Works of different genres of literature. Genera and genres of literature

Art style used in fiction. It affects the imagination and feelings of the reader, conveys the thoughts and feelings of the author, uses all the richness of vocabulary, possibilities different styles, characterized by figurativeness, emotionality of speech.

The emotionality of the artistic style differs from the emotionality of the colloquial and journalistic styles. Emotionality artistic speech performs an aesthetic function. Artistic style requires pre-selection language tools; all language means are used to create images.

Genre as a concept appeared a long time ago, back in the ancient world. At the same time, a typology of genres appeared. Today, text typologies are more rigorous and have clear boundaries. Moreover, they are applied in all spheres of life - in state activities, in professional fields, theater, medicine and even everyday life.

Genres in fiction are a special complex issue. As you know, everything literary works depending on the nature of the depicted, they belong to one of three genera: epic, lyric or drama. Literary gender- this is a generalized name for a group of works, depending on the nature of the reflection of reality.

EPOS(from the Greek "narrative") is a generalized name for works depicting events external to the author.

LYRICS(from the Greek. "performed to the lyre") - this is a generalized name for works in which there is no plot, but the feelings, thoughts, experiences of the author or his lyrical hero.

DRAMA(from the Greek. "action") - a generalized name of works intended for staging on stage; the drama is dominated by the dialogue of the characters, the author's beginning is minimized.

Varieties of epic, lyrical and dramatic works are called types of literary works .

Type and genre - concepts in literary criticism very close .

Genres called variations of the type of literary work. For example, a genre version of a story can be fantastic or historical tale, and the genre variety of comedy is vaudeville, etc. Strictly speaking, a literary genre is a historically established type of work of art containing certain structural features and aesthetic quality characteristic of this group of works.

TYPES (GENRES) OF EPIC WORKS:

epic, novel, story, short story, fairy tale, fable, legend.

EPIC- large piece of art, telling about significant historical events. In ancient times - a narrative poem of heroic content. In the literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, the epic novel genre appears - this is a work in which the formation of the characters of the main characters occurs in the course of their participation in historical events.

NOVEL- a large narrative work of art with a complex plot, in the center of which is the fate of the individual.

STORY- a work of art that occupies a middle position between a novel and a short story in terms of volume and complexity of the plot. In ancient times, any narrative work was called a story.

STORY- a work of art of a small size, based on an episode, an incident from the life of a hero.

STORY- a work about fictional events and heroes, usually with the participation of magical, fantastic forces.

FABLE(from "bayat" - to tell) - this is a narrative work in poetic form, small in size, moralizing or satirical in nature.

TYPES (GENRES) OF LYRICAL WORKS:

ode, hymn, song, elegy, sonnet, epigram, message.

OH YEAH(from Greek “song”) - choral, solemn song.

HYMN(from Greek “praise”) - a solemn song to verses of a programmatic nature.

EPIGRAM(from the Greek. "Inscription") - a short satirical poem of a mocking nature, which arose in the 3rd century BC. e.

ELEGY- a genre of lyrics dedicated to sad thoughts or lyric poem filled with sadness. Belinsky called an elegy "a song of sad content." The word "elegy" is translated as "reed flute" or "mournful song". The elegy originated in Ancient Greece in the 7th century BC e.

MESSAGE- a poetic letter, an appeal to a specific person, a request, a wish, a confession.

SONNET(from the Provencal sonette - "song") - a poem of 14 lines, which has a certain rhyming system and strict stylistic laws. The sonnet originated in Italy in the 13th century (the creator is the poet Jacopo da Lentini), appeared in England in the first half of the 16th century (G. Sarri), and in Russia in the 18th century. The main types of the sonnet are Italian (from 2 quatrains and 2 tercetes) and English (from 3 quatrains and the final couplet).

LYROEPIC TYPES (GENRES):

poem, ballad

POEM(from the Greek poieio - “I do, create”) - a large poetic work with a narrative or lyrical plot, usually on a historical or legendary topic.

BALLAD- a story song of dramatic content, a story in verse.

TYPES (GENRES) OF DRAMA WORKS:

tragedy, comedy, drama (in the narrow sense).

TRAGEDY(from Greek tragos ode - “goat song”) - dramatic work, depicting a tense struggle strong characters and passions, which usually ends with the death of the hero.

COMEDY(from the Greek komos ode - “merry song”) - a dramatic work with a cheerful, funny plot, usually ridiculing social or domestic vices.

DRAMA(“action”) is a literary work in the form of a dialogue with a serious plot, depicting a person in his dramatic relationship with society. Drama may be tragicomedy or melodrama.

VAUDEVILLE- a genre variety of comedy, it is a light comedy with singing couplets and dancing.

FARCE- genre of comedy theatrical play light, playful character with external comic effects, designed for a rough taste.

Literature is an amoebic concept (equally, like types of literature): throughout the centuries of development human civilization it inevitably changed both in form and in content. You can confidently talk about the evolution of this art form on a global scale, or be strictly limited certain periods time or a specific region ( ancient literature, Middle Ages, Russian literature of the 19th century. and others), however, it must be understood as true art words and an integral part of the global cultural process.

word art

Traditionally, when talking about literature, the individual means fiction. This concept(often a synonym is used - “the art of the word”) arose on the fertile soil of oral folk art. However, unlike him, literature in given time exists not in oral, but in written form (from Latin lit (t) eratura - literally “written”, from lit (t) era - literally “letter”). Fiction uses words and constructions of written (natural human) language as a single material. Literature and other art forms are similar to each other. But its specificity is determined in comparison with the types of art that use other material instead of linguistic-verbal ( art, music) or together with it (songs, theater, cinema), on the other hand - with other types of verbal text: scientific, philosophical, journalistic, etc. In addition, fiction combines any author's (including anonymous) works, in unlike works of folklore that clearly do not have a specific author.

Three main genera

Types and types of literature are significant associations according to the category of the relationship of the "speech carrier" (speaking) to the artistic whole. There are three main genera:

Types and genres of literature

In the most common classification, all types fiction distributed within the framework They can be epic, which include a story, a novel and a short story; lyrical poems include; ballads and poems are lyrical; dramaturgy can be divided into drama, tragedy and comedy. Literary views can be distinguished from each other by the number of characters and storylines, volume, functions and content. In different periods of the history of literature, one species can be represented in different genres. For example, philosophical and psychological novels, detective novels, social and picaresque. Theoretically, Aristotle began to divide works into types of literature in his treatise called Poetics. His work was continued in modern times by the French poet-critic Boileau and Lessing.

Literature typification

Editorial and publishing preparation, i.e., the selection of written essays for subsequent editions, is usually carried out by the publishing editor. But it is quite difficult for an ordinary user to accurately navigate in the boundless sea. It is more expedient to use a systematic approach, namely, you need to clearly distinguish between the types of literature and their purpose.

• The novel is an imposing form of work that has great amount heroes with a fairly developed and closely related system of relationships between them. A novel can be historical, family, philosophical, adventure and social.
• Epic - a series of works, less often single, invariably illuminating a significant historical era or major event.

• Novela - the primary genre of narrative prose, much shorter than a novel or short story. The collection of stories is usually called short stories, and the writer is called a short story writer.

Not the last of the significant

• Comedy is a creation that ridicules individual or social shortcomings, focusing on especially awkward and ridiculous situations.

• Song - ancient species poetry, without which the category "types of fiction" would not be complete. The work is a poetic form with many verses and refrains. There are: folk, lyrical, heroic and historical.

• A fable is a prose, but more often a poetic, work of a moralistic, moralistic and satirical nature.

• A story is a literary work of a certain, often small, size, which tells about a separate event in the life of a character.

• Myth - narration is also included in the section "types of literature" and carries to future generations the idea of ​​​​ancestors about the universe, heroes and gods.

• A lyric poem is an expression of the author's emotional experiences in a poetic form convenient for him.

• Essay - a narrative, a subspecies of the epic, which reliably tells about real events, facts.

• A story is a work similar in structure to a story, but differing in volume. The story can tell about several events from the life of the main characters at once.

• Melodrama - deservedly continues the list of the category "types of literature", this is a narrative dramatic work, distinguished by a categorical division of heroes into positive and negative.

Literature and modernity

Life itself every day more and more insistently convinces everyone that the level of consistency and unity of book publications, newspaper and magazine materials is one of the main criteria for the effectiveness of society education. Naturally, First stage acquaintance with literature (not counting children's) starts at school. Therefore, any literature for teachers contains a variety of literature, which help to convey the necessary knowledge in an accessible form for the perception of the child.

individual choice

It is difficult to overestimate the role of literature in life modern man After all, books have brought up more than one generation. It was they who helped people to comprehend and the world, and himself, encouraged the pursuit of truth, moral principles and knowledge, taught to respect the past. Unfortunately, literature and other art forms are often underestimated in modern society. There is certain category individuals who claim that literature has already outlived its usefulness, it has been fully replaced by television and cinema. But whether to take advantage of the opportunity that books provide or not is an individual choice for everyone.

Then to:

a) learn the skill in your genre;
b) know exactly which publisher to offer the manuscript to;
c) study your target audience and to offer the book not to “everyone in general”, but to those people who may be interested in it.

What is fiction?

Fiction refers to all works that have a fictional plot and fictional characters: novels, short stories, novellas and plays.

The memoirs refer to non-fiction, because we are talking about non-fictional events, but they are written according to the canons of fiction - with a plot, characters, etc.

But poetry, including lyrics, is fiction, even if the author recalls a past love that actually happened.

Types of Adult Fiction

Fiction works are divided into genre literature, mainstream and intellectual prose.

genre literature

In genre literature, the plot plays the first violin, while it fits into certain, previously known frameworks.

This does not mean that all genre novels should be predictable. The skill of the writer lies precisely in creating, under given conditions, unique world, unforgettable heroes and interesting way get from point "A" (tie) to point "B" (denouement).

Usually, genre work ends on a positive note, the author does not delve into psychology and other high matters and simply tries to entertain readers.

Basic plot schemes in genre literature

Detective: crime - investigation - exposure of the criminal.

Love story: heroes meet - fall in love - fight for love - unite hearts.

Thriller: the hero lived ordinary life- there is a threat - the hero tries to escape - the hero gets rid of the danger.

Adventures: the hero sets a goal and, having overcome many obstacles, achieves what he wants.

When we talk about science fiction, fantasy, historical or modern novel, we are talking not so much about the plot as about the scenery, therefore, when defining the genre, two or three terms are used that allow us to answer the questions: “What happens in the novel?” and "Where is it happening?". If we are talking about children's literature, then an appropriate note is made.

Examples: "modern love story”, “fantastic action movie” (action movie is adventure), “historical detective story”, “children's adventure story"," a fairy tale for primary school age.

Genre prose, as a rule, is published in series - either author's or general.

Mainstream

In the mainstream (from English. mainstream- the main thread) readers expect unexpected solutions from the author. For this type of book, the most important thing is the moral development of the characters, philosophy and ideology. The requirements for a mainstream author are much higher than for writers working with genre prose: he must not only be an excellent storyteller, but also a good psychologist and serious thinker.

Another important feature of the mainstream is that such books are written at the intersection of genres. For example, it is impossible to say unambiguously that gone With the Wind" - this is only romance or only historical drama.

By the way, the drama itself, that is, the story of the tragic experience of the characters, is also a sign of the mainstream.

As a rule, novels of this type are released outside the series. This is due to the fact that serious works are written for a long time and it is rather problematic to form a series of them. Moreover, mainstream authors are so different from each other that it is difficult to group their books on any basis other than “good book”.

When specifying a genre in mainstream novels, the emphasis is usually placed not so much on the plot, but on certain features books: historical drama, novel in letters, fantasy saga, etc.

The emergence of the term

The term "mainstream" itself arose from American writer and criticism to William Dean Howells (1837–1920). As editor of one of the most popular and influential literary magazines of his time The Atlantic Monthly, he gave a clear preference to works written in a realistic vein and focusing on moral and philosophical problems.

Thanks Howells realistic literature became fashionable, and for some time it was called the mainstream. The term has stuck in English language and from there moved to Russia.

intellectual prose

In the vast majority of cases, intellectual prose has a gloomy tone and is released outside of the series.

Main genres of fiction

Approximate classification

When submitting an application to a publisher, we must indicate the genre - so that our manuscript is sent to the appropriate editor.

The following is an indicative list of genres as understood by publishers and bookstores.

• vanguard literature. It is characterized by violation of the canons and language and plot experiments. As a rule, the avant-garde comes out in very small editions. Closely intertwined with intellectual prose.
• Action. Aimed primarily at a male audience. The basis of the plot is fights, chases, saving beauties, etc.
• Detective. Main story line- disclosure of a crime.
• Historical novel. The time of action is the past. The plot, as a rule, is tied to significant historical events.
• Love story. Heroes find love.
• Mystic. The basis of the plot is supernatural events.
• Adventures. Heroes get involved in an adventure and/or go on a perilous journey.
• Thriller/horror. The heroes are in mortal danger, from which they are trying to get rid of.
• Fiction. The plot twists in a hypothetical future or in parallel world. One of the varieties of fantasy is alternative history.
• Fantasy / fairy tales. The main features of the genre are fairy worlds, magic, unseen creatures, talking animals, etc. Often based on folklore.

What is non-fiction?

Non-fiction books are classified by topic (eg gardening, history, etc.) and type (scientific monograph, collection of articles, photo album, etc.).

Below is the classification non-fiction books like they do in bookstores. When submitting an application to the publisher, indicate the topic and type of book - for example, a textbook on writing.

Classification of non-fiction

• autobiographies, biographies and memoirs;
• architecture and art;
• astrology and esotericism;
• business and finance;
• armed forces;
• upbringing and education;
• house, garden, kitchen garden;
• health;
• story;
• career;
• computers;
• local history;
• love and family relationships;
• fashion and beauty;
• music, cinema, radio;
• science and technology;
• food and cooking;
• gift editions;
• politics, economics, law;
• guides and travelogues;
• religion;
• self-development and psychology;
• Agriculture;
• dictionaries and encyclopedias;
• sport;
• philosophy;
• hobby;
• school textbooks;
• linguistics and literature.

A genre in literature is a selection of texts that have a similar structure and are similar in content. There are quite a lot of them, but there is a division by gender, by form and content.

Classification of genres in literature.

Division by birth

With such a classification, one should consider the attitude of the author himself to the text of interest to the reader. He was the first to try to divide literary works into four genres, each with its own internal divisions:

• epic (novels, stories, epics, short stories, stories, fairy tales, epics),
• lyrical (odes, elegies, messages, epigrams),
• dramatic (dramas, comedies, tragedies),
• lyrical-epic (ballads, poems).

Division by content

According to this principle of separation, three groups emerged:

• Comedy
• tragedy
• Drama.

Two recent groups talking about tragic fate, about the conflict in the work. And comedies should be divided into smaller subgroups: parody, farce, vaudeville, sitcom, interlude.

Separation by shape

The group is diverse and numerous. There are thirteen genres in this group:

• epic,
• epic,
• novel,
• story,
• short story
• story,
• sketch,
• play,
• feature article,
• essay,
• opus,
• visions.

There is no such clear division in prose.

It is not easy to immediately determine what genre this or that work is. How does the read work affect the reader? What feelings does it evoke? Whether the author is present, whether he introduces his personal experiences, whether a simple narrative is being conducted without adding an analysis of the events described. All these questions require specific answers in order to make a final verdict on whether the text belongs to a certain type of literary genre.

Genres speak for themselves

To begin to understand the genre diversity of literature, you should know the characteristics of each of them.

1. Form groups are perhaps the most interesting. A play is a work written specifically for the stage. The story is a prosaic narrative work of small volume. The novel is distinguished by its scale. The story is an intermediate genre, standing between the story and the novel, which tells about the fate of one hero.
2. Content groups are small, so it is very easy to remember them. Comedy is humorous and satirical. Tragedy always ends as expected. The drama is based on the conflict between human life and society.
3. The genus typology contains only three structures:
   1. The epic tells about the past without expressing one's personal opinion about what is happening.
   2. The lyrics always contain the feelings and experiences of the lyrical hero, that is, the author himself.
   3. The drama reveals its plot through the communication of the characters among themselves.