A play is a genre of literature. Genre of literary work

The short story genre is one of the most popular in literature. Many writers have turned to him and are turning to him. After reading this article, you will learn what are the features of the story genre, examples of the most famous works, as well as popular mistakes that authors make.

The story is one of the small literary forms. It is a small narrative work with a small number of characters. In this case, short-term events are displayed.

Brief history of the short story genre

V. G. Belinsky (his portrait is presented above) as early as 1840 distinguished an essay and a story as small prose genres from the story and the novel as larger ones. Already at this time in Russian literature the predominance of prose over verse was fully indicated.

A little later, in the 2nd half of the 19th century, the essay was widely developed in democratic literature our country. At this time, there was an opinion that it was documentary that distinguished this genre. The story, as it was believed then, is created using creative imagination. According to another opinion, the genre we are interested in differs from the essay in the conflict of the plot. After all, the essay is characterized by the fact that it is basically a descriptive work.

Unity of time

In order to more fully characterize the genre of the story, it is necessary to highlight the patterns inherent in it. The first of these is the unity of time. In a story, the action time is always limited. However, not necessarily only one day, as in the works of the classicists. Although this rule is not always observed, it is rare to find stories in which the plot spans the entire life of the protagonist. Even rarer are works in this genre, the action of which lasts for centuries. Usually the author depicts some episode from the life of his hero. Among the stories in which the whole fate of a character is revealed, one can note "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" (author - Leo Tolstoy) and It also happens that not all life is represented, but its long period. For example, in Chekhov's "Jumping Girl" a row is depicted significant events in the fate of the heroes, their environment, the difficult development of relationships between them. However, this is given extremely compacted, compressed. It is the conciseness of the content, greater than in the story, that is a common feature of the story and, perhaps, the only one.

Unity of action and place

There are other features of the short story genre that should be noted. The unity of time is closely connected and conditioned by another unity - action. A story is a genre of literature that should be limited to describing a single event. Sometimes one or two events become the main, meaning-forming, culminating events in it. Hence comes the unity of place. Usually the action takes place in one place. There may be not one, but several, but their number is strictly limited. For example, there may be 2-3 places, but 5 are already rare (they can only be mentioned).

character unity

Another feature of the story is the unity of the character. As a rule, in the space of a work of this genre there is one main character. Occasionally there may be two, and very rarely - several. Concerning secondary characters, there may be quite a lot of them, but they are purely functional. A short story is a genre of literature in which the task secondary characters limited to creating a background. They can interfere or help the main character, but no more. In the story "Chelkash" by Gorky, for example, there are only two characters. And in Chekhov's "I want to sleep" there is only one at all, which is impossible either in the story or in the novel.

Unity of the center

Like the genres listed above, one way or another are reduced to the unity of the center. Indeed, a story cannot be imagined without some defining, central sign that "pulls together" all the others. It does not matter at all whether this center will be some static descriptive image, a climactic event, the development of the action itself, or meaningful gesture character. main image should be in any story. It is through him that the whole composition is kept. It sets the theme of the work, determines the meaning of the story told.

The basic principle of building a story

It is not difficult to draw a conclusion from reflections on "unities". The idea suggests itself that the main principle of constructing the composition of a story is the expediency and economy of motives. Tomashevsky called the motive the smallest element. It can be an action, a character or an event. This structure can no longer be decomposed into components. This means that the biggest sin of the author is excessive detail, oversaturation of the text, a heap of details that can be omitted when developing this genre of work. The story should not go into detail.

It is necessary to describe only the most significant in order to avoid a common mistake. It is very characteristic, oddly enough, for people who are very conscientious about their works. They have a desire to express themselves to the maximum in each text. Young directors often do the same when they stage diploma films and performances. This is especially true for films, since the author's fantasy in this case is not limited to the text of the play.

Authors who have developed imaginations, like to fill the story with descriptive motifs. For example, they depict how a pack of cannibal wolves is chasing the main character of the work. However, if dawn breaks, they will necessarily stop at the description of long shadows, dimmed stars, reddened clouds. The author seemed to admire nature and only then decided to continue the pursuit. The fantasy story genre gives maximum scope to the imagination, so avoiding this mistake is not at all easy.

The role of motives in the story

It must be emphasized that in the genre of interest to us, all motives should reveal the theme, work for meaning. For example, the gun described at the beginning of the work must certainly fire in the finale. Motives that lead to the side should not be included in the story. Or you need to look for images that outline the situation, but do not overly detail it.

Composition features

It should be noted that it is not necessary to adhere to the traditional methods of building artistic text. Their violation can be effective. The story can be created almost on the same descriptions. But it is still impossible to do without action. The hero is simply obliged to at least raise his hand, take a step (in other words, make a significant gesture). Otherwise, it will turn out not a story, but a miniature, a sketch, a poem in prose. One more important feature of the genre we are interested in is a significant ending. For example, a novel can last forever, but the story is built differently.

Very often its ending is paradoxical and unexpected. It was with this that he associated the appearance of catharsis in the reader. Modern researchers (in particular, Patrice Pavie) consider catharsis as an emotional pulsation that appears as you read. However, the significance of the ending remains the same. The ending can radically change the meaning of the story, push to rethink what is stated in it. This must be remembered.

The place of the story in world literature

Story - which takes important place in world literature. Gorky and Tolstoy addressed him both in early and in mature period creativity. Chekhov's story is the main and favorite genre. Many stories have become classics and, along with major epic works (stories and novels), have entered the treasury of literature. Such, for example, are Tolstoy's stories "Three Deaths" and "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", Turgenev's "Notes of a Hunter", Chekhov's works "Darling" and "The Man in a Case", Gorky's stories "Old Woman Izergil", "Chelkash", etc.

Advantages of the short story over other genres

The genre of interest to us allows us to single out one or another typical case one or the other side of our lives. It makes it possible to depict them in such a way that the reader's attention is completely focused on them. For example, Chekhov, describing Vanka Zhukov with a letter "to the village of grandfather", full of childish despair, dwells in detail on the content of this letter. It will not reach its destination and because of this it becomes especially strong in terms of accusation. In the story "The Birth of a Man" by M. Gorky, the episode with the birth of a child that occurs on the road helps the author in revealing the main idea - affirming the value of life.

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") - this 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 species 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, literary genre- this is a historically established type of work of art, containing certain structural features and aesthetic quality inherent in this group of works.

TYPES (GENRES) OF EPIC WORKS:

epic, novel, story, short story, fairy tale, fable, legend.

EPIC- a major work of art, telling about 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 lyric poem filled 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 (from 2 quatrains and 2 tercetes) and English (from 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”) - a 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.

Literary genres are groups of works collected according to formal and substantive features. Literary works are divided into separate categories according to the form of the narration, according to the content and according to the type of belonging to a particular style. Literary genres make it possible to systematize everything that has been written since the time of Aristotle and his "Poetics", first on "birch bark", dressed skins, stone walls, then on parchment paper and scrolls.

Literary genres and their definitions

Definition of genres by form:

A novel is an extensive narrative in prose, reflecting the events of a certain period of time, with a detailed description of the life of the main characters and all other characters who, to one degree or another, participate in the indicated events.

A story is a form of narration that does not have a definite volume. The work usually describes episodes from real life, and the characters are presented to the reader as an integral part of the events taking place.

Short story (novella) - a widespread genre short prose, bears the definition of "short story". Since the short story format is limited in scope, the writer usually manages to unfold the narrative within a single event involving two or three characters. The exception to this rule was the great Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, who could describe events on several pages. whole era with many characters.

The essay is a literary quintessence that combines art style storytelling and journalism. Always presented in a concise manner with a high content of specifics. The subject of the essay, as a rule, is connected with social and social problems and is of an abstract nature, i.e. does not affect specific individuals.

A play is a special literary genre designed for a wide audience. Plays are written for the theatrical stage, television and radio performances. In their structural pattern, plays are more like a story, since the duration theatrical performances fits perfectly with the story of the average volume. The genre of the play differs from other literary genres in that the narration is conducted on behalf of each character. Dialogues and monologues are marked in the text.

Ode is a lyrical literary genre, in all cases of positive or laudatory content. Dedicated to something or someone, it is often a verbal monument to heroic events or the exploits of patriotic citizens.

Epic - a narrative of an extensive nature, which includes several stages state development having historical meaning. The main features of this literary genre are global events of an epic nature. The epic can be written both in prose and in verse, an example of this is Homer's poems "Odyssey" and "Iliad".

Essay - short essay in prose, in which the author expresses his own thoughts and views in an absolutely free form. An essay is to some extent an abstract work that does not claim to be completely authentic. In some cases, essays are written with a share of philosophy, sometimes the work has a scientific connotation. But in any case, this literary genre deserves attention.

Detectives and fantasy

Detectives are a literary genre based on the eternal confrontation between policemen and criminals, novels and stories of this genre are action-packed in nature, in almost every detective work there are murders, after which experienced detectives begin an investigation.

Fantasy is a special literary genre with fictional characters, events and an unpredictable ending. In most cases, the action takes place either in space or in the underwater depths. But at the same time, the heroes of the work are equipped with ultra-modern machines and devices of fantastic power and efficiency.

Is it possible to combine genres in literature

All listed species literary genres have unique features of difference. However, often there is a mixture of several genres in one work. If this is done professionally, interesting enough is born, unusual creation. So the genres literary creativity contain significant potential for updating the literature. But these opportunities should be used carefully and thoughtfully, since literature does not tolerate profanity.

Genres of literary works by content

Each literary work is classified according to its belonging to a certain type: drama, tragedy, comedy.

What are comedies

comedies happen different types and styles:

1. Farce is a light comedy built on elementary comic tricks. It occurs both in the literature and theater stage. Farce as a special comedy style is used in circus clowning.
2. Vaudeville is a comedy play with many dance numbers and songs. In the USA, vaudeville became the prototype of the musical; in Russia, small comic operas were called vaudeville.
3. An interlude is a small comic scene that was played between the actions of the main performance, performance or opera.
4. Parody is a comedy technique based on the repetition of recognizable signs of famous literary characters, texts or music in a deliberately modified form.

Modern genres in literature

Types of literary genres:

1. Epic - fable, myth, ballad, epic, fairy tale.
2. Lyrical - stanzas, elegy, epigram, message, poem.

Modern literary genres are periodically updated, for recent decades several new trends in literature have appeared, such as political detective story, the psychology of war, as well as paperback literature, which includes all literary genres.

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

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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 is one of the ancient literary genres, characterized by lyric-dramatic improvisation on the themes of misfortune, death, etc. It can be made out 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

A; m. [French. genre] 1. A historically developed kind of art or literature, characterized by certain plot, compositional, stylistic, and other features; separate varieties of this genus. Musical, literary genres. ... ... 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 inner world and the soul of man. Impression and experience are the main events of the lyrics. This kind of literature is dominated by poetry..

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

Each type of literature includes several genres.

Literary genres

Genre is a group of works united by historically characteristic common features 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.

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.

TO lyrical-epic genres refer to 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. The 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 history, describing many heroes, with intertwining storylines. It has large volume. Roman is the most popular genre Nowadays. Most of the books on the shelves in bookstores are of the novel genre.

The story is classified either 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 literary 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 is a poetic work with sadness as the dominant mood, which is a reflection on the meaning of life against the backdrop of a landscape.
• Satire is a caustic and accusatory work, to poetic satirical genres refer to the epigram.
• 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.
• Sonnet - strict poetic genre, requiring 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 always aims for a direct portrayal dramatic works written for stage performance. 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.

In the center classic tragedy 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.

Contemporary dramaturgy tends to 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.