Genre Characteristics

Myths:

Legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that reveal human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism. • Creation myths depict the struggle to form the earth. • Hero myths describe how people who begin life at a low status are elevated to high status through a good deed. • Myths often pertain to the actions of the gods. ex: Greeks- Zeus and the Olympians, Romans- Hercules

Biography:

Non-fiction that chronicles a person's life story but is written by another person. "Alice Walker: A Life" - White

Essay:

A form of nonfictional discussion or argument that Michel de Montaigne pioneered in the 1500s. Essays are flexible in form: although they usually are short prose works, there are also examples of book-length essays (by John Locke) and verse essays (by Alexander Pope).

Journals and Diaries:

A log written by an author at regular intervals. • Entries are usually dated. • Diaries and journals in series have been published as a way of sharing historical fiction ex: Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Memoirs

A record of events based on the writer's own observation. Memoirs may cover only one event or aspect of the author's life. Memoir is a retrospective account of a memorable event. Memoirs for children can be fictionalized. ex: "Dreams of My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance" - Obama

Parable:

A short narrative that illustrates a moral by means of allegory (see above).

Fable:

A short prose or verse narrative, such as those by Aesop, that illustrates a moral, which often is stated explicitly at the end. Frequently, the characters in a fable are animals that embody different human character traits.

Legend:

A story about a heroic figure derived from oral tradition and based partly on fact and partly on fiction. The terms legend and myth (see below) are often used interchangeably, but legends are typically rooted in real historical events, whereas myths are primarily supernatural. The stories of King Arthur and Robin Hood are examples of legends.

Autobiographies:

A story of a person's life written by that person. • First-person account. • Often highly personalized. • May be supported by authentic pictures and newspaper articles ex: Eat Pray Love - Gilbert

Realistic Fiction:

A story that can actually happen and is true to life. • Realistic characters with possible problems. • Outcomes are reasonable and plausible. • Settings can be contemporary or historical. • Family stories, school stories, animal stories, mysteries, could all be included in this genre. ex: The Fault in Our Stars" -Green

Nonfiction:

A third broad literary genre is nonfiction. If fiction is fake, then nonfiction is the opposite -- it comes from real life. Works of nonfiction are all based in real world experiences. When you read the newspaper, you are reading nonfiction. Other examples include journals, diaries, biographies, autobiographies, and essays. Nonfiction can also use figurative language; however, it is not as abundant as in poetry and even fiction. Figurative language in this genre generally comes through common phrases which are well known and used on a daily basis by many. These pieces are written in prose, like fiction, and sometimes even in chapters. For example, the popular book Ann Frank: Diary of Young Girl is broken up into her specific diary entries

Short Story:

A work of prose fiction that is much shorter than a novel (rarely more than forty pages) and focused more tightly on a single event. Katherine Mansfield's "The Garden Party" is a masterful short story. Short-short story: A particularly compressed and truncated short story. Short-short stories are rarely longer than 1,000 words.

Document: {letter, diary,journal}

An expository piece written with eloquence that becomes part of the recognized literature of an era. Documents often reveal historical facts, the social matters of the times, and thoughts and personality of their authors. Some documents have recorded and influence the histor of the world. Examples include; The Bible, The Koran, The Constitution

Novel:

An extended fiction prose narrative.

Drama:

Fiction or non-fiction stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action. Most dramas can be classified as comedies or tragedies A composition that is meant to be performed. The term often is used interchangeably with play (see below), but drama is a broader term that includes some forms that may not strictly be defined as plays, such as radio broadcasts, comedy sketches, and opera. "Death of a Salesman" - Miller

Science Fiction:

Fiction that deals with the current or future development of technological advances. ex: Huxley's "Brave New World" Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" Set in a future that scientific or technological advance could or might make possible. • In one approach the story usually takes place in outer space where the technology of the future is predicted. • In the other approach future societies are portrayed, usually on earth, with or without the presence of aliens. • Themes frequently deal with good or evil, often involving technology. • Science Fantasy uses science "to explain the existence of the world and magic is used thereafter."

Fantasy:

Fiction with strange or otherworldly settings or characters; fiction that invites suspension of reality; fiction that depends on magic or the impossible or inexplicable. Divided into low fantasy (world governed by the laws of this world but inexplicable things occur) and high fantasy (set in a secondary world of magic and inhabited by supernatural beings or creatures) ex: " The Lord of the Rings"- Tolkien, "The Chronicles of Narnia"- Lewis

Folktale

Folk tales are stories that have been passed down over the years by word of mouth. Many different cultures have folk tales with similar themes, motifs, and character types. "The People Could Fly"- Hamilton

Horror:

Horror fiction is a story intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the audience. It usually includes a supernatural, morbid, gruesome, surreal, or exceptionally suspenseful or frightening theme. ex: "The Shining"- King, "Something Wicked This Way Comes" - Bradbury

Mysteries:

Imaginative stories dealing with the solution of a secret, problem, or crime, and involving suspense or intrigue. • Suspense. • Cliffhangers. • Foreshadowing. • Detective stories and spy novels. • Often are available in series. ex: "The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency" - McCall-Smith

Historical Fiction:

Imaginative stories with fictional characters and events in a historical setting. • May be based upon dates, people, or events that really happened. • Major historical event may be an essential. • Accuracy of the historical detail is evident. • May include author notes on research. • Categories of historical fiction are based upon the time period or historical era. • Characters and time periods are lifelike. • Conflict allows children to compare the past with the present in order to better understand our world. ex: "Lincoln" - Vidal

Tall Tales:

Stories with a definite setting in fairly modern times that exaggerate or are based on the traits of a person who may have actually existed. • Stories are humorous with blatant exaggerations. • Characters are swaggering heroes who do the impossible with nonchalance. • Problems and solutions may involve trickery ex: "John Henry" (The Steel Driving Man"

Fiction:

Stories from an author's imagination usually with an emphasis on character development. May be realistic or not. fiction, which is any work written in prose that is not real, can also use elaborate figurative language. However, fiction is much more structured than poetry. It must be written in sentences and paragraphs with all the proper punctuation and grammar, which makes it prose. Usually fiction is broken up into chapters, as well. Since it is based on the imagination, the subject matter in fiction works can be nearly anything. Fiction can take place in the present day, future or the past. It can incorporate the most fantastical ideas or follow an everyday life. Some examples of works of fiction are legends, folk tales, fairy tales, short stories and any novels. For example, the popular Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies are fiction which occurs in a post-apocalyptic future. • Some can be classified into multiple genres (e.g., combination of fiction, information, poetry, narratives, etc.). • Multi-genre books and multi-genre research is encouraged as a way to allow students to write and use a variety of learning styles ex: "The Secret Life of Bees" - Kidd

Fairy Tales

Stories with fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children. A modern fairy tale is written in a traditional style with the elements of folklore but with a contemporary twist. • Stories include fantasy, make believe, and often magic. • Stories often begin "Once upon a time . . . " or "Long, long ago . . . " . • Characters include royalty or a kingdom setting. • Stories end " . . . happily ever after." • Characters are clearly defined as good and evil. • Good conquers evil. • Magical devices such as wands, swords, or horses assist the resolution of the story. ex: "Rupunzel"; "Little Red Riding Hood"

Poetry:

The first main literary genre is poetry. All poetry shares specific characteristics. For example, poems are written in lines and stanzas instead of sentences and paragraphs. Some poems follow strict rules as to the number and length of lines and stanzas, whereas many poems are much more free flowing. Most poetry is abundant in figurative language. Using devices like a simile, metaphor, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, alliteration, rhyme, and much more, poetry can claim an emphasis on imagination, emotions and heartfelt ideas. Poetry is usually shorter than the other genres, but some poems are classified as epic poetry, which is a long narrative poem chronicling heroic deeds and serious subject matter. For example, John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost focuses on Satan's fall from grace and his following pursuit of revenge. • Creates an emotional intensity. • Varieties include rhyme, ballads, lyrics, narrative poems, free verse, haiku, limericks, concrete poems, cinquain, and diamante. • Uses rhythmic or figurative language: alliteration, metaphor, simile, symbolism, personification, assonance, consonance, allusion, onomatopoeia, internal rhyme, and rhyme scheme. • Uses imagery, compactness, shape. • Anthologies ex: "Ego-tripping and Other Poems For Young People" - Giovanni