Lyrical genres of literature. How to define and what is the concept of genre in literature

Literature refers to works of human thought that are enshrined in the written word and have social significance. All sorts of things literary work depending on HOW the writer depicts reality in it, it is classified as one of three literary families : epic, lyric or drama.

Epic (from the Greek “narration”) is a generalized name for works that depict events external to the author.

Lyrics (from the Greek “performed to the lyre”) - a generalized name for works - usually poetic, in which there is no plot, but reflects the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the author (lyrical hero).

Drama (from Greek “action”) - a generalized name for works in which life is shown through conflicts and clashes of heroes. Dramatic works are intended not so much for reading as for dramatization. In drama, it is not the external action that is important, but the experience conflict situation. In drama, epic (narration) and lyrics are fused together.

Within each type of literature there are genres- historically established types of works, characterized by certain structural and content features (see table of genres).

Tragedy (from Greek “goat song”) - a dramatic work with an insurmountable conflict, which depicts an intense struggle strong characters and passions, ending with the death of the hero.

Comedy (from Greek “funny song”) - a dramatic work with a cheerful, funny plot, usually ridiculing social or everyday vices.

Drama is a literary work in the form of a dialogue with a serious plot, depicting an individual in his dramatic relationship with society.

Vaudeville - a light comedy with singing couplets and dancing.

Farce – theatrical play light, playful character with external comic effects, designed for coarse taste.

Oh yeah (from Greek “song”) - a choral, solemn song, a work glorifying, praising some significant event or heroic personality.

Hymn (from Greek “praise”) is a solemn song based on programmatic verses. Initially, hymns were dedicated to the gods. Currently, the anthem is one of national symbols states.

Epigram (from Greek “inscription”) is a short satirical poem of a mocking nature that 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 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.

Sonnet (from Provence “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 (of 2 quatrains and 2 tercets) and English (of 3 quatrains and a final couplet).

Poem (from the Greek “I do, I create”) is a lyric-epic genre, a large poetic work with a narrative or lyrical plot, usually on a historical or legendary theme.

Ballad - lyric-epic genre, plot song with dramatic content.

Epic – large piece 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 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.

Novel - a large narrative work of fiction with complex plot, in the center of which is the fate of the individual.

Tale - a work of fiction that occupies a middle position between a novel and a short story in terms of volume and complexity of the plot. In ancient times, anything was called a story narrative work.

Story - a work of art of small size, based on an episode, an incident from the life of the hero.

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

Fable is a narrative work in poetic form, small in size, of a moralizing or satirical nature.

Then to:

a) learn mastery in your genre;
b) know exactly which publisher to offer the manuscript to;
c) study your target audience and offer the book not “to everyone”, but specifically to those people who may be interested in it.

What is fiction?

Fiction refers to all works that have a fictional plot and fictional characters: novels, short stories, stories and plays.

Memoirs are not fiction, because we're talking about about non-fictional events, but they are written according to the canons of fiction - with a plot, characters, etc.

But poetry, including song lyrics, is fiction, even if the author recalls a past love that actually happened.

Types of Fiction for Adults

Works of fiction are divided into genre literature, mainstream and intellectual prose.

Genre literature

In genre literature, the plot plays the first fiddle, and it fits into certain, pre-known frameworks.

This does not mean that everything genre novels must be predictable. The skill of a writer lies precisely in creating, under given conditions, a unique world, unforgettable characters, and an interesting way to get from point “A” (the beginning) to point “B” (the outcome).

Usually, genre work ends on a positive note, the author does not delve into psychology and other lofty matters and tries to simply entertain readers.

Basic plot schemes in genre literature

Detective: crime - investigation - exposing the criminal.

Love story: heroes meet - fall in love - fight for love - connect hearts.

Thriller: the hero lived his ordinary life- a threat arises - the hero tries to escape - the hero gets rid of the danger.

Adventures: the hero sets a goal for himself and, having overcome many obstacles, achieves what he wants.

When we talk about science fiction, fantasy, historical or modern novel, we are talking not so much about the plot as about the scenery, so when defining the genre, two or three terms are used that allow us to answer the questions: “What happens in the novel?” and “Where is it happening?” If we are talking about children's literature, then a corresponding note is made.

Examples: "modern" love story", "fantastic action movie" (action movie is an adventure), "historical detective story", "children's adventure story", "fairy tale for primary school age".

Genre prose is usually published in series - either original or general.

Mainstream

In the mainstream (from English. mainstream- main stream) readers expect unexpected solutions from the author. For this type of book, the most important thing is moral development heroes, philosophy and ideology. The requirements for a mainstream author are much higher than for writers working with genre prose: he must not only be an excellent storyteller, but also good psychologist and a serious thinker.

Another important sign mainstream - such books are written at the intersection of genres. For example, it is impossible to say unambiguously that “ gone With the Wind" - This only romance novel or only historical drama.

By the way, the drama itself, that is, the story about the tragic experience of the heroes, is also a sign of the mainstream.

As a rule, novels of this type are published outside of series. This is due to the fact that serious works take a long time to write and forming a series out of them is quite problematic. Moreover, mainstream authors are so different from each other that it is difficult to group their books into anything other than “good book.”

When specifying a genre in mainstream novels, the emphasis is usually placed not so much on the plot, but on certain features books: historical drama, novel in letters, fantasy saga, etc.

Origin of the term

The term “mainstream” itself arose thanks to American writer and criticism to William Dean Howells (1837–1920). As the editor of one of the most popular and influential literary magazines of its time, The Atlantic Monthly, he gave a clear preference to works written in a realistic vein and focusing on moral and philosophical issues.

Thanks to Howells realistic literature became fashionable, and for some time it was called the mainstream. The term stuck in English language, and from there moved to Russia.

Intellectual prose

In the vast majority of cases, intellectual prose has a dark mood and is published outside of series.

Main genres of fiction

Approximate classification

When submitting an application to a publishing house, we must indicate the genre so that our manuscript is sent to the appropriate editor.

Below is a rough list of genres as they are understood by publishers and bookstores.

• Avant-garde literature. Characterized by violation of canons and language and plot experiments. As a rule, avant-garde works are published in very small editions. Closely intertwined with intellectual prose.
• Action. Targeted primarily at a male audience. The basis of the plot is fights, chases, saving beauties, etc.
• Detective. Main story line- solving a crime.
• Historical novel. The time of action is the past. The plot is usually tied to significant historical events.
• Love story. Heroes find love.
• Mystic. The plot is based on supernatural events.
• Adventures. The heroes get involved in an adventure and/or go on a risky journey.
• Thriller/horror. The heroes are in mortal danger, from which they are trying to get rid of.
• Fantastic. The plot takes place in a hypothetical future or parallel world. One of the types of fiction is alternative history.
• Fantasy/fairy tales. The main features of the genre are fairy worlds, magic, unseen creatures, talking animals, etc. Often based on folklore.

What is non-fiction?

Non-fiction books are classified by topic (for example, gardening, history, etc.) and type (scientific monograph, collection of articles, photo album, etc.).

Below is a classification of non-fiction books, as it is done in bookstores. When submitting an application to a publisher, indicate the topic and type of book - for example, a textbook on writing.

Classification of non-fiction literature

• autobiographies, biographies and memoirs;
• architecture and art;
• astrology and esoterics;
• business and finance;
• armed forces;
• upbringing and education;
• house, garden, vegetable garden;
• health;
• story;
• career;
• computers;
• local history;
• love and family relationships;
• fashion and beauty;
• music, cinema, radio;
• science and technology;
• food and cooking;
• gift editions;
• politics, economics, law;
• guidebooks and travel books;
• religion;
• self-development and psychology;
• Agriculture;
• dictionaries and encyclopedias;
• sport;
• philosophy;
• hobby;
• school textbooks;
• linguistics and literature.

The short story genre is one of the most popular in literature. Many writers turned to him and continue to turn to him. After reading this article, you will learn what the features of the short story genre are, 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 short narrative work with a small number of characters. In this case, short-term events are depicted.

A Brief History of the Short Story Genre

V. G. Belinsky (his portrait is presented above) back in the 1840s distinguished the essay and story as small prose genres from the story and novel as larger ones. Already at this time, the predominance of prose over poetry was fully evident in Russian literature.

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

Unity of time

In order to more fully characterize the short story genre, it is necessary to highlight the patterns inherent in it. The first of them is the unity of time. In a story, the time of action is always limited. However, not necessarily only one day, as in the works of classicists. Although this rule is not always followed, it is rare to find stories in which the plot covers the entire life of the main character. Even less often are works created 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 entire fate of a character is revealed, one can note “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” (author Leo Tolstoy) and It also happens that not the whole life is presented, but a long period of it. For example, in Chekhov's "The Jumper" a number of significant events in the fate of the heroes, their environment, and the difficult development of relationships between them are depicted. However, this is given in an extremely condensed and condensed manner. It is the conciseness of the content, greater than in the story, that is the general feature of the story and, perhaps, the only one.

Unity of action and place

There are other features of the short story genre that need to be noted. The unity of time is closely connected and conditioned by another unity - action. A short 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. This is where the unity of the place comes from. 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 of them, and very rarely - several. Concerning minor characters, there can be quite a lot of them, but they are purely functional. A short story is a genre of literature in which the task minor characters limited to creating a background. They can hinder or help the main character, but nothing 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, which is impossible neither in a story nor in a novel.

Unity of the center

Like the genres listed above, one way or another they come down to the unity of the center. Indeed, it is impossible to imagine a story without some defining, central sign that “pulls together” all the others. It doesn’t matter at all whether this center will be some static descriptive image, a climactic event, the development of the action itself, or significant gesture character. Main image must be in any story. It is due to him that the entire composition is held together. It sets the theme of the work and determines the meaning of the story being told.

The basic principle of constructing a story

The conclusion from thinking about “unities” is not difficult to draw. The thought naturally suggests itself that the main principle of constructing the composition of a story is the expediency and economy of motives. Tomashevsky called the smallest element a motive. This could be an action, a character or an event. This structure can no longer be decomposed into components. This means that the author’s greatest sin is excessive detail, oversaturation of the text, a pile-up of details that can be omitted when developing this genre of work. The story should not dwell on details.

You need to describe only the most significant things to avoid a common mistake. It is very typical, 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 thing when they stage their graduation films and performances. This is especially true for films, since the author’s imagination in this case is not limited to the text of the play.

Imaginative authors love to fill the story with descriptive motifs. For example, they depict how the main character of the work is being chased by a pack of cannibal wolves. However, if dawn begins, they always stop at describing long shadows, dim stars, reddened clouds. The author seemed to admire nature and only then decided to continue the chase. Genre fantastic story 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 that interests us, all motives should reveal the theme and work towards meaning. For example, the gun described at the beginning of the work must certainly fire in the finale. Motives that lead astray should not be included in the story. Or you need to look for images that outline the situation, but do not overly detail it.

Features of the composition

It should be noted that it is not necessary to adhere to traditional construction techniques literary text. Breaking them can be spectacular. A story can be created almost on descriptions alone. But it’s still impossible to do without action. The hero simply must at least raise his hand, take a step (in other words, make a significant gesture). Otherwise, the result will not be a story, but a miniature, a sketch, a poem in prose. One more important feature The genre we are interested in is a meaningful ending. For example, a novel can last forever, but a story is constructed differently.

Very often its ending is paradoxical and unexpected. This is precisely what was associated with the appearance of catharsis in the reader. Modern researchers (in particular, Patrice Pavy) view catharsis as an emotional pulsation that appears as one reads. However, the significance of the ending remains the same. The ending can radically change the meaning of the story and prompt a rethinking of what is stated in it. This must be remembered.

The place of the story in world literature

A story that occupies an important place in world literature. Gorky and Tolstoy turned to him both in their early and mature periods of creativity. Chekhov's short story is his main and favorite genre. Many stories have become classics and are on par with major epic works(stories and novels) entered the treasury of literature. Such are, for example, Tolstoy’s stories “Three Deaths” and “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, Turgenev’s “Notes of a Hunter”, Chekhov’s works “Darling” and “Man in a Case”, Gorky’s stories “Old Woman Izergil”, “Chelkash”, etc.

Advantages of the short story over other genres

The genre that interests us allows us to highlight particularly clearly this or that typical case, this or that aspect of our life. It makes it possible to depict them so that the reader's attention is completely focused on them. For example, Chekhov, describing Vanka Zhukov with a letter “to his grandfather in the village,” full of childish despair, dwells in detail on the contents of this letter. It will not reach its destination and because of this it becomes especially strong from the point of view of exposure. In the story “The Birth of Man” by M. Gorky, the episode with the birth of a child, which occurs on the road, helps the author in revealing the main idea - the affirmation of the value of life.

Literary genres- a group of works collected according to formal and substantive characteristics. Works of literature are divided into separate categories according to the form of the narrative, the content and 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 letters”, 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 any period of time, with detailed description the lives of the main characters and all other characters who, to one degree or another, participate in these events.

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

A short story (short story) is a widespread genre of short prose and is called “short story”. Because the short story format is limited in scope, the writer can usually develop the narrative within the framework of a single event involving two or three characters. An exception to this rule was the great Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, who could describe the events of an entire era with many characters in a few pages.

An essay is a literary quintessence that combines the artistic style of storytelling and elements of journalism. Always presented in a concise form with a high content of specificity. The subject of the essay, as a rule, is related to socio-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 theater stage, television and radio performances. In their structural design, the plays are more like a story, since the duration theater performances fits perfectly with a medium-sized story. The genre of the play differs from other literary genres in that the narration is told from the perspective of each character. The text indicates dialogues and monologues.

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

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

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

Detectives and science fiction

Detective stories are a literary genre based on the age-old confrontation between police officers and criminals. Novels and short stories in this genre are action-packed; in almost every detective work, murders occur, 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 of the listed types of literary genres have unique distinctive features. However, there is often a mixture of several genres in one work. If this is done professionally, a rather interesting and unusual creation is born. 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 profanation.

Genres of literary works by content

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

What kinds of comedies are there?

There are comedies different types and styles:

1. Farce is a light comedy based on elementary comic techniques. Found both in literature and on theater stage. Farce as a special comedic 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 performed between the actions of the main play, performance or opera.
4. Parody is a comedic technique based on the repetition of recognizable features 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 last decades Several new directions in literature have appeared, such as political detective fiction, the psychology of war, as well as paperback literature, which includes all literary genres.

Art style used in fiction. It influences the imagination and feelings of the reader, conveys the thoughts and feelings of the author, uses all the wealth of vocabulary, possibilities different styles, characterized by imagery and emotionality of speech.

The emotionality of artistic style differs from the emotionality of colloquial and everyday journalistic styles. Emotionality artistic speech performs an aesthetic function. Artistic style presupposes a preliminary selection of linguistic means; All language means are used to create images.

Genre as a concept appeared a long time ago, back in the ancient world. At the same time, a typology of genres appeared. Today, text typologies are more strict and have clear boundaries. Moreover, they are used in all spheres of life - in government activities, in professional fields, theater, medicine and even everyday life.

Genres in fiction are a particularly complex issue. As you know, all literary works, depending on the nature of what is depicted, belong to one of three genres: epic, lyric or drama. Literary gender 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 of literary works .

Type and genre - concepts in literary criticism very close .

Genres are called 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- a major work of fiction telling about 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.

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

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

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

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.

OH YEAH(from Greek “song”) – 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- 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 originated 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):

poem, ballad.

POEM(from Greek poieio - “I do, I create”) is a large poetic work with a narrative or lyrical plot, usually on a historical or legendary theme.

BALLAD- a plot song with dramatic content, a story in verse.

TYPES (GENRES) OF DRAMATIC WORKS:

tragedy, comedy, drama (in the narrow sense).

TRAGEDY(from Greek tragos ode - “goat song”) is a dramatic work depicting an intense struggle of strong characters and passions, which usually ends in the death of the hero.

COMEDY(from Greek komos ode - “cheerful song”) - a dramatic work with a cheerful, funny plot, usually ridiculing social or everyday vices.

DRAMA(“action”) is a literary work in the form of a dialogue with a serious plot, depicting an individual in his dramatic relationship with society. Varieties of drama can be tragicomedy or melodrama.

VAUDEVILLE- a genre variety of comedy, this is a light comedy with singing couplets and dancing.

FARCE- a genre variety of comedy, it is a theatrical play of a light, playful nature with external comic effects, designed for rough tastes.