What are the literary genres

When you go to a bookstore you can find different formats of books that include novels, stories, essays, et cetera; they are literary works that are included within a larger genre with which they share similar characteristics and objectives. In this article we are going to discover what are the literary genres so that you understand the way in which literary works are classified and, also, we will discover new genres that have appeared in our society due to advances and innovations in the field of the letters.

What are literary genres

The studies of language and literature have grouped the different literary works into groups or generic categories that share some specific characteristics and functionalities. Classical rhetoric was responsible for establishing the division of literary genres into 3 groups that still remains today:

• Lyric

• Narrative genre

• Drama

The authors write a work linked to one of these genres that have similar guidelines and that the author uses with a specific purpose because it is not the same intentionality that a poet has when describing the dawn that a novelist has to talk about a detective story, for example.

Each genre contains literary subgenres, that is, a minor classification that groups works according to the most specific characteristics: whether it is a novel, a story, etc. Although, in general terms, all works can be grouped in these three genres, it is true that there are some that are a miscegenation of all and that are configured as innovative and radically different pieces.

Lyric

This literary genre refers to a group of very broad works that may contain very different samples but, in general, share a series of characteristics that can link them in this large group. Here we discover them:

• The subject of the text usually focuses on the intimacy of the author, it is like a window to his soul and his way of seeing the world. They are subjective compositions in which the poet gives his point of view either to establish a description or to narrate an event.

• The use of rhetorical figures such as metaphor, synonymy, hyperbole, etc., abounds to emphasize their message and to create an effect on the reader who is reading the piece.

• The physical reality that is presented to us in the poem is always subordinated to the eyes of the author because it is a subjective and not objective reality that is part of this type of text.

• Most of this type of writing is done in verse, although it is true that there is lyrical prose, but in global terms, what is written in verse abounds more.

These are some of the most generic characteristics of this type of work but, as we have said, there may be variations and there may be poems in prose as well as some pieces that are political and, therefore, do not speak to us about the soul of the poet. But in general, these are what can best classify this type of composition.

Within this genre can be included a large number of writings and, to be able to group them better, literary smugglers have been created that in the case of lyric are the following:

• Oda : it is a type of poem that had as objective to exalt something in concrete, could be as much to a person as to some mundane aspect. For example, Fray Luis de León wrote an "Ode to the retired life" although, in general, the most common was to write to praise some important personality of the social and political life of the country.

• Elegy : is a type of composition that is designed to manifest the pain in a specific situation such as, for example, the death of a loved one or some event of social sorrow.

• Eclogue : it is a poem that is included in the "bucolic" and puts in the voice of different shepherds situations of love.

• Satire : it is a composition with a humorous tone that aims to caricature a public figure or social types to denounce them through humor and ridicule.

• Song : they are usually verse compositions that, in the past, talked about love but that, at present, they can deal with different topics. They have a verse and are usually accompanied by melody.

Narrative genre

The narrative genre is also known as prose or as a narrative in general. It is about all those works that tell a story with a careful style and fulfilling the fundamental structure of the node-outcome approach even if the order of these elements is modified. They are fiction compositions that can house historical events but that will have a dramatic rhythm, characters and a careful argument to keep the attention of the reader in suspense.

The figure of the narrator is essential in this type of literary text and is responsible for presenting both the story and the characters that comprise it. This voice can be narrated in third person and, therefore, is known as the "omniscient narrator" because it is not part of what it tells, but it can also be the case that the story is explained in the first person or in second person.

There are also different narrative subgenres that are classified according to whether they are written in verse or in prose. Here we discover them:

• Narration in verse

Epic : are those pieces that explain an important event in the history of both a nation and society in general.

Epic : it is the narration of different facts that can be real, imaginary or a mixture of reality and fantasy. The essential characteristic is that they are objective compositions and that it aims to glorify someone or some nation.

Romance : are pieces composed of eight-syllable verses that have a rhyme assonance in the pairs and the theme usually focuses on narrating warlike or chivalrous events.

• Prose narration

Story : it is a short story that tells a story that can be real or invented. It is characterized because it presents conciseness and concentration of the story because in a few words it has to get an effect on the reader and tell a coherent and structured story.

Novel : it is an extensive narrative and has a much broader and more developed argument than that of the story. It usually presents secondary arguments that depend on the main narrative and that is interpreted by the characters that are part of the work. There is a greater work at the time of the creation of the characters so that they are credible.

Drama

Also known as " theatrical genre " is characterized, above all, by the predominance of dialogue before the narrative. They are compositions that are written to be performed by actors and that, through conversation, the author presents different conflicts and makes the psychological profile of the characters.

It may be that, during the piece, the character speaks to himself and that is when we talk about the monologue, an intervention made by a single character in which he explains his way of thinking and his point of view on a specific topic. Thus, in this type of literary genre we find the presence of both dialogues and monologues.

There are also different dramatic subgenres that we will discover next:

• Comedy : is a cheerful piece that encourages humor and laughter in which some characters star in a series of surreal and fun events.

• Tragedy : narrates some tragic conflicts of human life that the human being can not control (death, misfortune, betrayal, etc.).

• Drama : it is a narration of some serious and problematic fact but that can incorporate comic elements to give agility to the work. They do not always talk about universal problems but can also deal with personal, social, political conflicts, etc.

• Opera : it is a piece in which the characters tell the story through singing and music.

• Zarzuela : it is a work of Spanish tradition and it mixes musical scenes with other dramatic ones, so the characters sing and speak in equal parts. They portray different costumbristas scenes that can include social and / or political satires.

Other literary genres

We have already said that classical rhetoric was responsible for dividing literature into the three genres that we have just described, but over time, new literary forms have appeared and, therefore, new genres have had to be created. those that follow:

• Speech : is the type of writing that is done to be explained to an audience as a conference, presentation, talk, and so on. The aim is to want to instruct the assistants and send a specific message.

• History : it is a narrative that explains real events and in an objective way. The most common forms are autobiography or biography.

• Didactics : the objective of this genre is to teach, to transmit concrete knowledge on a subject. The essay, for example, is a subgenre of didactics as well as criticism or fable.