Genre of literature, their definitions and examples

1. Introduction to Literary Studies
Lectures in Week 2
Kinds of Literature

2. Literature is divided into two kinds
Poetry
Poetry is a division of literature works
which covers a literary work expressed
in verse, measure, rhythm, sound, and
imaginative language and creates an
emotional response to an experience,
feeling or fact.
Traditionally, it has three sub-divisions
namely:
1. Narrative poetry
2. Lyric poetry
3. Dramatic poetry
Prose
Prose is a division of literature which
covers a literary work that is spoken or
written within the common flow of
language in sentences and in
paragraphs which give information,
relate events, express ideas, or
present opinions.
Under this division, we have two sub-
divisions of prose:
Fictional & Non-Fictional Literature
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3. Sub-division of Prose
Fiction
Fiction is a sub-division of
prose which covers a literary
work of imaginative
narration, either oral or
written, fashioned to
entertain and to make
readers think and more so, to
feel. It normally came from
the writer’s imagination.
Non-Fiction
Non-Fiction is a sub-division
of prose which covers a
literary work of “real life”
narration or exposition based
on history and facts whose
main thrust is intellectual
appeal to convey facts,
theories, generalizations, or
concepts about a particular
topic.
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4. Characteristics of Prose
 Prose does not make use of rhyme at all.
 It follows everyday pattern of speech and communication.
 It has a grammatical structure with sentences and paragraphs.
 Prose writers use everyday language.
 The purpose of prose is to furnish information, instruction, or
 enlightenment.
 It appeals to the intellect.
 It is generally concerned with the presentation of an idea, concept or
 point of view.

5. Major Forms of Fiction
Legend Short Story Novel
Novella Fable Parable
Major Forms of Non-Fiction
Biography History News Diary
Essay

6. Major Forms of Fiction
Legend
A legend in literature is a traditional story or group of stories told
about a particular person or place. It is a story that is set in a historical
context. Legends may include supernatural beings, elements of
mythology, or explanations of natural phenomena. Legends are
associated with a particular locality or person and told as a part of
history.
Ali Baba, the Fountain of Youth, Paul Bunyan, Kraken, Atlantis, the
Loch Ness Monster, and Bigfoot ,Yeti.
Some legends are stories about real people; others are not. Odysseus and Robin Hood for
example may have been real but most the stories about them are definitely fiction.
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7. Major Forms of Fiction
Short Story
Short story is a short prose fiction narrative
depicting a simple characterization and plot
conveying a moral which can be read in one
sitting.
Examples
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, The Necklace
by Guy de Maupassant, Araby by James Joyce, Ward No. 6 by Anton Chekhov

8. Major Forms of Fiction
Novel
A novel is a long work of narrative fiction, typically
written in prose and published as a book. A novel
describes intimate human experiences, usually
through a connected sequence of events involving a
Group of persons in a specific setting.
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen,
Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, Middlemarch by George Eliot,
Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton, The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy

9. Major Forms of Fiction
Novella
A novella is a piece of fiction that is shorter than a
full-length novel but longer than a short story.
Novellas often focus on a single point of view.
Animal Farm by George Orwell, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Metamorphosis by
Franz Kafka, Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Of Mice and Men by John
Steinbeck, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

10. Major Forms of Fiction
Fable
Fable is a fictional story, in prose or verse that features animals, legendary
creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that illustrates or
leads to a particular moral lesson (a "moral"), which may at the end be
added explicitly as a concise maxim or saying.’
Examples: The Lion and the Mouse, A Greedy Dog, Hare and the
Tortoise, The Fox and the Grapes

11. Major Forms of Fiction
Parable
Parable is a short story, typically with a moral lesson at the end. We find
the use of parables in verse and prose, specifically in religious texts to
demonstrate the moral lesson intended to be taught.
Examples: The Boy Who Cried Wolf (used to teach kids not to lie)

12. Major Forms of Non-Fiction
Biography
Biography is a form of literature and is commonly considered
nonfictional. Biography describes the life of a particular person and
is written by another person. It involves more than just the basic
facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a
person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or
curriculum vitae (résumé), a biography presents a subject's life
story, highlighting various aspects of their life, including intimate
details of experience, and may include an analysis of the subject’s
personality.

13. Biography 2
Difference between Biography and Autobiography
Biography
An authorized biography is written with the permission, cooperation, and at
times, participation of a subject or a subject's heirs.
Example: Churchill: A Life (Martin Gilbert), Virginia Woolf (Hermione Lee), A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia
Nasar, Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang, Jinnah of Pakistan by Stanley Wolpert
Autobiography
An autobiography is written by the person themselves, sometimes with the
assistance of a collaborator or ghostwriter.
Example: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin, Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, The
Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mahatma Gandhi, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

14. Biography 3
Memoir/Reminiscences
Memoir refers to a written collection of a person’s significant memories,
written by that person. Memoir doesn’t generally include biographical
information or chronological events unless it’s relevant to the story being
presented.
Example: Becoming by Michelle Obama, Red Notice by Bill Browder, A
Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

15. Major Forms of Non-Fiction
History
Historical nonfiction consists of true accounts of historical eras and events.
Some histories dwell purely in objective facts, and other histories are
refracted through the lens of the author's personal beliefs. In either case,
history books must present true stories in order to qualify as nonfiction.
Example: Biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs
• MIDNIGHT IN CHERNOBYL BY ADAM HIGGINBOTHAM
A historical nonfiction book tells the story of the April 1986 meltdown of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
• GENGHIS KHAN AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN WORLD BY JACK WEATHERFORD
This is the true history of Genghis Khan, written by anthropologist Jack Weatherford.
Remember also Mustafa Kamal, Sir Alexander Fleming, Louis Pasture, China’s Way to Progress

16. Major Forms of Non-Fiction
News
News is a prose non-fiction narrative of events that happen
everyday. The newspapers are written for this purpose.
Example:
All Urdu and English Newspapers

17. Major Forms of Non-Fiction
Diary
Diary is a form of autobiographical writing, a regularly kept record of the
diarist’s activities and reflections. Written primarily for the writer’s use alone,
the diary has a frankness that is unlike writing done for publication.
Examples include Oral diaries, diaries as memoir writing, diaries in the novel, letters, and travel
literature. Diaries of the American Civil War, Diaries of Trips and Letters of Diaspora, and Diaries of Family
Black Death: Diary by Pepo d'Antonio
Family diary (1340/1360) of Florentine merchant in which he recorded the deaths of relatives from the Black Death in 1348
The Journal to Stella by Jonathan Swift
A diary of extraordinary emotional interest, this work is a surprising amalgam of ambition, affection, wit, and freakishness (unexpected,
especially in an unpleasant or strange).
The Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay
The most notable English diary of the late 18th century was that of the novelist Fanny Burney.

18. Major Forms of Non-Fiction
Essay
Essay is prose non-fiction which is a formal treatment of an issue
written from the writer’s personal point of view.