of a story, from the setting to the plot and the characters, whereas there are others who, get the inspiration from real events and people and then build a story around them. All fiction should have a plot, a setting, and characters. Fiction also has themes or messages about life.

Three examples of fiction are:

·        A short story often focuses on a single event or incident. It is the shortest.

·        A novella is generally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. Novellas usually have a limited number of characters.

·        A novel is a longer work of fiction that describes different events, storylines, and characters. It is the longest.

Elements of fiction are: plot, conflict, characters, setting, theme, narrator, and point of view. We can analyse fiction through these elements.  

·         POETRY. In this is a type of literature words are chosen and arranged in a precise way to create certain sounds and meanings, specific effects, for example: odes, sonnets, narrative poems, lyric poems. Poems are made up of lines grouped in stanzas which may follow a recognizable form or not.

·         DRAMA. A drama is any work that is written to be performed on a stage, a dialogue among characters. It shares the same elements of good fiction: plot, characters, setting and theme. But it differs from fiction in the way it is written. It is written to be performed on stage  and it is usually divided into scenes, grouped into acts. The characters and conflicts are developed through dialogues and action. Examples are comedies, radio plays and historical dramas.

NON FICTIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL TEXTS describe real events, people and places. Informational nonfiction is related to those sources consulted for information such as news articles, manuals, directions . Another example of this genre is the autobiographies and biographies which provide details about a person´s life from the person´s point of view or a third person´s version. Essays and speeches pretend to share personal experience to express feelings, to inform, to persuade or to entertain. The first one can be written in a formal or informal style and the second is written to be performed orally. In nonfiction the events actually happened, and the characters are real people. Informational nonfiction includes and other sources you consult for information.

Types of nonfiction texts are:

+  AUTOBIOGRAPHY/ BIOGRAPHY. (The true story of a person’s life. Written in first or third person)

+  ESSAY.(It  focuses on a single subject to be written with one of the styles: informal style with an academic tone or informal style with a conversational tone)

+  SPEECH. (Oral presentation of the ideas, beliefs, or proposals of a speaker)

+  NEWS/ FEATURES ARTICLES. (they report recent events)

+  FUNCTIONAL DOCUMENTS. (user manuals)

MEDIA. It is important to become media literate and learn how to read its messages. Featured films and TV shows are created to entertain people and technology is found everywhere nowadays. News media are designed to inform. Media messages influence people's beliefs and actions and that is why it is important to become media literate and know how to read all types of media messages. 

·         Advertising to persuade and Web sites present information however they require evaluation as most web sites are not checked for credibility.

• News media: designed to inform and entertain viewers presented in many forms such as magazines, newspapers, television, the radio and the Web.

• TV shows: programs broadcast on television which are sponsored by advertisers. They could be dramas, sitcoms, talk shows, documentaries and reality shows.

• Web sites: present information through text, graphics, audio, video, animation and interactive features. Most web sites are not checked for credibility.

• Feature films: motion pictures that use narrative elements to tell stories with the purpose of entertaining and making money.