literary subgenres

literary subgenres

As you know, and if we don't clarify it for you right now, There are three major literary genres.: narratives, lyrical and dramatic. In each one of them there are literary subgenres that have to be known since they encompass practically all the works that come out on the market (or that are written).

If you have never been clear about this division and want to remedy it, then we are going to give you the keys so that you know what subgenres come out of them and what each one is about.

What are literary genres

Before talking about literary subgenres, it is important that you know what are literary genres of those that come out since that way you will be able to better understand their meaning.

The literary genres they are actually groups created to classify the publishing sector. Thus, we find:

  • Narrative: also sometimes called epic. It is characterized because it is narrated by an author.
  • Lyric: in this case the one who creates the text will always be a poet.
  • Drama: Although you may not know it from its name, it is actually where the theater is framed because it is characterized by being made up of a group of people.

And what are literary subgenres

Now yes, we are going to focus on the literary subgenres. They come from each of the literary genres, and there is not an exact number in each of them but they are based on the characteristics of those genres.

Thus, we find:

  • Narrative. Its subgenres are: epic, epic poem, epic poems, novels, story, legend, fable.
  • Lyric. The literary subgenres are: ode, elegy, egogla, satire, epistle, Christmas carols, lyrical romances.
  • Drama (or theater). Where we find: tragedy, comedy, drama or tragicomedy, autosacramental, entremés, paso and sainete; vaudeville, opera and zarzuela or operetta.

Next we are going to develop each one of them so that you understand the meaning of each one of them.

narrative subgenres

narrative subgenres

characterized by being a character or narrator who tells us the story, telling us about the characters, situations and actions they go through. It is one of the most important and, therefore, is divided into two subgroups. They are subgenres, but they also have a new division.

On the one hand, there are the narratives in verse, where we find the following:

  • Epic. Focused on narrating the heroic deeds of an important character to record what he did and extol his figure.
  • epic poem. In this case the extension is quite large. They are written in verse and tell the story of a hero.
  • Songs of deeds. They are actually poems that were sung or recited, only they have been written down. In them, facts of warriors were narrated, such as victories, exploits, etc.

On the other hand there would be prose narratives, where are they:

  • Novela. The novel is an extensive narrative in which there is a beginning, middle and end. It tells the story of some characters through descriptions, feelings, history and dialogue.
  • Story. It is actually a short story focused on young children. But they can also be for adults. These usually focus on a specific action or situation.
  • Legend. We are talking about a story that has a fantastic or supernatural touch, either because of the characters or because of the story itself.
  • Fable. It is also a story but, unlike the previous ones, in this case there is a moral, something that we want to learn from the characters or from the story that has been read.

Subgenres of the lyric

Lyric

As we have told you before, the genre of the lyric encompasses the poetic language. Usually used to talk about feelings, both good and bad, as a tool for fight discrimination, for address thoughts, etc. All this using the language in a sonorous and aesthetic way That attracts attention.

Now, the lyric cannot be confused with what poetry is, because lyric not only encompasses verses and poems, but also poetic prose.

And what subgenres do we have? Well:

  • Oda. The ode is actually a composition written in verse. It is usually long, but even so it is distributed through verses. Normally, it is used to praise a person or to positively narrate an event or situation.
  • Elegy. The elegy is a text in which the painful story of a person is told, almost always governed by a death or a tragedy that has occurred.
  • Eclogue. This word is perhaps the first time you hear it. And it is not well known, but it deals with romantic, loving themes, and characters that are idealized. They are long poems.
  • Satire. By satire we must understand a humorous, mocking text, which is used to narrate in a spicy way while criticizing it. For this reason, it serves both individuals and societies, groups...
  • Epistle. In this case the format of an epistle is that of a letter and its objective is didactic. But not for that we can say that it is boring.

In addition to this, we could also include Christmas carols here (if you read the lyrics and do not sing them, you will realize their sonority in the phrases) as well as lyrical romances.

Subgenres of drama (or theater)

drama subgenres

In the case of theater, this It is characterized by the fact that the dialogues of the characters are more important than by the descriptions of the situations or the feelings of each character. They are, therefore, texts that are made with the aim of representing.

Among the literary subgenres of this group we have:

  • Tragedy. We are talking about a text in which a sad story is told, sometimes with an equally sad or even sadder ending.
  • Comedy. In this case it is the opposite of the previous one. Here what is sought are the laughs so the characters are seen in hilarious situations. At times, it can be satirical, turning into scathing criticism about situations or allegations.
  • Drama. Also known as tragicomedy, it is actually a combination of the two previous literary subgenres. In this one can present a painful problem but that ends in comedy.

Are the literary subgenres clear to you? As you can see, it is not too difficult to distinguish one from the other. But if you have any questions, all you have to do is ask us in the comments.


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