Genres of literary works. Literary genres and genera: characteristics and classification

The ancient genres that had developed before this turn were then energetically rethought under its influence.

Notes

List of literary genres

  • By shape
    • Short story
  • by content

Links

  • Sysoeva O. A. Genre approach to the study of literature within the framework of additional education (using the example of Sasha Sokolov’s novel “School for Fools”)
  • Theoretical poetics: concepts and definitions. Reader for students of philological faculties. Author-compiler N. D. Tamarchenko

Literature

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  • Genres of journalism
  • Computer game genre

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As is known, all literary works, depending on the nature of the depicted, belong to one of three genres: epic, lyric or drama .


1 ) Anecdote2) Apocrypha3) Ballad4) Fable5) Epic

6) Drama7) Life 8) Riddle9) Historical songs

10)Comedy11)Legend12) Lyrics13) Novella

14) Ode 15)Essay16) Pamphlet17) Tale

18) Proverbs and sayings 19) Poems 20) Story21) Roman

22) Fairy tale23) Word 24) Tragedy25) Ditty26) Elegy

27) Epigram 28) Epic29) Epic

Video lesson "Literary genres and genres"

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 “narration”) 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 for works intended for production on stage; The drama is dominated by character dialogues, and the author's input is kept to a minimum.

Varieties of epic, lyrical and dramatic works are called types literary works.

Type and genre - concepts in literary criticism very close.

Genres are variations of a type of literary work. For example, the genre variety of a story can be fantastic or historical story, and the genre variety of comedy is vaudeville, etc. Strictly speaking, a literary genre is a historically established type of artistic work that contains certain structural features and aesthetic quality characteristic of a given group of works.

TYPES (GENRES) OF EPIC WORKS:

epic, novel, tale, 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 genre of the epic novel appeared - this is a work in which the formation of the characters of the main characters occurs during their participation in historical events.


A NOVEL is a large narrative work of art with a complex plot, in the center of which is the fate of an individual.


A STORY is 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 is a small work of fiction based on an episode, an incident from the life of the hero.


TALE - a work about fictional events and characters, usually involving magical, fantastic forces.


A FABLE (from “bayat” - to tell) is a narrative work in poetic form, small in size, of a moralizing or satirical nature.



TYPES (GENRES) OF LYRIC WORKS:


ode, hymn, song, elegy, sonnet, epigram, message.

ODA (from Greek “song”) is a choral, solemn song.


HYMN (from Greek “praise”) is a solemn song based on programmatic verses.


EPIGRAM (from Greek “inscription”) is a short satirical poem of a mocking nature that arose in the 3rd century BC. e.


ELEGY is a genre of lyrics dedicated to sad thoughts or a lyric poem imbued with sadness. Belinsky called elegy “a song of sad content.” The word "elegy" is translated as "reed flute" or "plaintive song." Elegy arose in Ancient Greece in the 7th century BC e.


MESSAGE - a poetic letter, an appeal to a specific person, a request, a wish, a confession.


SONNET (from the Provencal sonette - “song”) is a poem of 14 lines, which has a certain rhyme system and strict stylistic laws. The sonnet originated in Italy in the 13th century (the creator was the poet Jacopo da Lentini), in England it appeared in the first half of the 16th century (G. Sarri), and in Russia in the 18th century. The main types of sonnet are Italian (from 2 quatrains and 2 tercets) and English (from 3 quatrains and a final couplet).


LYROEPIC TYPES (GENRES):

The above types of classification are not mutually exclusive, but demonstrate different approaches to defining genres. Therefore, the same book can refer to several of them at once.

Classification of literary genres by type

When classifying literary genres by gender, they start from the author’s attitude to what is being presented. The basis for this classification was laid by Aristotle. According to this principle, four major genres are distinguished: epic, lyrical, dramatic and lyric-epic. Each of them has its own “subgenres”.

Epic genres tell about events that have already happened, and the author writes them down according to his memories, while he distances himself as much as possible from assessing what was said. These include epic novels, short stories, myths, ballads, fables and epics.

The lyrical genre involves the transmission of feelings experienced by the author in the form of a literary work in poetic form. These include odes, epigrams, epistles and stanzas.

A classic example of stanzas is Byron's Childe Harold.

The lyric-epic genre combines the characteristics of epic and lyrical genres. These include ballads and poems, in which there is both a plot and author's attitude to what is happening.

Dramatic genre exists at the intersection of literature and theater. Nominally it includes dramas, comedies and tragedies with a list of the characters involved at the beginning and author's notes in the main text. However, in fact, it can be any work written in the form of a dialogue.

Classification of literary genres by content

If we define works by content, they are combined into three large groups: comedies, tragedies and dramas. Tragedy and drama, telling, respectively, about tragic fate heroes and about the emergence and overcoming of conflict are quite homogeneous. Comedies are divided into several types, according to the action taking place: parody, farce, vaudeville, sitcom and character comedy, sketch and sideshow.

Classification of literary genres by form

When classifying genres by form, only formal features such as the structure and volume of the work are taken into account, regardless of their content.

Lyrical works are classified most clearly in this way; in prose, the boundaries are more blurred.

According to this principle, thirteen genres are distinguished: epic, epic, novel, short story, sketch, play, sketch, essay, opus, ode and visions.

Sources:

  • “Theory of Literature”, V. V. Prozorov, 1987
  • “Theoretical poetics: concepts and definitions”, N. D. Tamarchenko, 1999

Literary is a class of texts that have a similar structure, content, and limit of variability. There are many genre ov text, and you need to know their characteristics if you do not want to make a mistake in choosing the type.

Instructions

In order to correctly characterize the text and attribute it to a specific genre oh, please read the work carefully. Think about whether it amuses you or upsets you, conveys the author’s feelings towards his characters or simply tells about some events, struggles with insurmountable circumstances or with himself? If you can understand the text, you will easily find its literary genre.

There are three ways to classify literary genre ov. They are grouped by form, resulting in such types as essay, story, ode. A play is a writer’s creation intended to be performed on stage, a story is a short narrative work in prose. What distinguishes a novel from a short story is its scale. It tells about life and development

Every literary genre is divided into genres, which are characterized by common features for a group of works. There are epic, lyrical, lyric epic, and drama genres.

Epic genres

Fairy tale(literary) - a work in prose or poetic form, based on folklore 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 minor genre of epic, a small narrative work of an edifying nature, containing moral or religious teaching based on broad generalization and the use of allegories. Russian writers often used the parable as an inserted episode in their works to fill the story with deep meaning. Let's remember Kalmyk fairy tale, told by Pugachev to Pyotr Grinev (A. Pushkin “ Captain's daughter") - in fact, this is the culmination in revealing the image of Emelyan Pugachev: “Rather than eat carrion for three hundred years, it’s better to get drunk with living blood, and then what will God give!” The plot of the parable about the resurrection of Lazarus, which Sonechka Marmeladova read to Rodion Raskolnikov, prompts the reader to think about the possible spiritual rebirth of the main character of the novel F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment". In M. Gorky’s play “At the Depth,” the wanderer Luke tells a parable “about the righteous land” to show how dangerous the truth can be for weak and desperate people.
Fable- small epic genre; complete in plot, having an allegorical meaning, the fable is an illustration of a well-known everyday or moral rule. A fable differs from a parable in the completeness of the plot; a fable is characterized by unity of action, conciseness of presentation, the absence of detailed characteristics and other elements of a non-narrative nature that hinder the development of the plot. Typically, a fable consists of 2 parts: 1) a story about an event that is specific but easily generalizable, 2) a moral lesson that follows or precedes the story.
Feature article- a genre whose distinctive feature is “writing from life.” The role of the plot is weakened in the essay, because... fiction is of little importance here. The author of an essay, as a rule, narrates in the first person, which allows him to include his thoughts in the text, make 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 type of story, an epic action-packed work with an unexpected outcome, distinguished by its brevity, neutral style of presentation, and lack of psychologism. Chance, the intervention of fate, plays a large role in the development of the action of the novella. A typical example Russian short story is a cycle of stories by I.A. Bunin " Dark alleys": the author does not psychologically draw the characters of his characters; a whim of fate, blind chance brings them together for a while and separates them forever.
Story- an epic genre of small volume with a small number of heroes and the short duration of the events depicted. At the center of the story is an image of some event or life phenomenon. In Russian classical literature recognized masters of storytelling were A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, I.S. Turgenev, L.N. Tolstoy, A.P. Chekhov, I.A. Bunin, M. Gorky, A.I. Kuprin et al.
Taleprose genre, which does not have a stable volume and occupies an intermediate place between the novel, on the one hand, and the story and short story on the other, gravitating towards a chronicle plot that reproduces the natural course of life. A story differs from a short story and a novel in the volume of text, the number of characters and problems raised, the complexity of the conflict, etc. In a story, it is not so much the movement of the plot that is important, but the descriptions: characters, places of action, psychological state person. For example: “The Enchanted Wanderer” by N.S. Leskova, “Steppe” by A.P. Chekhov, “Village” by I.A. Bunina. In the story, episodes often follow one after another according to the principle of chronicle, there is no internal connection between them, or it is weakened, so the story is often structured as a biography or autobiography: “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth” by L.N. Tolstoy, “The Life of Arsenyev” by I.A. Bunin, etc. (Literature and language. Modern illustrated encyclopedia / edited by Prof. A.P. Gorkin. - M.: Rosman, 2006.)
Novel(French roman - a work written in one of the “living” Romance languages, and not in “dead” Latin) - an epic genre, the subject of the image in which is a certain period or the whole life of a person; What is this novel? - the novel is characterized by the duration of the events described, the presence of several plot lines and a system characters, which includes groups of equivalent characters (for example: main characters, minor characters, episodic characters); works of this genre cover big circle life phenomena and a wide range of socially significant problems. There are different approaches to classifying novels: 1) according to structural features(parable novel, myth novel, dystopian novel, travel novel, novel in verse, etc.); 2) on issues (family and everyday life, social and everyday life, socio-psychological, psychological, philosophical, historical, adventurous, fantastic, sentimental, satirical, etc.); 3) according to the era in which one or another type of novel dominated (knightly, enlightenment, Victorian, Gothic, modernist, etc.). It should be noted that the exact classification genre varieties 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 "The Master and Margarita" contains both acute social and philosophical issues, in it the events of biblical history (in the author’s interpretation) and the author’s contemporary Moscow life of the 20-30s of the XX century develop in parallel, 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 myth novel.
Epic novel- this is a work in which the subject of the image is not the history of private life, but the fate of an entire people or a whole social group; the plot is built on the basis of nodes - key, turning points historical events. At the same time, in the fate of the heroes, like in a drop of water, the fate of the people is reflected and, on the other hand, the picture folk life consists of individual destinies, private life stories. An integral part of the epic are crowd scenes, thanks to which the author creates a generalized picture of the flow of people's life and the movement of history. When creating an epic, the artist is required to have the highest skill in connecting episodes (scenes of private life and crowd scenes), psychological authenticity in the depiction of characters, historicism of artistic thinking - all this makes the epic the pinnacle literary creativity, which not every writer can climb. That is why only two works created in the epic genre are known in Russian literature: “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy, " Quiet Don» M.A. Sholokhov.

Lyric genres

Song- a small poetic lyrical genre characterized by simplicity of musical and verbal construction.
Elegy(Greek elegeia, elegos - plaintive song) - a poem of meditative or emotional content, dedicated to philosophical thoughts caused by contemplation of nature or deeply personal experiences about life and death, about unrequited (as a rule) love; The prevailing mood of the elegy is sadness, light sadness. Elegy is V.A.’s favorite genre. Zhukovsky (“Sea”, “Evening”, “Singer”, etc.).
Sonnet(Italian sonetto, from Italian sonare - to sound) is a lyric 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 tercets, or three quatrains and a distich. Quatrains can have only two rhymes, while terzettos can have two or three.
The Italian (Petrarccan) sonnet consists of two quatrains with the rhyme abba abba or abab abab and two tercets with the rhyme cdc dcd or cde cde, less often cde edc. French sonnet form: abba abba ccd eed. English (Shakespearean) - with rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg.
The classic sonnet assumes a certain sequence of thought development: thesis - antithesis - synthesis - denouement. As the name of this genre suggests, special meaning is given to the musicality of the sonnet, which is achieved by alternating male and female rhymes.
European poets developed many original types of sonnet, as well as the 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”, “Rendezvous 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, friendly, etc. A mandatory feature of a message is the presence of an appeal to a specific addressee, motives for wishes, requests. For example: “My Penates” by K.N. Batyushkova, “Pushchina”, “Message to the Censor” by A.S. Pushkin, etc.
Epigram(Greek epgramma - inscription) - a short satirical poem that is a teaching, as well as a direct response to topical events, often political. For example: epigrams by A.S. Pushkin on A.A. Arakcheeva, F.V. Bulgarin, Sasha Cherny’s epigram “In the album to Bryusov”, etc.
Oh yeah(from Greek ōdḗ, Latin ode, oda - song) - solemn, pathetic, glorifying lyrical work, dedicated to the depiction of major historical events or persons, talking about significant topics religious and philosophical content. The ode genre was widespread in Russian XVIII literatureearly XIX centuries in the works of M.V. Lomonosov, G.R. Derzhavina, in early work V.A. Zhukovsky, A.S. Pushkina, F.I. Tyutchev, but at the end of the 20s of the XIX century. Ode was replaced by other genres. Some 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, etc.).
Lyric poem- small poetic work, in which there is no plot; the author’s focus is on the inner world, intimate experiences, reflections, and moods of the lyrical hero (the author of the lyrical poem and the lyrical hero are not the same person).

Lyric epic genres

Ballad(Provençal ballada, from ballar - to dance; Italian - ballata) - a plot poem, that is, a story of a historical, mythical or heroic character, presented in poetic form. Usually a ballad is built on the basis of dialogue between characters, while the plot does not have independent meaning- this is a means of creating a certain mood, subtext. Thus, “Song of prophetic Oleg» A.S. Pushkin has philosophical overtones, “Borodino” by M.Yu. Lermontov - socio-psychological.
Poem(Greek poiein - “to create”, “creation”) - a large or medium-sized poetic work with a narrative or lyrical plot (for example, “ Bronze Horseman» A.S. Pushkin, “Mtsyri” by 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).
Prose poem- a small lyrical work in prose form, characterized by increased emotionality, expressing subjective experiences and impressions. For example: “Russian language” by I.S. Turgenev.

Genres of drama

Tragedydramatic work, the main conflict of which is caused by exceptional circumstances and insoluble contradictions that lead the hero to death.
Drama- a play whose content is related to the depiction of 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 action and characters are presented in funny forms; The comedy is distinguished by the rapid development of action, the presence of complex, intricate plot lines, 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 of human vices and shortcomings, high comedy, everyday comedy, satirical comedy, etc. For example, “Woe from Wit” by A.S. Griboyedova - high comedy, “Minor” D.I. Fonvizina is satirical.

Historically, three types of literature have developed in literature: epic, dramatic and lyrical. These are groups of genres that have similar structural features. If the epic in the story fixes the external reality (events, facts, etc.), then the drama does the same in the format of a conversation, not on behalf of the author, and the lyrics describe the inner reality of a person. Of course, the division is arbitrary and to a certain extent artificial, but, nevertheless, our acquaintance with the book begins with the fact that we see the genre, gender or their combination on the cover and draw the first conclusions. For example, a person only likes to watch plays in the theater, which means that he does not need a volume of Moliere and will pass by it without wasting time. Knowledge of the basic principles of literary criticism also helps during reading, when you want to understand the author, to penetrate into his creative laboratory, to unravel why his plan was realized this way and not otherwise.

Each genre has an example and theoretical justification, the most concise and simple.

The novel is large shape epic genre, a work with expanded themes and many themes. As a rule, a classic novel depicts people participating in various life processes that give rise to external and internal conflicts. Events in the novel are not always described sequentially, for example, Lermontov in the novel “A Hero of Our Time” deliberately breaks the sequence.

By thematic basis novels are divided into autobiographical (Chudakov's "Darkness Falls on the Old Steps"), philosophical (Dostoevsky's "Demons"), adventure (Dafoe's "Robinson Crusoe"), fantastic (Glukhovsky's "Metro 2033"), satirical (Rotterdam's "In Praise of Stupidity"), historical (Pikul “I Have the Honor”), adventurous (Merezhko “Sonka the Golden Hand”), etc.

According to the structure of novels are divided into a novel in verse (Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin"), a novel-pamphlet (Swift's "Gulliver's Travels"), a novel-parable (Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea"), a novel-feuilleton ("The Countess of Salisbury" by Dumas), an epistolary novel ( Rousseau "Julia or the new Heloise") and others.

An epic novel is a novel with a panoramic depiction of the life of the people at turning points historical moments(Tolstoy “War and Peace”).

The story is average (between a short story and a novel) in size epic work, which sets out a narrative about a particular event in a natural sequence (Kuprin “The Pit”). How is a story different from a novel? At least in that the material of the story is presented chronically, and not for the sake of the action-packed composition of the novel. In addition, the story does not pose problems of a global historical nature. In the story, the author is more constrained, all his inventions are subordinated to the main action, but in the novel the writer is carried away by memories, digressions and analysis of the characters.

The story is small epic prose form. The work has a limited number of characters, one problem and one event (Turgenev “Mumu”). How is a novella different from a short story? The boundaries between these two genres are very arbitrary, but in the short story the ending most often develops unpredictably (O'Henry's "The Gift of the Magi").

Essay is small epic prose form (many classify it as a type of story). The essay usually concerns social problems and tends to be descriptive.

The parable is moral teaching in allegorical form. How is a parable different from a fable? A parable draws its material primarily from life, while a fable is based on fictitious, sometimes fantastic plots (gospel parables).

Lyrical genres are...

A lyric poem is a small genre form of lyrics written on behalf of the author (Pushkin “I loved you”) or on behalf of the lyrical hero (Tvardovsky “I was killed near Rzhev”).

Elegy is a small lyrical form, a poem that is imbued with a mood of sadness and melancholy. Sad thoughts, sorrow, sad reflections make up the repertoire of elegies (Pushkin’s elegy “On the rocks, on the hills”).

The message is poetic letter. According to the content of the messages, they can be divided into friendly, satirical, lyrical, etc. They can be dedicated to either one person or a group of people (Voltaire’s “Message to Frederick”).

Epigram is a poem that makes fun of a specific person (from friendly ridicule to sarcasm) (Gaft “Epigram on Oleg Dahl”). Features: wit and brevity.

Ode is a poem distinguished by its solemn tone and sublime content (Lomonosov “Ode on the day of Elizabeth Petrovna’s accession to the throne, 1747”).

A sonnet is a poem of 14 verses (“Twenty Sonnets to Sasha Zapoeva” by Timur Kibirov). The sonnet is one of the strict forms. A sonnet usually consists of 14 lines, forming 2 quatrains (with 2 rhymes) and 2 tercets (with 2 or 3 rhymes).

The poem is average lyric-epic form, in which there is a detailed plot, and several experiences are embodied, that is, attention to inner world lyrical hero (Lermontov “Mtsyri”).

Ballad is average lyric-epic form, story in verse. Often a ballad has a tense storyline(Zhukovsky “Lyudmila”).

Dramatic genres are...

Comedy is a type of drama in which the content is presented in a funny way, and the characters and circumstances are comical. What types of comedies are there? Lyrical (" The Cherry Orchard"Chekhov), high ("Woe from Wit" by Griboyedov"), satirical ("The Inspector General" by Gogol).

Tragedy is a type of drama based on an acute life conflict that entails the suffering and death of the heroes (Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”).

Drama is a play with an acute conflict that is ordinary, not so sublime and resolvable (for example, Gorky “At the Depths”). How does it differ from tragedy or comedy? Firstly, the material used is modern, not from antiquity, and secondly, it appears in the drama new hero rebelling against circumstances.

Tragifars - a dramatic work that combines tragic and comic elements (Ionesco, “The Bald Singer”). This is a postmodern genre that has appeared relatively recently.

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