Literary genres are determined by literary technique, tone, content and by critics' definitions of the genres.
Classifications of literature
The following is a list of genres in literature.
A literary genre is a category, type or class of literature.
Major forms of literature
The major forms of Literature are:
- Novel
- Poem
- Drama
- Short story
- Novella
- Myths
- Graphic Novel
Various works of literature are written in and further categorized by genre. Sometimes forms are used interchangeably to define genre. However, a form, e.g., a novel or a poem, can be written in any genre. Genre is a label that characterizes elements a reader can expect in a work of literature. The major forms of literature can be written in various genres. Genre is a category characterized by similarities in style, or subject matter.
The classic major genres of Literature are:
- Drama
- Romance novel
- Satire
- Tragedy
- Comedy
- Tragicomedy
- Realistic Fiction
- Non Fiction
Genre categories: fiction and nonfiction
Genre may fall under one of two categories: Fiction and Nonfiction. Any genre can be either: a work of Fiction (nonfactual descriptions and events invented by the author) or a work of Nonfiction (a communication in which descriptions and events are understood to be factual).
Common genres: fiction
Subsets of genres, known as common genres, have developed from the archetypes of genres in written expression. The common genres included in recommended Literaturin verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action
- Classic â€" fiction that has become part of an accepted literary canon, widely taught in schools
- Comic/Graphic Novel â€" scripted fiction told visually in artist drawn pictures, usually in panels and speech bubbles
- Crime/Detective â€" fiction about a committed crime, how the criminal gets caught, and the repercussions of the crime
- Fable â€" narration demonstrating a useful truth, especially in which animals speak as humans; legendary, supernatural tale
- Fairy tale â€" story about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children
- Fanfiction â€" fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, movie, etc.
- Fantasy â€" fiction with strange or otherworldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality
- Fiction narrative â€" literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact
- Fiction in verse â€" full-length novels with plot, subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the narrative is presented in verse form (usually free verse)
- Folklore â€" the songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as handed down by word of mouth
- Historical fiction â€" story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting
- Horror â€" fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread and sometimes fear in both the characters and the reader
- Humor â€" Usually a fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain and sometimes cause intended laughter; but can be contained in all genres
- Legend â€" story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, that has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative material
- Magical Realism magical or unreal elements play a natural part in an otherwise realistic environment
- Metafiction â€" also known as romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature, uses self-reference to draw attention to itself as a work of art, while exposing the "truth" of a story
- Mystery â€" this is fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets
- Mythology â€" 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
- Mythopoeia â€" this is fiction where characters from religious mythology,traditional myths, folklores and history are recast into a re-imagined realm created by the author.
- Realistic fiction â€" story that is true to life
- Science fiction â€" story based on impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually set in the future or on other planets
- Short story â€" fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots
- Suspense/Thriller â€" fiction about harm about to befall a person or group and the attempts made to evade the harm
- Tall tale â€" humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with nonchalance
- Western â€" set in the American Old West frontier and typically set in the late eighteenth to late nineteenth century
Common genres: nonfiction
- Biography/Autobiography - Narrative of a person's life. A true story about a real person.
- Essay - A short literary composition that reflects the author's outlook or point.
- Narrative nonfiction - Factual information presented in a format which tells a story.
- Speech - Public address or discourse.
- Textbook - Authoritative and detailed factual description of a topic.
- Reference book - Dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, almanac, atlas, etc.
Literary fiction vs. genre fiction
Literary fiction is a term used to distinguish certain fictional works that possess commonly held qualitiesls to readers outside genre fiction. Literary fiction has been defined as any fiction that attempts to engage with one or more truths or questions, hence relevant to a broad scope of humanity as a form of expression. There are many sources that help readers find and define literary fiction and genre fiction.
Genres and subgenres
Some genres listed may reappear throughout the list, indicating cross-genre status.
- Literary nonsense
- Adventure novel
- Epic
- Imaginary voyage
- Lost World
- Men's adventure
- Milesian tale
- Picaresque novel (picaresco)
- Robinsonade
- Apocalyptic robinsonade
- Science fiction robinsonade
- Sea story
- Brit lit
- Children's literature
- Young-adult fiction
- Class S
- Light novel
- Young-adult fiction
- Comic novel
- Black comedy
- Parody
- Romantic comedy
- Satire
- Picaresque novel
- Political satire
- Education fiction
- Campus novel
- Campus murder mystery
- School story
- Varsity novel
- Campus novel
- Experimental fiction
- Antinovel
- Ergodic literature
- Erotic fiction
- Erotic romance
- Picaresque novel (picaresco)
- Women's erotica
- Graphic Novel
- Historical fiction
- Historical romance
- Metahistorical romance
- Historical whodunnit
- Holocaust novel
- Plantation tradition
- Prehistoric fiction
- Regency novel
- Regency romance
- Historical romance
- Literary fiction
- Mathematical fiction
- Metafiction
- Nonfiction novel
- Biographical novel
- Autobiographical novel
- Semi-autobiographical novel
- I novel
- Semi-autobiographical novel
- Autobiographical novel
- Bildungsroman
- Slave narrative
- Contemporary slave narrative
- Neo-slave narrative
- Biographical novel
- Occupational fiction
- Hollywood novel
- Legal thriller
- Medical fiction
- Medical romance
- Musical fiction
- Lab lit
- Sports fiction
- Philosophical fiction
- Existentialist fiction
- Novel of ideas
- Philosophical horror
- Platonic Dialogues
- Political fiction
- Political satire
- Pulp fiction
- Quantum fiction
- Religious fiction
- Christian fiction
- Christian science fiction
- Contemporary Christian fiction
- Islamic fiction
- Jewish Fiction
- Christian fiction
- Saga
- Family saga
- Speculative fiction
- Science fiction
- Hard science fiction
- Soft science fiction
- Space opera
- Military
- Punk
- Cyberpunk
- Biopunk
- Nanopunk
- Postcyberpunk
- Steampunk
- Clockpunk
- Dieselpunk
- Atompunk
- Cyberpunk
- Dystopian
- Alternative universe
- Alternative history
- Post-apocalyptic
- Alien invasion
- Scientific romance
- Horror
- Gothic fiction
- Southern Gothic
- Supernatural / Paranormal
- Ghost story
- Monster literature
- Jiangshi fiction
- Vampire fiction
- Werewolf fiction
- Cosmic (Lovecraftian)
- Occult detective
- Psychological
- Erotic
- Body horror
- Splatterpunk
- Gothic fiction
- Fantasy
- by Theme
- Comic fantasy
- Dark fantasy
- Contemporary fantasy
- Heroic fantasy
- Magic realism
- Fantasy of manners
- Mythic
- Paranormal fantasy
- Shenmo fantasy
- Superhero fantasy
- Sword and sorcery
- By setting
- Epic / High fantasy
- Low fantasy
- Hard fantasy
- Historical fantasy
- Prehistoric fantasy
- Medieval fantasy
- Wuxia
- Urban fantasy
- Paranormal romance
- by Theme
- Speculative cross-genre fiction
- Science fantasy
- Planetary romance
- Sword and planet
- Planetary romance
- Dying Earth
- Weird fiction
- Science fantasy
- Science fiction
- Suspense fiction
- Crime fiction
- Detective fiction
- Gong'an fiction
- Mystery fiction
- Westerns
- Women's fiction
- Class S
- Femslash
- Matron literature
- Romance novel
- Yaoi
- Yuri
- Workplace tell-all
- Tragedy
- Melodrama
- Urban fiction
- Thriller
- mystery fiction
- Legal thriller
- Medical thriller
- Political thriller
- Spy fiction
- Psychological thriller
- Techno-thriller
- General cross-genre
- Historical romance
- Juvenile fantasy
- LGBT pulp fiction
- Gay male pulp fiction
- Lesbian pulp fiction
- Lesbian erotica fiction
- Paranormal romance
- Romantic fantasy
- Tragicomedy
Nonfiction genres
These are genres belonging to the realm of nonfiction. Some genres listed may reappear throughout the list, indicating cross-genre status.
- Biography
- Memoir
- Autobiographical novel
- Bildungsroman
- Slave narrative
- Contemporary slave narrative
- Neo-slave narrative
- Spiritual autobiography
- Creative nonfiction
- Diaries and Journals
- Erotic literature
- Essay, Treatise
- Fable, Fairy tale, Folklore
- History
- Popular history
- People's history
- Official history
- Academic history
- Narrative history
- Whig history
- Letter
- Religious text
- Apocalyptic
- Apocrypha
- Apologetics
- Autograph
- Biography
- Autobiography
- Blessing
- Canon
- Chant
- Commentary
- Confession
- Covenant
- Creed
- Critique
- Canonical Criticism
- Form Criticism
- Higher Criticism
- Historical Criticism
- Lower Criticism
- Narrative Criticism
- Postmodern Criticism
- Psychological Criticism
- Redaction Criticism
- Rhetorical Criticism
- Socio-scientific Criticism
- Source Criticism
- Textual Criticism
- Cult Literature
- Curse
- Didactic
- Dialetic
- Rabbinic
- Aporiaic
- Elenctic
- Epistle
- Pauline Epistle
- General Epistle
- Encyclical
- Gospel
- Homily
- History
- Narrative
- Genealogy
- Royal
- Prophetic
- Koan
- Lament
- Law
- Ceremonial
- Family
- Levitical
- Moral
- Natural
- Royal Decree
- Social
- Lectionary
- Liturgy
- Manuscript
- Morality Play
- Mysticism
- Narrative
- Erotic
- Historical
- Horror
- Pilgrim
- Mystery
- Redemption Story
- Occult Literature
- Origin Story
- Parable
- Prayer
- Poetry
- Philosophy
- Philosophical Theology
- Philosophy of Religion
- Metaphysics
- Religious Epistemology
- Hebrew Poetry
- Erotic
- Prophecy
- Blessing/Curse
- Messianic Prophecy
- Divinitory
- Oracle
- Woe Oracle
- Predictive
- Typology
- Vision
- Proverbs
- Psalms
- Confession
- Imprecatory Psalm
- Lament
- Liturgy
- Pilgrim Song
- Praise
- Prophecy
- Royal Psalm
- Thanksgiving
- Wisdom Psalm
- Revelation
- Natural Revelation
- Special Revelation
- Scientific writing
- Scripture
- Song
- Dirge
- Hymn
- Praise
- Testament
- Theology
- Apologetic Theology
- Bibliology
- Biblical Theology
- Cosmology
- Christology
- Ecclesiology
- Eschatology
- Hamartiology
- Pneumatology
- Prolegomena
- Mariology
- Natural Theology
- Soteriology
- Theology Proper
- Theo-mythology
- True crime
- Wisdom Literature
- Woe
- Buddhist texts
- Lotus Sutra
- Tripitaka
- Christian literature
- Apocrypha
- Encyclical
- New Testament
- Old Testament
- Patristic
- Anti-Nicene
- Post-Nicene
- Pseudepigripha
- Hindu Literature
- Vedas
- Bhagavad Gita
- Islamic literature
- Quran
- Haddith
- Jewish Literature
- Torah
- Nevi'im
- Ketuvim
- Talmud
- Kabala
- Occult
- Incantation
- Spell
- Philosophy
References
