Literary Genres

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Literary Genres
David Landry
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Essential Question
How do I identify a genre by its characteristics?

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What is a literary genre?

• A genre is a particular style or type of writing.

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Major Genres

• Fiction
• Writing that tells about imaginary people and
  events

• Non-Fiction
• Writing that tells about real people and events

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Poetry

• lines of poetry (verses) are written in stanzas

• may include patterns of rhyme to capture the
  readers interest

• uses carefully selected words and phrases to
  create vivid pictures in the readers mind

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Short Story

• A short fictional prose narrative.
• A short storys plot usually consists of these
  basic elements the introduction, complications,
  climax, and resolution.
• Short stories usually only have one or two major
  characters and one important setting.

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Drama/Play

• a cast of characters
• a narrator who gives
  important information
• parts called acts or scenes
• props to help support action
• dialogue that tells what the actors say
• stage directions in italics

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Realistic Fiction

• The setting is realistic
• The characters speak and act like real people
• The story describes real-life problems and events

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Historical Fiction

• Literature with imaginary characters
• Based on events related to history

Parts of Little House on the Prairie are
considered autobiographical
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Science Fiction

• Literature based on actual or imaginary
  developments or discoveries in science
• Often futuristic or fantasy

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Horror and Mystery

• Horror is fiction in which events evoke a feeling
  of dread in both the characters and the reader.
• Mystery is fiction dealing with the solution of a
  crime or the unraveling of secrets.

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Fable

• Characters are simpler than real people - they
  may be completely greedy, completely wicked , or
  very gentle

• Actions are repeated over and over

• Point out some aspect of human behavior. Some
  fables teach a lesson about what is important in
  life, such as fairness, kindness, or cleverness

• Examples Aesops Fables, Mouse Lion, Tortoise
  the Hare, Fox the Crow, Hansel Gretel

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Myth / Legend

• A kind of fantasy
• A very old story handed down by word of mouth
• Explains something about nature or answers
  questions about the meaning of life or what is
  good or evil
• Examples Greek gods/goddesses,

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Folk Tale

• Stories passed on from one person to another by
  word of mouth.
• Original storyteller is unknown. The authors on
  folk tale books today are retelling these
  stories.
• They often use language/description that is
  native to a specific area.
• Characters are sometimes animals that act
• and speak like people
• Repetition
• Use of the number three
• Examples Brer Rabbit, Cinderella (can
• also be considered as a fairy tale)

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Tall Tale

• Extraordinary person - the main character is
  better at things than an ordinary person
• Exaggeration makes something greater or bigger
  than it really could be
• Explanation explains how something came to be
• Examples Paul Bunyan, John Henry, Mike Fink,
  Swamp Angel

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Fairy Tales
Examples Princess the Pea, Jack the
Beanstalk, Rumpelstiltskin

• Often begin with Once upon a time or Long, long
  ago

Include a good character and a bad (evil)
character
Include magic or something enchanted
Involves a problem that is solved and the good
people live happily ever after
Setting is a forest or a castle
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Non-Fiction

• Books that discuss facts, deal with real or
  historical characters, circumstances or events.
• Examples how-to books, science, sports,
  drawing, math animals,transportation

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Essay

• A short piece of nonfiction prose that examines a
  single subject.
• Most essays can be categorized as either personal
  or formal
• It not only includes Martin Luther King's speech
  and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address, but
  Patrick Henry's Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death,
  Lou Gehrig's Luckiest Man on Earth speech, Ronald
  Reagan's Tear Down This Wall speech and many
  more.

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Biography

• Nonfiction
• Story about a real persons life that is written
  by another person
• Can cover a persons whole life, part of a
  persons life, or a single incident
• A true account of a persons life based on facts
  collected by the author
• Written from the third person point of view (he
  or she)

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Autobiographies

• Autobiographies are where people write about
  their own life.

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Newspapers/Magazines

• Newspapers and magazines contain articles
  relating to current events, new discoveries, and
  important people.

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Informational Texts

• The function of these texts is to convey
  information.

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References

• www.images.google.com
• www.microsoftoffice.com