Literary Genres: Types and Elements

Understanding Conventions of Traditional Genres

There are five categories of genres:

1. Prose-fiction- an imaginary story, usually written down, that someone tells in everyday, natural
language. E.g. 365 movies, Up Side down movie, Harry Potter

2. Poetry – a literary art where the evocative and aesthetic qualities of language are brought out in lieu,
or together with the language’s apparent meaning.

3. Drama – a literary work which is designed to be acted out on the stage performed by actions before
an audience.

4. Non-fiction Prose – refers to any kind of prose writing that is based on facts, real people, events and
places.

5. Creative Nonfiction - When fictionists based their stories on real-life events and characters
(nonfiction) and Historians (writers of nonfiction) have incorporated imagined dialogue (fiction) to
suggest the thoughts of historical figures.

Prose Fiction, Poetry and Drama are classified as Imaginative Literature.

They are called Imaginative because it’s the product of one’s imagination.

What are the points to ponder and remember in good writing?

2. Identifying the elements of the different genres

 Meaning
a. What is the work about? (what you wanted to point out)
b. What is the theme? (central point)
 Form
a. Who has the writer organized the literary work to achieve the effect or express the meaning?
 Voice and tone
a. Who is telling the story?
b. Is the tone playful? Serious? Angry?
Lexicon (words stored in your head)
 Character and Characterization
a. How do the dialogue and action reveal a character’s personality traits?
b. What is the character’s motivation?
 Language (uses and meanings)
a. Does the selection includes any imagery (the use of sensory images to represent someone or
something? )
 b. What figure of speech does the writer use?

3. Understanding Prose, Poetry, and Drama

Prose is expression (whether written or spoken) that does not have a regular rhythmic pattern.

Prose does have rhythm, but its rhythm lacks any sustained regularity and is not meant to be scanned.

(has unlimited structure)

Poetry is expression that is written in verse, often with some form of regular rhythm. It is heightened by
sense of perceptions or consciousness.

Drama is divided into two categories: Tragedy and Comedy

Tragedy – is a drama in which a character (usually a good and noble person of high rank) is brought to a
disastrous end in his or her confrontation with a superior force (gods, fortune, universal values) but also
comes to understand the meaning of his or her deeds and to accept an appropriate punishment.

Comedy – is a work intended to interest, involve, and amuse the reader or audience, in which no terrible
disaster occurs and that ends happily for the main characters. That includes romantic comedy.

4. What is Creative Nonfiction Writing?

Lee Gutkind (2017), in “The Five R’s of Creative Nonfiction”. Identified five essential elements of creative
nonfiction.

1. Creative nonfiction has a “real life” aspect.

2. Creative nonfiction is based on the writer engaging in personal “reflection” about what he/she is
writing about.

3. Creative nonfiction requires that the writer complete research

4. Creative nonfiction is reading.

5. Creative nonfiction is writing.

“Creative nonfiction writers do not make things up; they make ideas and information that already exist
more interesting and often more accessible. “ – Lee Gutkind

“Principles, Elements, Techniques, and Devices”

1. Common Elements of Various Genres

1.1 FACT

1.2 EXTENSIVE RESEARCH (BASED ON PRIMARY RESEARCH)

1.3 REPORTAGE/REPORTING (PERSONAL EXPERIENCES)

1.4 PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND PERSONAL OPINION (PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, THOUGHTS,

1.6 ESSAY FORMAT (PARAGRAPH, STORY-LIKE)

2. Literary Elements Used in Various Genres

1. Characters – characters are real people

2. Detail – provides pieces of information. Actual facts about a person’s life

3. Dialogue – consists of written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more (“dia” means
through or across) people

4. Diction – Writer’s choice of words

a. Conotation – implied meaning

b. Denotation – literal meaning (dictionary based)

5. Figurative Language – “ornaments of language” forces readers to make imaginative leap in order to
comprehend an author’s point

6. Flashback – simple method of inserting and episode that occurred previous to the main flow (or base
time) of the plot.

LSD – powerful illegal drug which makes the user see things that only exist in their mind (Lysergic Acid
Diethylamide)

7. Flash Forward or Prolepsis – gives the reader a sudden clear-eyed glimpse into the future

8. Foreshadowing – author hints certain plot developments that perhaps will come to be later in the
story

9. Imagery – refers to the “pictures”

Visual – sense of sight. Plays the largest role in imagery in literature

Auditory – specific sounds that are happening within the story

Olfactory – describes a particular scent

Gustatory – pertains to the sense of taste

Tactile – sense of touch

Kinesthetic – deals with the movement or actions of objects or people

Organic – creating specific feeling or emotion within the reader

10. Motif – any element, subject, idea or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of
literature.

11. Narrative – usually follows a time line that is either linear or nonlinear, depending on how the author
tells the story.
12. Order

a. Importance

b. Chronological

c. Problem-Solution

d. Cause and Effect

e. Comparison

f. Classification

13. Plot and Plot Structure – refers to the series or sequences of events that give a story its meaning

Every story has a plot, or sequence of events. There are five parts to a good plot.

 Beginning
 Rising action
 Climax
 Falling actions
 End

14. Point of View – perspective from which a story is told

 First person point of view – memoirs and autobiographies

15. Setting, Scene, and Atmosphere

The Fundamental Elements of Setting

 Locale
 Time of Year
 Time of Day
 Elapsed time
 Mood and Atmosphere
 Climate
 Geography
 Man-made geography
 Eras of historical importance
 Social/Political/Cultural environment
 Population
 Ancestral influences
16. Style – language conventions are used to construct the story. A writer can manipulate diction,
sentence structure, phrasing, dialogue, and other aspects of language to create style.

17. Symbol – a literary device that contains the several layers of meaning, often concealed at first sight,
and is representative of several other aspects/concepts/traits than those that are visible in the literal
translation alone.

18. Theme – is the meaning or concept we are left with after reading a piece of writing

It must adhere to the following requirements:

1. it must account for all the major details of the story.

2. it must not be contradicted by any detail of the story.

3. it must not rely on supposed fact-facts not actually stated or clearly implied by the story.

A theme is not the “moral” of the story. A theme is the author’s way of communicating and
sharing ideas, perceptions, and feelings with readers, and it may be directly stated in the text, or it many
only be impiied.

19. Tone – is the writer’s attitude towards his or her subject matter

 Patriotic tone
 Aggressive Tone
 Sarcastic Tone
 Gloomy Tone
 Unhappy Tone