Lesson 2: 21st Century Literary Genres

A literary genre is a type or category of literature.

FOUR MAIN LITERARY GENRES:

1. Drama – a play or a theater told by characters through a dialogue.

o SUBGENRES
 Comedy – a humorous drama with a happy ending.
 Tragedy – a sad drama with a sad ending.
2. Fiction – a story that did not actually happen in real life.
o SUBGENRES
1) Fantasy – fantasy world
2) Folklore – old cultural stories
3) Historical Fiction – based on real story
4) Mystery – story about crime
5) Realistic Fiction – seems real but not real
6) Romance – love story
7) Science Fiction – future with advance
8) Thriller or Suspense – makes readers nervous
3. Nonfiction – writing what is real and factual or something that actually happened.
a) Biography – a story of a person’s life
b) Autobiography – a story the author writes about himself/herself.
c) Narrative non-fiction – a story happen in real life
d) Periodicals – magazines, newspapers and journals
e) Reference Materials – book with facts
4. Poetry – writing using language and sound’s in special ways to express ideas.
 Lyric – a poem that’s about the speaker’s thoughts.
 Narrative – a poem tells story
 Dramatic – words spoken by a character.

Lesson 3: Most Common Theme in Literature

1) Crime doesn’t pay

2) Own Worst Enemy
3) Coming of Age
4) Death
5) Overcoming the Odds
6) Capitalism
7) Technology
8) Love Conquers All
9) Religion
10) Humanity vs. Nature
11) The Individual vs. Society
12) Family
13) Good vs. Evil
14) War
 Lesson 4: Literary Techniques

A. Literary Devices
1) Alliteration – repeated initial consonant sounds
Ex. Peter Piper……
Dunkin Donuts, Coca-Cola
2) Allusion – a reference to another story
3) Analogy – a comparison to understand
Ex.
Passwords are like bubblegum
They’re the strongest when fresh
They should be used by an individual not a group
If you leave them laying around, you’ll end up with a sticky messy
4) Dialogue – two or more characters talking to each other
5) Flashback – an interruption by a scene from the past
6) Foreshadowing – hints of what will happen later
7) Hyperbole – an extreme exaggeration
8) Imagery – a description appealing to the five senses
Ex.
A sour combination of a cooked cabbage and musty gym socks greeted me at the door.
9) Metaphor – indirect compassion of two unlike things (does not use like or as)
Ex. The classroom was a zoo.
10) Onomatopoeia - the pronunciation of a word mimes the sound it names
Ex. Don’t slam in the door
I can still hear the dogs barking
11) Personification – giving human characteristics to something not human.
Ex. This city never sleeps
The flowers are dancing
12) Simile – a direct comparison of two unlike things (uses like or as)
Ex. My future is as bright as the sun
13) Suspense – anxiety or uncertainly about what will happen next
Ex. The door slowly creaked open to the empty hallway.

B. Elements of the Short Story

1) Setting
2) Characters and Characterization
 Character
 Major Character
 Minor Character
Two identifications of Characters:
 Protagonist
 Antagonist

Characters according to Development

 Dynamic
 Static
3) Plot
 Exposition
 Rising Action
 Conflict
 Two Major Types:
 External
Man vs. man
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Nature
 Internal
Man vs. Self
 Climax
 Falling Action
 Denouement or Resolution
4) Theme
5) Point of View
 First Person
 Limited Third Person
 Omniscient Third Person