What are literary How to define and what is the concept of genre in literature

Hello, dear readers blog site. The question of a genre as a variety of one or another is rather complicated. This term is found in music, painting, architecture, theater, cinema, and literature.

Determining the genre of a work is a task that not every student can handle. Why is genre division necessary? Where are the boundaries that separate the novel from the poem, and the story from the short story? Let's try to figure it out together.

Genre in literature - what is it

The word "genre" comes from the Latin genus ( kind, genus). Literary reference books report that:

a genre is a historically developed variety, united by a set of formal and meaningful features.

It can be seen from the definition that in the process of genre evolution it is important to highlight three points:

  1. each genre of literature is formed over a long period of time (each of them has its own history);
  2. the main reason for its appearance is the need to express new ideas in an original way (substantive criterion);
  3. distinguish one kind of work from another help external signs: volume, plot, structure, (formal criterion).

All genres of literature can be represented like this:

These are three typology options that help to attribute the work to a particular genre.

The history of the emergence of genres of literature in Rus'

The literature of European countries was formed according to the principle of moving from the general to the particular, from the anonymous to the author's. Artistic creativity both abroad and in Russia, it was fed by two sources:

  1. spiritual culture, the center of which was monasteries;
  2. folk speech.

If you look closely at the history of literature in Ancient Rus', one can notice how the chronicles, patericons, lives of saints and patristic writings are gradually being replaced by new ones.

At the turn of the XIV-XV centuries, such genres ancient Russian literature , as a word, walking (the ancestor of the travel novel), (everyday "splinter" of a moral parable), heroic poem, spiritual verse. Based on the material of oral traditions, which stood out separately during the period of disintegration ancient myth on fabulous epic and realistic war story.

Interacting with foreign written traditions, Russian literature is enriched new genre forms: novel, secular philosophical tale, author's fairy tale, and in the era of romanticism -, lyric poem, a ballad.

The realistic canon brings to life a problematic novel, story, short story. On turn of XIX-XX centuries, genres with blurred boundaries are becoming popular again: essay (), essay, little poem, symbolist. Old forms are filled with original meaning, they pass into each other, destroy the set standards.

Powerful influence on the formation genre system renders dramatic art. Set to theatricality changes the appearance of such genres familiar to the average reader as a poem, a story, a short story and even a small lyric poem (in the era of the “sixties” poets).

IN contemporary literature remains open. There is a prospect of interaction not only within individual genres, but also within various kinds art. Appears every year new genre in literature.

Literature on genera and species

The most popular classification breaks down works “by gender” (all of its components are shown in the third column in the figure at the beginning of this publication).

To understand this genre classification, it is necessary to remember that literature, like music, is worth on the "three whales". These whales, called genera, are in turn divided into species. For clarity, we present this structure in the form of a diagram:

  1. The most ancient "whale" is considered epic. Its progenitor, which broke up into legend and legend.
  2. appeared when humanity stepped over the stage of collective thinking and turned to the individual experiences of each member of the community. The nature of the lyrics personal experience author.
  3. older than epic and lyric. Its appearance is associated with the era of antiquity and the emergence of religious cults - mysteries. Drama has become the art of the streets, a means of releasing collective energy and influencing masses of people.

Epic genres and examples of such works

The largest epic forms, known to the new time, is an epic and an epic novel. The ancestors of the epic can be considered a saga, common in the past among the peoples of Scandinavia, and a legend (for example, the Indian "Tale of Gilgamesh").

epic is a multi-volume narrative about the fate of several generations of heroes in historically established and fixed cultural tradition circumstances.

A rich socio-historical background is required, against which events unfold privacy heroes. For the epic, such features as the multicomponent plot, the connection between generations, the presence of heroes and anti-heroes are important.

Since it depicts large-scale events over the centuries, it rarely contains careful psychological portrayal, but epics created in the last few centuries combine these installations with achievements contemporary art. The Forsyte Saga by J. Galsworthy not only describes the history of several generations of the Forsyte family, but also gives subtle vivid images individual characters.

Unlike the epic epic novel covers a shorter period of time (no more than a hundred years) and tells about 2-3 generations of heroes.

In Russia, this genre is represented by the novels "War and Peace" by L.N. Tolstoy, "Quiet Flows the Don" by M.A. Sholokhov, "Walking through the torments" by A.N. Tolstoy.

to medium forms epic include novel and short story.

The term " novel” comes from the word “Roman” (Roman) and is reminiscent of the ancient prose narrative that gave birth to this genre.

The Satyricon by Petronius is considered an example of an ancient novel. IN medieval Europe a picaresque novel is spreading. The era of sentimentalism gives the world a novel-journey. Realists develop the genre and fill it with classical content.

On turn of XIX-XX centuries, the following types of novels:

  1. philosophical;
  2. psychological;
  3. social;
  4. intellectual;
  5. historical;
  6. love;
  7. detective;
  8. adventure novel.

IN school curriculum many novels. Giving examples, name the books of I.A. Goncharova " ordinary story”, “Oblomov”, “Cliff”, works by I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons" Noble Nest”, “On the eve”, “Smoke”, “New”. The genre of "Crime and Punishment", "The Idiot", "The Brothers Karamazov" by F. M. Dostoevsky is also a novel.

Tale does not affect the fate of generations, but has several storylines that develop against the backdrop of one historical event.

« captain's daughter» A. S. Pushkin and "Overcoat" N.V. Gogol. V.G. Belinsky spoke about the primacy of narrative literature in culture XIX century.

Small epic forms(story, essay, short story, essay) have one storyline, a limited number of characters and are distinguished by a compressed volume.

For example, stories by A. Gaidar or Yu. Kazakov, short stories by E. Poe, essays by V.G. Korolenko or an essay by V. Wolf. Let's make a reservation, sometimes it "works" as a genre of scientific style or journalism, but it has artistic imagery.

Lyric genres

Large lyric forms represented by a poem and a wreath of sonnets. The first is more plot-driven, which makes it related to the epic. The second is static. In a wreath of sonnets, consisting of 15 14-verses, a theme is described and the author's impressions of it.

In Russia, poems have a socio-historical character. " Bronze Horseman"and" Poltava "A.S. Pushkin, "Mtsyri" M.Yu. Lermontov, “Who is it good to live in Rus'” N.A. Nekrasov, "Requiem" by A.A. Akhmatova - all these poems lyrically describe Russian life and national characters.

Small forms of lyrics numerous. This is a poem, ode, canzone, sonnet, epitaph, fable, madrigal, rondo, triolet. Some forms originated in medieval Europe (lyric poetry in Russia especially fell in love with the sonnet genre), some (for example, the ballad) became the legacy of German romantics.

Traditionally small Poetry works are usually divided into 3 types:

  1. philosophical lyrics;
  2. love lyrics;
  3. landscape lyrics.

IN Lately urban lyrics also stood out as a separate subspecies.

Dramatic genres

Drama gives us three classic genres:

  1. comedy;
  2. tragedy;
  3. actual drama.

All three varieties performing arts originated in Ancient Greece.

Comedy was originally associated with religious cults of purification, mysteries, during which a carnival action unfolded on the streets. The sacrificial goat "comos", later called the "scapegoat", walked along the streets along with the artists, symbolized all human vices. According to the canon, they should be ridiculed by comedy.

Comedy is the genre of "Woe from Wit" by A.S. Griboedov and "Undergrowth" D.I. Fonvizin.

In the era of classicism, there were 2 types of comedy: comedy provisions and comedy characters. The first played with circumstances, gave one hero for another, had an unexpected denouement. The second pushed actors in the face of an idea or task, giving rise to a theatrical conflict on which the intrigue rested.

If during a comedy the playwright expected the healing laughter of the crowd, then tragedy set out to evoke tears. It was bound to end in the death of the hero. Empathizing with the characters, the viewer or the cleansing.

Romeo and Juliet, as well as W. Shakespeare's Hamlet, were written in the tragedy genre.

Actually drama- this is the latest invention of dramaturgy, removing therapeutic tasks and making an installation for subtle psychologism, objectivity, play.

Definition of the genre of a literary work

How was the poem "Eugene Onegin" called a novel? Why did Gogol define the novel "Dead Souls" as a poem? And why Chekhov " The Cherry Orchard» — comedy? Genre designations are hints that there are right directions in the art world, but, fortunately, there are no forever beaten paths.

A little higher is a video that helps determine the genre of this or that literary work.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the blog pages site

You may be interested

What is a story What is drama What is folklore and what genres does it include What is a work What is lyrics What is satire in general and in literature in particular What is composition What is fiction What is Shantaram

The ancient genres that had developed before this turn were then vigorously rethought under its influence.

Notes

List of literary genres

  • By shape
    • Short story
  • content

Links

  • Sysoeva O. A. Genre approach to the study of literature in the framework of additional education (on the example of Sasha Sokolov's novel "School for Fools")
  • Theoretical poetics: concepts and definitions. Reader for students of philological faculties. Compiled by N. D. Tamarchenko

Literature

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "Literary genre" is in other dictionaries:

    NOVEL (French roman, German Roman; English novel / romance; Spanish novela, Italian romanzo), central genre (see GENRE) European literature New time (see. NEW TIME (in history)), fictional, in contrast to the adjacent genre of the story (see ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

    An elegy (έλεγεία) is a lyrical poem of a sad, thoughtful mood: such is the content that is now usually put into a word that had a different meaning in the former poetics. Its etymology is debatable: it is derived from the supposed chorus έ λέγε ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

    At present, the most popular and richest form of literary works, reflecting in itself modern life with all the variety of questions that concern her. To achieve such a universal meaning, the novel had to... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

    Crying one of the ancients literary genres, characterized by lyric-dramatic improvisation on the themes of misfortune, death, etc. It can take shape both in verse and in prose. The style of crying is used, in particular, in some texts of the Bible ... Wikipedia

    - (poetic) a certain kind of literary work. The main genres can be considered epic, lyrical and dramatic, but it is more correct to apply this term to their individual varieties, such as an adventure novel, a clownish comedy ... Literary Encyclopedia

    Genre- GENRE (poetic) a certain type of literary work. The main genres can be considered epic, lyrical and dramatic, but it is more accurate to apply this term to their individual varieties, such as an adventure novel, ... ... Dictionary literary terms

    - (historical and special used in cinematography) a finished screenwriting work. It must contain a complete, consistent and specific description of the plot, consisting of developed scenes and episodes, dialogues and reveal images ... ... Wikipedia

    GENRE- literary (from French genre genus, type), historically emerging type of literary work (novel, poem, ballad, etc.); V theoretical concept about Zh. summarizes the features characteristic of a more or less extensive group of works ... ... Literary Encyclopedic Dictionary

Literary genera and literary genres are the most powerful means to ensure unity and continuity literary process. They concern characteristic features conducting the narrative, the plot, the author's position and the relationship of the narrator with the reader.

V. G. Belinsky is considered the founder of Russian literary criticism, but even in antiquity Aristotle made a serious contribution to the concept literary kind, which was later scientifically substantiated by Belinsky.

So, the types of literature are called numerous collections works of art(texts), which differ in the type of relation of the speaker to the artistic whole. There are 3 genera:

  • epic;
  • Lyrics;
  • Drama.

The epic as a kind of literature aims to tell in as much detail as possible about an object, phenomenon or event, about the circumstances associated with them, the conditions of existence. The author, as it were, is removed from what is happening and acts as a narrator-narrator. The main thing in the text is the story itself.

The lyrics aim to tell not so much about the events, but about the impressions and feelings that the author has experienced and is experiencing. The main image will be the image of the inner world and the human soul. Impression and experience are the main events of the lyrics. This kind of literature is dominated by poetry..

The drama tries to depict the subject in action and show it on theater stage, present the described in the environment of other phenomena. The author's text is visible here only in remarks - brief explanations of the actions and remarks of the characters. Sometimes the author's position is reflected by a special reasoning hero.

Epos (from Greek - "narration") Lyrics (derived from "lyre", musical instrument, the sound of which accompanied the reading of poetry) Drama (from Greek - "action")
A story about events, phenomena, the fate of heroes, adventures, deeds. portrayed outer side what is happening. Feelings are also shown from the side of their external manifestation. The author can be either a detached narrator or directly express his position (in digressions). Experience of phenomena and events, reflection of inner emotions and feelings, detailed image of the inner world. The main event is the feeling and how it affected the hero. Shows the event and the relationship of the characters on the stage. It implies a special type of writing text. The author's point of view is contained in the remarks or remarks of the reasoning hero.

Each type of literature includes several genres.

Literary genres

A genre is a group of works united by historically characteristic common features of form and content. Genres include novel, poem, short story, epigram and many others.

However, between the concept of "genre" and "genus" there is an intermediate - type. This is a less broad concept than a genus, but wider than a genre. Although sometimes the term "kind" is identified with the term "genre". If we distinguish between these concepts, then the novel will be considered a kind fiction, and its varieties (dystopian novel, adventure novel, fantasy novel) - genres.

Example: genus - epic, type - story, genre - Christmas story.

Types of literature and their genres, table.

epic Lyrics Drama
Folk Author's Folk Author's Folk Author's
Epic poem:
  • Heroic;
  • Military;
  • Fairy-tale legendary;
  • Historical.

Fairy tale, epic, thought, tradition, legend, song. Small genres:

  • proverbs;
  • sayings;
  • riddles and fun.
Epic Romance:
  • historical;
  • fantastic;
  • adventurous;
  • novel-parable;
  • Utopian;
  • social, etc.

Small genres:

  • story;
  • story;
  • short story;
  • fable;
  • parable;
  • ballad;
  • literary tale.
Song. Ode, hymn, elegy, sonnet, madrigal, epistle, romance, epigram. Game, rite, nativity scene, rayok. Tragedy and comedy:
  • provisions;
  • characters;
  • masks;
  • philosophical;
  • social;
  • historical.

Vaudeville Farce

Modern literary critics single out 4 kinds of literature - lyroepic (lyroepos). A poem is attributed to him. On the one hand, the poem tells about the feelings and experiences of the protagonist, and on the other hand, it describes the history, events, circumstances in which the hero lives.

The poem has a plot-narrative organization, it describes many experiences of the protagonist. The main feature is the presence, along with a clearly structured storyline, of multiple lyrical digressions or paying attention to the inner world of the character.

The lyric-epic genres include the ballad. It has an unusual, dynamic and extremely tense plot. It is characterized by a poetic form, it is a story in verse. May be historical, heroic, or mythical. The plot is often borrowed from folklore.

The text of an epic work is strictly plot-driven, focused on events, characters and circumstances. It is based on storytelling, not on experience. The events described by the author are separated from him, as a rule, by a long period of time, which allows him to be impartial and objective. Author's position can manifest itself in lyrical digressions. However, in pure epic works they are missing.

Events are described in the past tense. The story is unhurried, unhurried, measured. The world appears complete and fully known. Many detailed details, great thoroughness.

Major epic genres

An epic novel can be called a work covering a long period in a story that describes many characters, with intertwining storylines. Has a large volume. The novel is the most popular genre these days. Most of the books on the shelves in bookstores are of the novel genre.

The story is either classified as a small or medium genre, it concentrates on one storyline, on the fate of a particular hero.

Small genres of epic

The story embodies small literary genres. This is the so-called intensive prose, in which, due to its small volume, there are no detailed descriptions, enumeration and abundance of details. The author is trying to convey a specific idea to the reader, and the entire text is aimed at revealing this idea.

The stories are characterized by the following features:

  • Small volume.
  • In the center of the plot is a specific event.
  • A small number of heroes - 1, a maximum of 2-3 central characters.
  • It has a specific theme, which is devoted to the entire text.
  • It aims to answer a specific question, the rest are secondary and, as a rule, are not disclosed.

Nowadays, it is practically impossible to determine where the story is and where the short story is, although these genres have completely different origin. At the dawn of its appearance, the short story was a short dynamic work with an entertaining plot, accompanied by anecdotal situations. It lacked psychology.

Essay is a genre of non-fiction based on real facts. However, very often an essay can be called a story and vice versa. There won't be a big mistake here.

In a literary fairy tale, a fairy tale narrative is stylized, it often reflects the mood of the whole society, some political ideas sound.

Lyrics are subjective. Addressed to the inner world of the hero or the author himself. This kind of literature is characterized by emotional interest, psychologism. The plot fades into the background. It is not the events and phenomena that are happening themselves that are important, but the attitude of the hero towards them, how they affect him. Events often reflect the state of the character's inner world. The lyrics have a completely different attitude to time, it seems as if it does not exist, and all events take place exclusively in the present.

Lyric genres

The main genres of poems, the list of which can be continued:

  • Ode is a solemn poem intended to praise and exalt
  • hero (historical figure).
  • elegy - poetic work with sadness as the dominant mood, which is a reflection on the meaning of life against the background of the landscape.
  • Satire is a caustic and accusatory work; epigrams are classified as poetic satirical genres.
  • An epitaph is a piece of poetry written on the occasion of the death of someone. Often becomes an inscription on a tombstone.
  • Madrigal - a small message to a friend, usually containing a hymn.
  • Epithalama is a wedding hymn.
  • The message is a verse written in the form of a letter, implying openness.
  • A sonnet is a strict poetic genre that requires strict observance of the form. Consists of 14 lines: 2 quatrains, and 2 tertiary.

To understand the drama, it is important to understand the source and nature of its conflict. Drama is always aimed at a direct portrayal; dramatic works are written to be staged. The only means of revealing the character of the hero in the drama is his speech. The hero, as it were, lives in the spoken word, which reflects his entire inner world.

The action in a drama (play) develops from the present to the future. Although events take place in the present, they are not completed, they are directed to the future. Since dramatic works are aimed at staging them on the stage, each of them implies spectacle.

Dramatic works

Tragedy, comedy and farce are genres of drama.

At the center of the classical tragedy is an irreconcilable eternal conflict, which is inevitable. Often the tragedy ends with the death of the heroes who failed to resolve this conflict, but death is not a genre-defining factor, since it can be present in both comedy and drama.

Comedy is characterized by humorous or satirical image reality. The conflict is specific and usually resolvable. There is a comedy of characters and a sitcom. They differ in the source of comedy: in the first case, the situations in which the characters find themselves are funny, and in the second, the characters themselves. Often these 2 types of comedy overlap with each other.

Modern dramaturgy gravitates towards genre modifications. A farce is a deliberately comical work in which attention is focused on comic elements. Vaudeville is a light comedy with a simple plot and a clear writing style.

It is not worth the path of drama as a kind of literature and drama as a literary genre. In the second case, the drama is characterized by an acute conflict, which is less global, irreconcilable and insoluble than tragic conflict. In the center of the work - the relationship between man and society. The drama is realistic and close to life.

The main genres of literature are groups of works that are identical formally and in style of presentation. Even in the time of Aristotle, there was a division of literature into genres, evidence of this is "Poetics" Greek philosopher, a treatise on literary evolution, written three hundred years before the birth of Christ.

in literature?

Literature originates from biblical times, people have always written and read. containing at least some text - this is already literature, because what is written is the thoughts of a person, a reflection of his desires and aspirations. Reporting, petitions, church texts were written in a multitude, and thus the first literary genre appeared - birch bark. With the development of writing, the genre of chronicle arose. Most often, what was written was already worn by some literary signs, graceful turns of speech, figurative allegories.

The next genre of literature was epics, epic tales about heroes and other heroes of historical plots. Religious literature, descriptions of biblical events, lives of the higher clergy can be considered separate.

The advent of printing in the 16th century marked the beginning of the rapid development of literature. Throughout the 17th century, styles and genres were formed.

18th century literature

To the question of what genres are in one can answer unequivocally that the literature of that time is conditionally divided into three main areas: drama, narrative and poetic verses. Dramatic works often took the form of a tragedy, when the heroes of the plot died, and the struggle between good and evil became more and more deadly. Alas, the conjuncture of the literary market dictated its conditions even then. The genre of calm narrative also found its reader. Novels, novellas and stories were considered "middle", while tragedies, poems and odes belonged to the "high" genre of literature, and satirical works, fables and comedies - to "low".

Verse is a primitive form of poetry that was in use at balls, social events and other events of the highest metropolitan nobility. Poems in the verse genre had signs of syllogistic, the verse was divided into rhythmic segments. Mechanical syllable, deadly for real poetry, for a long time dictated fashion.

Literature19-20 centuries

Literature of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th is distinguished by several genres, most in demand in the golden age of Pushkin-Gogol, and then in silver Age Alexander Blok and Sergei Yesenin. Drama, epic and lyrics - that's what genres are in the literature of the past and the century before last.

The lyrics had to have an emotional coloring, be meaningful and purposeful. Its categories were ode and elegy, and ode - with enthusiastic surprise, chanting and elevation to the rank of heroes.

The lyrical elegy was built on the principle of the sad tone of the verse, sadness, as a result of the hero's experiences, regardless of what was the cause - or the disharmony of the universe.

What are genres in contemporary literature?

There are a lot of genres in modern literature, among them the most popular ones, in demand by a wide readership, can be distinguished:

  • Tragedy is a kind of literary genre of drama, characterized by extreme emotional stress, with the obligatory death of heroes.
  • Comedy is another variation of the drama genre, the opposite of tragedy, with a hilarious plot and a happy ending.
  • Fairy tale genre literary direction for children, their creative development. There are many literary masterpieces in the genre.
  • Epic - a literary genre of a historical nature, describes individual events of past times in the style of heroism, differs big amount characters.
  • The genre of the novel is an extensive narrative, with several storylines, describing in detail the life of each character individually and all together, it is distinguished by a penchant for analyzing current events.
  • Story - genre medium shape, is written according to the same scheme as the novel, but in a more concise context. In the story, one character is usually singled out as the main one, the rest are described in "binding" to him.
  • Story - a genre of storytelling small form, summary one event. Its plot cannot be continued, it represents the quintessence of the author's thought, it always has a finished form.
  • A short story is a genre similar to a short story, the difference is only in the sharpness of the plot. The novel has an unexpected, unpredictable ending. This genre is well suited to thrillers.
  • The genre of the essay is the same story, but in a non-artistic manner of presentation. There are no flowery turns of speech, grandiloquent phrases and pathos in the essay.
  • Satire as a literary genre is not common, its accusatory orientation does not contribute to popularity, although satirical plays V theater production well received.
  • The detective genre is the most demanded literary trend of recent times. Millions of paperback books popular authors, such as Alexandra Marinina, Daria Dontsova, Polina Dashkova and dozens of others, have become desktop for many Russian readers.

Conclusion

Diverse, each contains the potential for further creative development, which will definitely be used contemporary writers and poets.

There are enough literary genres a large number of. Each of them differs in a set of formal and substantive properties inherent only to it. Even Aristotle, who lived in the 4th century BC. presented their first systematization. According to her, literary genres were a specific system that was fixed once and for all. The task of the author was only to find a correspondence between his work and the properties of the genre he had chosen. And over the next two millennia, any changes in the classification created by Aristotle were perceived as deviations from the standards. And only in late XVIII century, literary evolution and the associated disintegration of an entrenched genre system, as well as the influence of completely new cultural and social circumstances, nullified the influence of normative poetics and allowed literary thought develop, move forward and expand. The prevailing conditions were the reason that some genres simply sank into oblivion, others were at the center of the literary process, and some began to appear. We can see the results of this process (probably not final) today - a lot of literary genres that differ in gender (epic, lyrical, dramatic), in content (comedy, tragedy, drama) and other criteria. In this article we will talk about what genres are in form.

Literary genres by form

In form, literary genres are as follows: essay, epic, epic, sketch, novel, short story (novella), play, story, essay, opus, ode and visions. Below is a detailed description of each of them.

Essay

An essay is a prose essay characterized by a small volume and free composition. It is recognized to reflect the personal impressions or thoughts of the author on any occasion, but is not obliged to give an exhaustive answer to the question posed or to fully disclose the topic. The style of the essay is characterized by associativity, aphorism, figurativeness and maximum proximity to the reader. Some researchers classify essay as a type of fiction. IN XVIII-XIX centuries The essay as a genre dominated French and English journalism. And in the 20th century, the essay was recognized and actively used by the world's largest philosophers, prose writers and poets.

epic

The epic is a heroic narrative about the events of the past, reflecting the life of the people and representing the epic reality of heroes-heroes. Usually, the epic tells about a person, about the events in which he took part, about how he behaved and what he felt, and also talks about his attitude to the world around him and the phenomena in it. The ancient Greek folk poems-songs are considered to be the ancestors of the epic.

epic

Epics are large works of an epic nature and similar to them. The epic, as a rule, is expressed in two forms: it can be either a story about significant historical events in prose or verse, or a long story about something that includes descriptions of various events. The epic owes its emergence as a literary genre to the epic songs composed in honor of the exploits of various heroes. It is worth noting that a special type of epic stands out - the so-called "moral epic", which is distinguished by its prosaic orientation and description of the comic state of any national society.

Sketch

A sketch is a short play, the main characters of which are two (sometimes three) characters. The sketch is most common on the stage in the form of sketch shows, which are several comedy miniatures (“sketches”) up to 10 minutes each. Most of all, sketch shows are popular on television, especially in the US and the UK. However, a small number of such humorous TV programs are also on Russian air (“Our Russia”, “Give Youth!” and others).

Novel

A novel is a special literary genre, characterized by a detailed narrative about the life and development of the main characters (or one character) in the most non-standard and critical periods of their lives. The variety of novels is so great that there are many independent branches of this genre. Novels are psychological, moral, chivalric, classical Chinese, French, Spanish, American, English, German, Russian and others.

Story

A short story (also known as a short story) is the main genre in short narrative prose and is smaller in volume than a novel or short story. The roots of the novel go back to folklore genres(oral retellings, legends and parables). The story is characterized by the presence of a small number of characters and one storyline. Often the stories of one author make up a cycle of stories. The authors themselves are often referred to as novelists, and collections of stories are often referred to as novelistics.

Play

A play is a name for dramaturgical works that are intended for stage performance, as well as radio and television performances. Usually the structure of the play includes monologues and dialogues of characters and various author's notes indicating the places where the events take place, and sometimes describing the interiors of the premises, appearance characters, their characters, manners, etc. In most cases, the play is preceded by a list of characters and their characteristics. The play consists of several acts, including smaller parts - pictures, episodes, actions.

Tale

The story is a literary genre of prose character. It does not have any specific volume, but is located between the novel and the short story (short story), which it was considered to be until the 19th century. The plot of the story is most often chronological - it reflects the natural course of life, has no intrigue, is focused on the main character and the features of his nature. Moreover, story line only one. IN foreign literature the term "story" itself is synonymous with the term "short novel".

Feature article

An essay is considered to be a small artistic description the totality of any phenomena of reality, comprehended by the author. The basis of the essay is almost always a direct study by the author of the object of his observation. Therefore, the main feature is "writing from nature." It is important to say that if in other literary genres It is fiction that can play the leading role, but it is practically absent in the essay. Essays are of several types: portrait (about the personality of the hero and his inner world), problematic (about a specific problem), travel (about travel and wanderings) and historical (about historical events).

Opus

An opus in its broadest sense is any piece of music (instrumental, folk) characterized by internal completeness, motivation of the whole, individualization of form and content, in which the personality of the author is clearly traced. In the literary sense, an opus is any literary work or treatise any author.

Oh yeah

Oh yeah - lyrical genre, expressed in the form of a solemn poem dedicated to a certain hero or event, or individual work the same direction. Initially (in ancient Greece), any poetic lyrics (even choral singing) that accompanied music was called an ode. But since the Renaissance, odes began to be called high-sounding lyrical works, in which samples of antiquity serve as a guide.

visions

Visions belong to the genre of medieval (Hebrew, Gnostic, Muslim, Old Russian, etc.) literature. In the center of the narrative is usually a "clairvoyant", and the content is saturated with otherworldly, afterlife visual images that appear to the clairvoyant. The plot is presented by a visionary - a person to whom he revealed himself in hallucinations or dreams. Some authors refer to visions as journalism and narrative didactics, because in the era of the Middle Ages, the interaction of a person with the world of the unknown was precisely the way to convey any didactic content.

These are the main types of literary genres that differ in form. Their diversity tells us that literary creativity has always been deeply appreciated by people, but the process of formation of these genres has always been long and complex. Each of the genres as such bears the imprint of a certain era and individual consciousness, each expressed in their own ideas about the world and its manifestations, people and their personality traits. It is precisely due to the fact that there are so many genres and they are all different, any creative person had and has the opportunity to express himself in the form that more accurately reflects his mental organization.