literary genre This is the model by which the text of any literary work is built. Genre is a set of certain features that allow us to attribute literary work to the kind of epic, lyric or drama.
Main types literary genres
Literary genres divided into: epic, lyrical and dramatic. Epic genres: fairy tale, epic, epic, epic novel, story, novel, essay, short story, anecdote. Lyrical genres: ode, ballad, elegy, epigram, message, madrigal. Dramatic genres: tragedy, drama, comedy, melodrama, farce and vaudeville.
Genres in literature have a number of specific features, divided into: genre-forming and additional. Genre-forming features serve to determine the specifics of a particular genre. For example, the genre-forming feature of a fairy tale is an orientation towards fiction. The listener perceives the events that take place in a fairy tale as magical, fictional, not directly related to reality. The genre-forming feature of the novel is its connection with objective reality, the coverage of events that took place in reality or those that could happen, a large number acting characters, paying special attention to the inner world of the characters.
Development of literary genres
Literary genres do not tend to stand still. They are constantly evolving and never stop changing. When forming or changing literary genres, attention is paid to real historical reality, in the aura of which the creation of literary works takes place.
What is a literary genre?
We figured out what a genre in literature is, but it would not be superfluous to consider why a literary genre is needed - what function does it perform?
The genre is able to give the reader a fairly holistic view of the work. That is, if the word “novel” is present in the title of the work, then the reader immediately begins to tune in to a significant amount of text, in contrast, for example, to a small “story”, which causes a corresponding association with the approximate number of pages in the book.
Also, the genre can give the reader an idea about the content of the work. For example, if it is defined as “drama”, then we can imagine in advance that the person in the work will be shown in dramatic relations with society and, most likely, we will observe tragic events at the end of the book.
Together with the article "What is a genre in literature?" read:
Literature is an amoebic concept (equally, like types of literature): throughout 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 to certain periods of time or a particular region ( ancient literature, Middle Ages, Russian literature of the 19th century. and others), nevertheless, it must be perceived as a true art of the word 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 types can be distinguished from each other by the number of characters and storylines, volume, functions and content. At various periods in 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 training, i.e. selection written essays for subsequent editions, usually by the publisher's editor. But it is rather 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 impressive form of work, having a huge number of characters with a fairly developed and closely connected 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, characterized 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 arts in modern society are often underestimated. There is a certain category of individuals who declare 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.
literary genre- this is a form, an abstract model on which the text of a literary work is built. A genre is a set of certain features that make it possible to classify a literary work as an epic, lyric or drama. Genres were not invented. They have existed and continue to exist in the very nature of human thought.
The main types of literary genres
Literary genres are divided into three types: epic, lyrical and dramatic. Epic genres include: a fairy tale, an epic, an epic, an epic novel, a novel, a story, an essay, a story, an anecdote. Lyrical genres are called ode, elegy, ballad, message, epigram, madrigal. Dramatic genres are tragedy, comedy, drama, melodrama, vaudeville and farce.
Literary genres have certain characteristics, which are divided into genre-forming and additional. Genre-forming features determine the specifics of a particular genre. For example, the genre-forming feature of a fairy tale is an attitude towards fiction. The events of the fairy tale are obviously perceived by the listener as magical, fictional, not directly related to reality. The genre-forming feature of the novel is its connection with objective reality, coverage a large number events that happened in reality or could happen, a lot of acting characters, a focus on the inner world of the characters.
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 colloquial and publicistic styles. Emotionality artistic speech performs aesthetic function. Artistic style requires pre-selection language tools; all language means are used to create images.
Genre as a concept appeared a very long time ago, back in 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 activity, V professional fields, theater, medicine and even everyday life.
Genres in fiction are a special complex issue. As you know, all literary works, depending on the nature of the depicted, belong to one of the three genera: epic, lyric or drama. A literary genre 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") is a generalized name for works in which there is no plot, but the feelings, thoughts, experiences of the author or his lyrical hero are depicted.
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 narrating 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 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.
FAIRY TALE- 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 a lyric poem imbued with sadness. Belinsky called an elegy "a song 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 letter of poetry specific person, request, wish, recognition.
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 (of 2 quatrains and 2 tercetes) and English (of 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- genre of comedy light comedy with singing couplets and dancing.
FARCE- genre of comedy theatrical play light, playful character with external comic effects, designed for rough taste.
Every literary gender is divided into genres, which are characterized by features common to a group of works. There are epic, lyrical, lyrical epic genres, genres of dramaturgy.
epic genres
Fairy tale(literary) - a work in prose or poetic form, based on folk traditions folk tale(one storyline, fiction, depiction of the struggle between good and evil, antithesis and repetition as the leading principles of composition). For example, satirical tales M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.
Parable(from the Greek parabole - "located (placed) behind") - a small epic genre, a small narrative work of an instructive nature, containing moral or religious teaching, based on a broad generalization and use of allegories. Russian writers often used the parable as an interstitial episode in their works to fill the narrative. deep meaning. Let us recall the Kalmyk fairy tale told by Pugachev to Pyotr Grinev (A. Pushkin " Captain's daughter”) - in fact, this is the culmination in the disclosure of the image of Emelyan Pugachev: “How to eat carrion for three hundred years, better times drink living blood, and then what God will give! The plot of the parable about the resurrection of Lazarus, which Sonechka Marmeladova read to Rodion Raskolnikov, suggests to the reader the idea of a possible spiritual revival of the protagonist of the novel, F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment". In M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom", the wanderer Luka tells a parable "about the righteous land" to show how dangerous the truth can be for weak and desperate people.
Fable- a small genre of epic; plot-complete, having an allegorical meaning, the fable is an illustration of a well-known worldly or moral rule. A fable differs from a parable in the completeness of the plot; a fable is characterized by unity of action, brevity of presentation, the absence of detailed characteristics and other elements of a non-narrative nature that hinder the development of the plot. Usually a fable consists of 2 parts: 1) a story about an event, specific, but easily generalizable, 2) moralizing following or preceding the story.
Feature article- genre, hallmark which is "writing from nature." In the essay, the role of the plot is weakened, because fiction is irrelevant here. The author of the essay, as a rule, narrates in the first person, which allows him to include his thoughts in the text, draw comparisons and analogies - i.e. use the means of journalism and science. An example of the use of the essay genre in literature is “Notes of a Hunter” by I.S. Turgenev.
Novella(Italian novella - news) is a kind of story, an epic action-packed work with an unexpected denouement, characterized by brevity, a neutral style of presentation, and a lack of psychologism. Big role in the development of the action of the novel, chance plays, the intervention of fate. A typical example of a Russian short story is the cycle of stories by I.A. Bunin " Dark alleys”: the author does not psychologically draw the characters of his heroes; a whim of fate, blind chance brings them together for a while and separates them forever.
Story— epic genre small volume with a small number of characters and the short duration of the depicted events. In the center of the narrative is an image of an event or life phenomenon. In Russian classical literature recognized masters of the story were A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, I.S. Turgenev, L.N. Tolstoy, A.P. Chekhov, I.A. Bunin, M. Gorky, A.I. Kuprin and others.
Tale- a prose genre that does not have a stable volume and occupies an intermediate position between the novel, on the one hand, and the short story and short story, on the other, tending to newsreel reproducing the natural course of life. The story differs from the story and the novel in the volume of text, the number of characters and issues raised, the complexity of the conflict, etc. In the story, it is important not so much the movement of the plot as descriptions: heroes, scenes, psychological state person. For example: "The Enchanted Wanderer" by N.S. Leskov, "Steppe" by A.P. Chekhov, "Village" by I.A. Bunin. In the story, the episodes often follow one after the other according to the principle of a chronicle, intercom there is no between them, or it is weakened, so the story is often built as a biography or autobiography: “Childhood”, “Boyhood”, “Youth” by L.N. Tolstoy, "The Life of Arseniev" by I.A. Bunin, etc. (Literature and language. Modern illustrated encyclopedia / edited by Prof. A.P. Gorkin. - M.: Rosmen, 2006.)
Novel(French roman - a work written on one of the "living" Romance languages, and not in “dead” Latin) is an epic genre in which the subject of the image is certain period or whole life person; Roman what is it? - the novel is characterized by the duration of the events described, the presence of several storylines and a system actors, which includes groups of equivalent characters (for example: main characters, secondary, episodic); this genre covers big circle life phenomena and a wide range of socially significant problems. Exist different approaches to the classification of novels: 1) according to structural features(novel-parable, novel-myth, novel-dystopia, novel-journey, novel in verse, etc.); 2) on issues (family, social, social, psychological, psychological, philosophical, historical, adventurous, fantastic, sentimental, satirical, etc.); 3) according to the era in which this or that type of novel dominated (knightly, enlightenment, Victorian, Gothic, modernist, etc.). It should be noted that the exact classification of genre varieties of the novel has not yet been established. There are works whose ideological and artistic originality does not fit into the framework of any one method of classification. For example, the work of M.A. Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita" contains both acute social and philosophical problems, events are developing in parallel biblical history(in the author's interpretation) and modern author of Moscow life in the 20-30s of the 20th century, scenes full of drama are interspersed with satirical ones. Based on these features of the work, it can be classified as a socio-philosophical satirical novel-myth.
epic novel- this is a work in which the subject of the image is not a story privacy, and the fate of the whole people or the whole social group; the plot is built on the basis of nodes - key, turning points historical events. At the same time, the fate of the people is reflected in the fate of the heroes, as in a drop of water, and, on the other hand, the picture folk life is made up of separate destinies, private life stories. An integral part of the epic are mass scenes, thanks to which the author creates a generalized picture of the flow of people's life, the movement of history. When creating an epic, the artist is required to have the highest skill in linking episodes (scenes of private life and crowd scenes), psychological authenticity in drawing characters, historicism artistic thinking- all this makes the epic the pinnacle literary creativity, which not every writer can climb. That is why in Russian literature only two works created in the epic genre are known: “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy, " Quiet Don» M.A. Sholokhov. Lyric genres
Song- small poetry lyrical genre, characterized by the simplicity of musical and verbal construction.
Elegy(Greek elegeia, elegos - a mournful song) - a poem of meditative or emotional content, dedicated to philosophical reflections caused by the contemplation of nature or deeply personal feelings about life and death, about unrequited (usually) love; the prevailing moods of the elegy are sadness, light sadness. Elegy is a favorite genre of V.A. Zhukovsky ("Sea", "Evening", "Singer", etc.).
Sonnet(Italian sonetto, from Italian sonare - to sound) - a lyrical poem of 14 lines in the form of a complex stanza. The lines of a sonnet can be arranged in two ways: two quatrains and two tercetes, or three quatrains and distich. In quatrains there can be only two rhymes, and in terzets - two or three.
The Italian (Petrarchian) sonnet consists of two quatrains with the rhyme abba abba or abab abab and two tercetes with the rhyme cdc dcd or cde cde, less often cde edc. French form sonnet: abba abba ccd eed. English (Shakespearean) - with rhyming scheme abab cdcd efef gg.
The classical sonnet presupposes a certain sequence of thought development: thesis - antithesis - synthesis - denouement. As the name of this genre suggests, special meaning given the musicality of the sonnet, which is achieved by alternating male and female rhymes.
European poets developed many original views sonnet, as well as a wreath of sonnets - one of the most difficult literary forms.
Russian poets turned to the sonnet genre: A.S. Pushkin (“Sonnet”, “To the Poet”, “Madonna”, etc.), A.A. Fet (Sonnet, Appointment in the Forest), poets Silver Age(V.Ya. Bryusov, K.D. Balmont, A.A. Blok, I.A. Bunin).
Message(Greek epistole - epistole) - a poetic letter, in the time of Horace - philosophical and didactic content, later - of any nature: narrative, satirical, love, friendship, etc. A mandatory feature of the message is the presence of an appeal to a specific addressee, motives for wishes, requests. For example: “My Penates” by K.N. Batyushkov, "Pushchin", "Message to the Censor" by A.S. Pushkin and others.
Epigram(Greek epgramma - inscription) - a short satirical poem, which is a lesson, as well as a direct response to topical events, often political. For example: epigrams of A.S. Pushkin on A.A. Arakcheeva, F.V. Bulgarin, Sasha Cherny's epigram "To Bryusov's album", etc.
Oh yeah(from Greek ōdḗ, Latin ode, oda - song) - solemn, pathetic, glorifying lyrical work, dedicated to the image of major historical events or persons, talking about significant topics of religious and philosophical content. The ode genre was common in Russian literature XVIII — early XIX centuries in the work of M.V. Lomonosov, G.R. Derzhavin, in early work V.A. Zhukovsky, A.S. Pushkin, F.I. Tyutchev, but in the late 20s of the XIX century. other genres have come to replace the ode. Separate attempts by some authors to create an ode do not correspond to the canons of this genre (“Ode to the Revolution” by V.V. Mayakovsky and others).
lyric poem- small poetic work, in which there is no plot; author's focus inner world, intimate experiences, reflections, moods of the lyrical hero (author lyric poem And lyrical hero are not the same person). Lyric epic genres
Ballad(Provencal ballada, from ballar - to dance; Italian - ballata) - a plot poem, that is, a story of a historical, mythical or heroic character expressed in poetic form. Usually a ballad is built on the basis of the dialogue of the characters, while the plot does not have independent value is a means of creating a certain mood, subtext. So, "Song of prophetic Oleg» A.S. Pushkin has philosophical overtones, "Borodino" M.Yu. Lermontov - socio-psychological.
Poem(Greek poiein - "create", "creation") - a large or medium-sized poetic work with a narrative or lyrical plot (for example, " Bronze Horseman» A.S. Pushkin, "Mtsyri" M.Yu. Lermontov, "The Twelve" by A.A. Blok, etc.), the system of images of the poem may include a lyrical hero (for example, "Requiem" by A.A. Akhmatova).
Poem in prose- a short lyric prose form, characterized by increased emotionality, expressing subjective experiences, impressions. For example: "Russian language" I.S. Turgenev. Drama genres
Tragedy- a dramatic work, the main conflict of which is caused by exceptional circumstances and insoluble contradictions that lead the hero to death.
Drama- a play, the content of which is associated with the image everyday life; despite the depth and seriousness, the conflict, as a rule, concerns private life and can be resolved without a tragic outcome.
Comedy- a dramatic work in which the action and characters are presented in funny forms; comedy is distinguished by the rapid development of action, the presence of complex, intricate plot moves, a happy ending and simplicity of style. There are sitcoms based on cunning intrigue, a special set of circumstances, and comedies of manners (characters) based on ridicule. human vices and shortcomings, high comedy, everyday, satirical, etc. For example, "Woe from Wit" by A.S. Griboyedov - high comedy, "Undergrowth" D.I. Fonvizina is satirical.
