1. LITERARY GENRES
Definitions and characteristics

2. ALL FICTION

3. DRAMA
 Stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical
performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through
dialogue and action.
 There are different types: tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy….

4. FABLE
 A short tale used to teach a moral lesson, often with animals as
characters, about recognizing and overcoming their foibles; to critique
authority figures in humorous and anonymous ways; to poke fun.
 The story is very brief, the main characters are usually animals and
are characterized quickly with a few broad strokes.

5. FAIRY TALE
 A fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters
(such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, witches, giants, and talking
animals) and enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of
events.
 They have their roots in the oral tradition.
 Fairy tales with very similar plots, characters, and motifs are found
spread across many different cultures.

6. FANTASY
 The definition of this fictional genre could be described as
something that contains rudiments that are not realistic, such as
magical powers, talking animals, etc.
 It represents that which is impossible (unexplained) and outside
the parameters of our known, reality. Make-believe is what this
genre is all about.

7. FICTION
 Narrative literary works whose content is produced by the
imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.
 There is also fiction in verse which are full-length novels with plot,
subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the
narrative is presented in (usually blank) verse form.

8. FOLKLORE
 The songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as
handed down by word of mouth.

9. HORROR
 Fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread in both the
characters and the reader.
 It creates an eerie and frightening atmosphere. Horror can be
either supernatural or non-supernatural.
 The genre has ancient origins which were reformulated in the
eighteenth century as Gothic horror, with publication of the Castle of
Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole.

10. SATIRES
 A text that uses irony, sarcasm, and ridiculeto expose and make
fun of human follyand vice, to critique the status quo, to make fun of
others and the self, and to offer renewed alternatives and possibilities
for being different.
 Something is being made fun of, irony is being used, there is a tone
of mockery or derision, perhaps the author seems to be supporting a
point of view that you cannot expect her to seriously support.

11. LEGEND
 It is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners
to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale
verisimilitude.
 Legend, for its active and passive participants includes no happenings that are
outside the realm of "possibility", defined by a highly flexible set of parameters,
which may include miracles that are perceived as actually having happened, within
the specific tradition of indoctrination where the legend arises, and within which it
may be transformed over time, in order to keep it fresh and vital, and realistic.

12. MYSTERY
 A subgenre of narrative fiction; often thought of as a detective story.
 Usually involves a mysterious death or a crime to be solved. In a closed
circle of suspects, each suspect must have a credible motive and a
reasonable opportunity for committing the crime.
 The central character must be a detective who eventually solves the
mystery by logical deduction from facts fairly presented to the reader.
This classic structure is the basis for hundreds of variations on the form.

13. MYTHOLOGY
 Legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical
events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its
symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods.

14. POETRY
 Verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that creates emotional responses.
 Poetry uses forms and conventions to suggest differential interpretation to
words, or to evoke emotive responses. Devices such as assonance, alliteration,
onomatopoeia and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory
effects. The use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other stylistic elements of
poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations.
 Similarly, metaphor, simile and metonymy create a resonance between otherwise
disparate images—a layering of meanings, forming connections previously not
perceived.

15. ALL NON-FICTION

16. (AUTO)BIOGRAPHY
 A subgenre of narrative nonfiction/historical nonfiction.
 Presents the facts about an individual's life and makes an attempt to
interpret those facts, explaining the person's feelings and motivations.
 Good biographers use many research tools to gather and synthesize
information about their subject, including the person’s words, actions,
journals, reactions, related books, interviews with friends…

17. NONFICTION
 It is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative
work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be factual.
 This presentation may be accurate or not—that is, it can give either
a true or a false account of the subject in question—however, it is
generally assumed that authors of such accounts believe them to be
truthful at the time of their composition or, at least, pose them to
their audience as historically or empirically true.

18. SPEECH
 The process of presenting or comprehending a reasoned case. to
inquire into problems and possible solutions, to persuade or convince
others to change belief or take action, to try and get one’s way!
 There is a need or desire for something new or for something to
change is expressed.
 This assertion is supported through the use of evidence and
warrants explaining how the evidence leads to this claim.