Literary Genres
Genre
• A type of something
• Literary Genre: a type of literature
Fiction vs.
Non-Fiction
• Fiction literature is made up from
the imagination
• FICTION - FAKE
• Non-Fiction literature is actual or
real
• NON-FICTION – NOT FAKE
(REAL)
Different types of Fiction
• Historical fiction
– An imagined story with a real setting during an
important event in history
– EX. “Number the Stars” is about an imaginary character
but the setting is during WWII that really happen in
history
– EX. “I Survived” is about imaginary characters but the
setting is the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, which is a
real historical event.
– EX. “Red Badge of Courage” is about imaginary
characters but the setting is the American Civil War.
Different types of Fiction
• Realistic fiction
– An imagined story that could actually happen, but it did
not.
– EX. “Shiloh” is about a boy and his dog. There is nothing
in the story that is out of this world and it is not set
during an important historical event. The entire story is
fake, but based on things that could actually happen.
– EX. “Anne of Green Gables” is about an orphaned girl
who gets adopted. The story is fake, but it is based on
things that naturally occur in life.
– EX. “Hatchet”
Different types of Fiction
• Science fiction
– An imagined story including space or advanced
technology.
– EX. “Star Wars” “Star Trek” “Tron”
– EX. “Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by
Douglas Adams
– EX. “2001: A Space Odyssey” by Arthur C
Clarke
Different types of Fiction
• Fantasy
• An imagined story including magic and fictional
people and creatures
– EX. “Tuck Everlasting” is about a family that drinks
from a pool that keeps them living forever (magic.)
– EX. “Harry Potter” is about a boy wizard who encounters
all sorts of magic and magical creatures.
– EX. “Alice in Wonderland” is about a girl who visits a
magical land populated by magical creatures.
– EX. “Chronicles of Narnia”
Different types of Fiction
• Mythology
– Imagined stories about gods and heroes meant to
entertain, teach a lesson or explain nature.
– EX. “Hercules” is about a demi-god that destroys all
sorts of evil creatures to win favor among the gods.
– EX. “Dedalus and Icurcus” teaches a lesson to follow
the advice of the older and wiser.
– EX. “Demeter and Persephone” is about how gods
make the seasons change.
Different types of
Non-Fiction
• Biography
– An account of a real person’s actual life.
– Bio = life
– Written by someone else.
– EX. “Quiet Strength” is about Rosa Parks,
written by Gregory J. Reed.
– EX. “Genius” is about Albert Einstein,
written by Marfe Ferguson Delano
Different types of
Non-Fiction
• Autobiography
–An account of a real person’s actual
life.
–Written by themselves, “auto” means
“self”
–Auto + Bio = Self + Life
Different types of
Non-Fiction
• Informational Text
–Text that gives true, factual information
–EX. Articles from Newspapers and
essays
–EX. Textbooks
Drama
• Literature written to be performed by actors
on a stage.
• Written in lines assigned to each character.
• EX. “Annie”
• EX. “Romeo and Juliet”
• EX. “The Importance of Being Earnest”
RON: I reckon you'd have to be barking mad to put your own name in the goblet
of fire.
HARRY: Caught on have you. Took you long enough.
RON: Wasn't just me who thought you'd done it. Everyone was saying it behind
your back.
HARRY: Brilliant. That makes me feel loads better.
RON: At least I warned you about the dragons.
HARRY: Hagrid warned me about the dragons.
RON: Oh no no, I did. Don't you remember? I told Hermione to tell you that
Seamus told me that Parvati told Dean that Hagrid was looking for you.
Seamus never actually told me anything, so it was really me all along. I
thought you'd be alright, you know, after you figured that out.
Poetry
• Literature written in lines and stanzas mean
to express thoughts, feelings and images
using figurative language and sound
devices.
• “My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose” by
Robert Burns uses similes to express
himself.