a
Absurd
The absurd is a writing style influenced by the isolation of humanity and a lack of logic in the universe.
Adventure Story
An adventure story tells the tale of a protagonist’s journey. They go on an adventure or quest that could be personal or geographical.
Agitprop
Agitprop is a form of political propaganda which is conveyed through art, music, literature, and films
Alba
Poems written in an old style known as “Alba” take up a genre of lyric poetry lasting from the Old Occitan period, also known as the Old Provençal.
Amatory Fiction
Amatory fiction is a type of literature that was popular in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. This genre is now considered to be the precursor to more modern romance novels.
Antinovel
These are new types of novels that break the traditional constraints of writing and push the boundaries of what a novel can be
Apocalyptic
Religious literature that anticipates the end of the world is often referred to as apocalyptic literature. These books offer a unique perspective on life’s end-days, drawing heavily on religious texts and the author’s vision.
Apologue
An apologue is a short story that shares a moral message. One example of an apologue is that kindness is better than power or that love triumphs over hate.
Arthurian Literature
Arthurian Literature is writing that encompasses stories from the 12th-13th centuries. These stories are focused on King Arthur and his court.
Autobiography
An autobiography is an account of one’s life written by oneself.
b
Beast Fable
A beast fable is a story that teaches a lesson or provides a narrative by making animal characters important parts of the story.
Bildungsroman
A bildungsroman is a literary genre, that follows a character’s progression to adulthood.
Biography
A biography is a description of someone’s life, for example, your autobiography or a fictional account.
Blackout Poetry
Blackout poetry is also called redacted poetry and erasure poetry. It is a type of “found poetry”, where you take existing text and modify it in some way.
Bodice Ripper
A bodice ripper is a genre, of romantic literature. It takes place in a historic context and follows an erotic or outwardly passionate relationship.
Burlesque
Burlesque is a style of literature that uses wild imagery and foolish phrases to mock the subject.
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Campus Novel
The campus novel or the academic novel, is a book set around a college campus or university.
Carol
A carol is a song typically sung during a festive period, such as Christmas.
Carpe Diem
“Carpe diem” is a term used to describe a poetry genre that means to “seize the day.” It inspires readers to live what best they can.
Chick Lit
Chick lit is a literature genre focusing on female protagonists. Such stories are usually targeted at younger women and can be called “popular fiction.”
Chivalric Romance
Chivalric Romance is a genre of literature from the Medieval and Early Modern period in Europe from the 12th century.
Chronicle
A chronicle is an account of events in a chronological order, usually associated with historical events.
Chronicle Novel
A chronicle novel follows two generations of a family, as they grow and find their place in the world.
Chronicle Play
A chronicle play is a drama piece that contains a series of short episodes, arranged in chronological order.
Classicism
Classicism is the literary form of reflecting thoughts and ideas from ancient Greece and Rome.
Comedy
The comedy genre contains humour, and entertainment in literature or other mediums
Coming-of-Age Novel
A coming-of-age novel is a story of a character growing up and going through a series of important life-defining moments.
Companion Poems
Companion poems are poems that were written to accompany one another, either by multiple authors or in response to one another.
Confessional Poetry
Confessional Poetry is a style of poetry that is personal in nature, and typically makes use of a first-person narrator.
Conversation Poem
A conversation poem is a poetic style addressing someone close to the poet in an casual way. Typically these use serious language and are about a specific topic.
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Detective Story
The detective story is a type of fiction that follows an investigator trying to track down a suspect, or criminal, solve a mystery or crime, or prevent a crime from happening.
Devotional Poetry
Devotional poetry expresses worship or prayer. Typically religious.
Dime Novel
A dime novel is a cheap, short fiction popular during the 19th and early 20th centuries
Documentary
A documentary is a non-fictional filmmaking genre. Typically based on some events, truth-finding.
Drama
Drama is a genre story focusing on dialogues and performance.
Dub Poetry
Caribbean immigrants created DUB poetry, which is poetry that’s spoken over reggae music backing.
Dystopia
A dystopian novel is the opposite of a utopian. It imagines aa placee or time where most people suffer.
e
Elegy
An elegy, in literature, is a poem or song that is written in dedication to someone who has died.
Epic Poetry
An epic is a narrative poem that tells of heroic acts, usually performed by more than human characters.
Epistolary
A book that is epistolary is made up of several documents, such as letters, diary entries, or newspaper clippings.
Essay
An essay is a brief piece of writing that focuses on a single topic. Often, the essay will include the author’s personal opinion.
f
Fable
A fable is a short and concise story that provides the reader with a moral lesson at the end.
Fabliau
A fabliau, a French traditional tale, is written by an unknown writer between 1150 – 1400. These stories were often written by jongleurs or medieval entertainers.
Fairy Tale
Fairy tales are stories with fanciful or magical elements, such as fairies, elves, and fairies.
Fantastic Genre
“Fantastic” refers to a particular genre of literature and stories. These stories are about supernatural forces, which are sometimes presented in a strange and unusual way.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a literary genre that features talking animals, magic, or other worlds. It can include plots that are impossible to imagine in the real world.
Farce
Farce is a type of comedy literature. Farce uses outrageous and exaggerated situations to make humor and have the audience laugh.
Folk Song
A folk song is a music that has been written within the framework of folk music. These songs usually focus on a specific group of people, an event, or an experience.
Folklore
Folklore is a collection of stories told by people. These stories include fairy tales, folklore, urban legends, and many more.
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Ghost Story
Ghost stories are any story that has a supernatural or ghost element. It is a subgenera in fantasy and mystery.
Gothic
Gothic poetry, prose, and poetry deal with themes of loss, grief, fear, sorrow, and the supernatural.
h
Heroic poetry
Heroic poetry, a type of narrative verse, is an elevated form of poetic verse. It is often sung aloud or chanted aloud and focuses on high-ranking heroes and warriors.
Historical Fiction
Historical Fiction is fiction that depicts real people and places. It is set in the past and includes accurate historical details regarding customs, technology, people, events, and other historical facts.
History Play
A history play can be described as a type of theatre. It is usually based on historical events and features characters from that period.
Homily
A homily, which is usually delivered by a priest to a group of people, is a sermon that a religious person gives.
Horror
Horror fiction is a genre that uses human fear, terror, dread and repulsion to entertain its audience.
Hysterical Realism
James Wood invented the genre of fiction called hyperreal realism. This refers to novels that Wood found too complex in plots and characters, and that explore real-life experiences.
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Idyll
An idyll refers to a short poem that describes rural life and a natural scene.
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Juvenilia
“Juvenilia” is a term that refers to creative work completed in the early stages of a person’s career. It can be used for music, art, and literary works.
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Lampoon
Lampoons are satires that attack people or things unjustly. These can be found in verse and prose.
Legend
Legends are a type of folklore that tells stories about human actions and events.
Life Writing
The term life writing can be used to describe a range of genres that are focused on recording memories and experiences. This includes memoirs, biographies and letters.
Light Verse
Poetry that touches on lighthearted, amusing topics is called light verse. It doesn’t deal with emotional heavy themes or life events that are traumatic.
Lyric Poem
Lyric poems are short verses that express powerful and poignant emotions.
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Magical Realism
Magical Realism, a type of fiction that aims to imbue the modern world with magical and fantastical elements, is a form of fiction writing.
Medievalism
Medievalism refers to a group of beliefs that were inspired by Europe’s Middle Ages. You can find Medievalism examples in literature, art, music and architecture.
Melodrama
Melodrama can be described as a piece of literature or a performance that makes exaggerated characters and events.
Metafiction
Metafiction is a story in which characters, authors, and narrators acknowledge that they are part of fiction.
Morality Play
A morality play was a type of theatre that was popular during the Tudor and medieval periods.
Mystery Play
In medieval Europe, mystery plays were created that focused on the Bible. They were first performed in churches, but they were later moved to public squares or marketplaces.
Myth
A myth is a type of folklore that includes a hero or fanatical element.
Mythopoeia
Mythopoeia refers to the creation and maintenance of artificial mythology.
n
Naturalism
Naturalism is a literary and artistic genre from the nineteenth century that emphasizes realistic portrayals of life and all its struggles.
Newgate Novel
The Newgate novel or Old Bailey novel is a book that was published in England between the 1820s and the 1840s. It glorifies criminals’ lives.
Noir Fiction
Noir fiction is a type of crime fiction. It’s a subgenre that features both flawed and anti-hero protagonists.
Non-Fiction
Prose that is based on actual events or facts is considered non-fiction. It can include biography and history, as well as other genres.
Novel
A novel is a lengthy, fictional story that has some realism.
Novella
A novella can be described as a prose or fiction work that is shorter than a novel, but longer than a story.
Nursery Rhyme
A nursery rhyme is a rhyming poem or song that teaches a lesson or tells a funny story. These rhymes are intended for children.
O
Occasional Verse
The occasional verse refers to a form of poetry that is written to remember an event. This could be a holiday, birth, military victory, or wedding.
Old Comedy
Aristophanes wrote a particular type of comedy called “Old Comedy” in the 5th Century B.C. It is also known as the Aristophanic comedy.
p
Paean
A paean is a song or lyrical poem that expresses gratitude, joy, or triumph.
Parody
To make fun of something, a parody is made based on existing work.
Pastiche
Pastiche refers to a literary creation that imitates a famous work of another author.
Pastoral
Pastoral poetry refers to poems that depict country life and the environment they are set in.
Dreadful
The penny dreadfuls were a serialized, cheap form of literature that was popular in the nineteenth century.
Picaresque Novel
Picaresque novels are a type of prose fiction in which a hero is depicted as a rough man who has episodic adventures.
Play(Theatre)
Plays are a form of writing for theatre. It can be divided into scenes and acts.
Poetic Drama
A genre of literature called poetic drama refers to plays with distinctly poetic elements. These plays are also known as verse plays.
Postcolonial Literature
Literature that was postcolonial is literature written by colonized people. This term can be used to describe anything, including poems and essays, that was created after the colonizing force left. It is inspired by the immense changes made.
Prose
Prose can be described as written or spoken language that doesn’t use a rhyme scheme or metrical pattern.
Psalm
A psalm can be described as a sacred song of worship such as the ones found in the Book of Psalms.
Psychological Realism
Psychological realism refers to a form of realism that is focused on the reasons a character does what he or she does.
Pulp Fiction
Pulp fiction, a short and cheap form of storytelling, was very popular in the late 1800s through the mid-1900s.
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Romance
Romance can be described as a genre of literature that is narrative. Romance can include elements such as adventure, mystery, bravery, and many other things.
Romantic Comedy
Romantic comedy is a type of literature. The story follows two lovers who face obstacles and then reunite for a happy ending.
S
Science Fiction
Science fiction is a literary genre that emphasizes imaginative content based on science.
Sensation
Sensation novels were a type of literature that used sensational and outrageous topics to entertain their readers.
Sentimental
A sentimental novel or novel of sensibility, also known as a novel of sentimentality, is a literary genre that was popularized in the 18th century. It focuses on sentiment and sensibility.
Short Story
A short story is a piece that has a shorter narrative than a novel. These stories can be read in one sitting.
Situational Comedy
Situational comedy is also known as a sitcom. It is a type of comedy that can be seen on television or film. It is a comedy situation that is awkward, unavoidable, and lighthearted.
Spoken Word Poetry
Spoken word, or spoken word poetry, is a form of poetic expression that can be performed and includes alliteration, wordplay, and intonation from ancient oral traditions.
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Tall Tale
Tall tales are stories with unbelievable or outlandish elements. These stories may contain hyperboles or other exaggerations.
Theatre of Cruelty
Theatre of Cruelty, an experimental theatre genre, is more concerned with the audience’s sense of experience than with content and dialogue.
Thriller
A thriller is a genre that’s defined by its many sub-genres. They include science fiction and crime.
Tragedy
A drama that deals with serious, dark and sometimes depressing subjects is called “tragedy”.
The Tragedy of Blood
The theatre genre Tragedy of blood, also known as revenge drama or revenge tragedy, is concerned primarily with the effects of revenge.
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is a fictional genre that combines elements from tragedies with comedies.
Utopia
The term “utopia” is used to describe a place or ideal that is perfect or close to perfect.
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Vaudeville
Vaudeville, a form of theatre or entertainment that originated in France in 1922, is a type of entertainment. It’s based on light-hearted situations with no deeper moral intent. They also included songs and dances.
W
What’s a poem?
Poems can be written down, or spoken aloud. It’s a collection of expression of ideas and emotions that are creative.
