Literary Genres: Types, Characteristics and Examples

You literary genres they are categories that organize all types of literary texts by their formal, structural, and thematic similarities.

Literary genres are classified into three types:

• Lyrical genre: includes sentimental poetic texts revealing the poet's emotions, for example, sonnets.
• narrative genre (formerly called epic): tells a story with characters, situated in a time and a space, for example, a novel.
• dramatic genre: gathers theatrical texts to be staged, for example, a comedy.

Lyrical Genre

O lyric genre is a literary genre written in verse that focuses on showing the poet's emotions, sensations, feelings and personal impressions.

The lyrical texts are marked by subjectivity, where the poet expresses his opinion, therefore, they are written in the first person (I).

The lyrical genre receives this name, as it refers to the musical instrument, the lyre, which accompanied the declamation of poetry in antiquity.

Some subgenres of lyrical texts are:

• Sonnet - fixed form poem, consisting of fourteen lines (two quartets and two triplets).
• Poetry - poetic text formed by verses that are grouped into stanzas.
• Ode - poem of exaltation composed to be recited or sung.
• haiku - fixed form poem of Japanese origin, consisting of three lines.
• Hymn - poem that honors someone or worships something.
• Satire - poem that ridicules people or customs.

Sample text from the lyrical genre

O Sonnet of fidelity, by Vinicius de Moraes, is a fixed-form poem composed of fourteen lines (two quartets and two triplets). In it, the author exposes his feelings related to love and fidelity.

Of everything, to my love I will be attentive
Before, and with such zeal, and always, and so much
That even in the face of the greatest charm
Of him my thoughts become more enchanted.

I want to live it in every moment
And in praise I will spread my song
And laugh my laugh and shed my tears
Your grief or your contentment.

And so, when you come to me later
Who knows the death, anguish of those who live
Who knows loneliness, end of those who love

I can tell myself about the love (that I had):
That it is not immortal, since it is flame
But let it be infinite while it lasts.

Narrative Genre

The narrative genre is a modern literary genre in prose, which aims to narrate a story. For a text to be considered narrative, it must contain these elements:

• Plot - story that narrates a succession of events.
• Narrator - one who narrates the story.
• Characters - people who are present in the story.
• Time - the period in which history takes place.
• Space - place where the story takes place.

In its origin, the narrative genre was called “epic genre”, as it included the historical-literary narratives of great events, called epics.

Some subgenres of narrative texts are:

• Epic - long narrative about great facts of a hero or a people.
• Romance - extensive narrative written in prose that reveals characters' actions within a story.
• Novel - written in prose, it is a long narrative, but shorter and more dynamic than the novel.
• Tale - written in prose, it is a more objective and shorter narrative than the novel and the novel.
• Chronicle - brief narrative focusing on everyday events.
• Fable - fantasy narrative that seeks to teach about something.

Sample text from the narrative genre

the frog and the ox, Aesop's fable, brings the following teaching: "whoever tries to look bigger than he is, breaks down".

A frog was in the meadow looking at an ox and felt such envy of its size that it started to inflate to get bigger.
Then another frog arrived and asked if the ox was the bigger of the two.
The first one said no – and struggled to inflate more.
Then he repeated the question:
– Who's bigger now?
The other frog replied:
- The cow.
The frog was furious and tried to get bigger by inflating more and more, until it burst.

Dramatic Genre

O dramatic genre is a theatrical literary genre that brings together written texts, in prose or in verse. Dramatic texts are used to present to an audience (spectators).

A very important feature of theatrical texts is the presence of dialogues between the characters. They are generally divided into acts, when the actions take place in the same space, and scenes, when there is a change of location and characters.

Some subgenres of dramatic texts are:

• Tragedy - tragic theatrical text with permanent tension and unhappy ending.
• Comedy - humorous theatrical text that satirizes different aspects of society.
• Tragicomedy - theatrical text that brings together tragic and comic aspects.
• Farce - short and comic theatrical text, formed by an act.
• Auto - theatrical text with a more religious and moralistic approach.

Dramatic Genre Text Sample

the excerpt from Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, points out the place where the dialogue between two characters takes place.

ACT ONE - SCENE I

Verona. A public square.

Enter Samson and Gregory from the house of the Capulets, with swords and brooches (Small round shields.).

SANSION – Word, Gregory, we will not carry insults!
GREGÓRIO – No, because then they would take us for porters.
SANSION – I mean that if we get angry, we will draw the sword.
GREGÓRIO – Yes, but try, as long as you live, to pull your neck out of the noose of the gallows.
SANSION – I hit it right away, when they talk to me.
GREGÓRIO – But don't do it so quickly that you are led to hit.
SANSION – A dog of the Montecchios family makes me nervous.

Learn more about the origin and categories of the dramatic genre:

• Greek Theater
• greek comedy
• greek tragedy

How did literary genres come about?

The classification of literary genres was proposed in classical antiquity by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 a. C.-322 a. C.) in his Poetic work. According to him:

• The lyrical genre represented the “sung word”, since, in the past, literary texts were recited and accompanied by musical instruments.
• The epic genre meant the "narrated word" as it portrayed the grandiose events of a hero in lengthy poems called epics. Over time, this genre has expanded and today it is called “narrative”.
• The dramatic genre that symbolized the “played word” and gathered written texts for a play.

Read too:

• What is literature?
• Literary and non-literary text
• Textual genres