Literature is a body of written works. It has been traditionally applied to those imaginative works of poetry and prose distinguished by their authors.
Types of Literature
Prose
Poetry
Literature
A body of written works distinguished by the intentions of their authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence of their execution
Literature may be classified according to a variety of systems, including language, national origin, historical period, genre, and subject matter
Types of Prose
Prose Drama
Essay
Prose Fiction
Biography and Autobiography
Letter
Diary
Journal
Types of Poetry
Narrative Poetry
Epic
Metrical Poem
Metrical Tale
Ballad
Popular ballad
Modern or artistic
Metrical Allegory
Lyric Poetry
Ode
Elegy
Song
Prose Drama
Consists entirely of dialogues in prose and is meant to be acted on stage
Essay
A short literary composition which is expository in nature. The author shares his thoughts, feelings, experiences, or observations on some aspects of life that has interested him
Prose Fiction
Something invented, imagined, or feigned to be true
Novel
A long fiction narrative with a complicated plot. It may have one main plot and one or more subplots that develop with the main plot. It is made up of chapters
Short Story
A fictitious narrative compressed into one unit of time, place, and action. It deals with single character interest, a single emotion or series of emotions called forth by a single. It is distinguished from the novel by its compression
Biography
A story of a certain person’s life written by another who knows the subject well
Autobiography
A written account of a man’s life written by himself
Letter
A written message which displays aspects of an author’s physiological make-up not immediately apparent in his more public writings. It is a prose form which by the force of its style and the importance of its statements becomes an object of interest in its own right
Diary
A daily written record of account of the writer’s own experiences, thoughts, activities, or observations
Journal
A magazine or periodical especially of serious or learned nature. It is the reflection, opinion of a read material
Narrative Poetry
A poem that tells a story
Epic
A long narrative poem of the largest proportions. It is a tale mainly about a hero concerning the beginning, continuance, and the end of events of great significance on tribal or national significance
Metrical Poem
A narrative poem that tells a story of adventure, love, and chivalry. The typical hero is a knight on a quest
Metrical Tale
A narrative poem consisting usually a single series connective events that are simple, and generally do not form a plot. Examples of these are simple idylls or home tales, love tales, tales of the supernatural or tales written for a strong moral purpose in verse form
Ballad
The simplest type of narrative poetry. It is a short narrative poem telling a single incident in simple meter and stanzas. It is meant to be sung
Popular ballad
A ballad of wide workmanship telling some simple incidents of adventure, cruelty, passion, or superstition, an incident that shows the primary instincts of man influenced by the restraint of modern civilization
Modern or artistic
Created by a poet in imitation of the folk ballad, makes use of many of its devices and conventions
Metrical Allegory
An extended narrative that carries a second meaning along with the surface story
Lyric Poetry
A poem that is very personal in nature. It expresses the author’s own thoughts, feelings, moods, and reflections in musical language. It derived its name from the musical instrument, the lyre
Ode
A lyric poem of some length, serious in subject and dignified in style. It is the most majestic of the lyric poems. It is written in a spirit of praise of some persons or things
Elegy
A poem written on the death of a friend of the poet. The ostensible purpose is to praise the friend. But in the end of the poem, however, we can expect that the poet will have come to terms with his grief
Song
A lyric poem in a regular metrical pattern set to music
Elegy is a poem written on the death of a friend of the poet with the ostensible purpose to praise the friend, and the poet is expected to come to terms with his grief by the end of the poem
Song is a lyric poem in a regular metrical pattern set to music, usually with twelve syllables and slowly sung to the accompaniment of a guitar or banduria
Sonnet is a lyric poem containing four iambic pentameter lines and a complicated rhyme scheme
Structure of a poem refers to the way it is presented to the reader, including line length, stanza format, flow of words, and conveyed ideas
Line length
Shows the reader how the poem should be read, with short lines read faster and longer lines slowing down the pace
Stanzas
Groups of lines in a poem, similar to paragraphs in prose, containing central ideas and allowing readers to focus on multiple ideas
Paragraphs
Contain a central idea and allow readers to focus on multiple ideas by breaking the text into multiple stanzas
Consistency in structure
Refers to using the same patterns throughout the poem, such as starting each line with a certain part of speech or using repeated lines or phrases
Figures of speech
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
Oxymoron
Simile
A figure of speech comparing two dissimilar things using "like" or "as"
Metaphor
A figure of speech comparing two different things without using "like" or "as"
Personification
A figure of speech attributing human characteristics to non-human things