Types of Literature

• A Latin word “litera”  which means letter. 

  This is a body of

  literary productions, either oral,

  written or visual containing 

  imaginative language that 

  realistically portrays thoughts,

  emotions and experiences of 

  the human condition.

  Literature
• “prosa” which means straightforward. It consists written 

  works within the common flow of conversation presented in 

  a straightforward manner.

  Prose
• This is a long narrative divided into chapters. The events may be taken from true-to-life stories and spans for a long period of time. There are many characters involved.

  Novel
• This is a narrative involving one or    more characters, one plot and one single impression.

  Short Story
• This is presented on a stage, is divided into acts and each act has many scenes.

  Plays
• These are fictitious narratives, usually about origins. It provides historical information regarding the culture and views of  particular group of people or country

  Legends
• A traditional narrative, usually 

  anonymous, and handed down orally.

  Folk Tales
• These are also fictitious and they deal with animals and inanimate things who speak and act like people. Their purpose is to enlighten the minds of children to events that can mold their ways and attitudes.

  Fables
• A traditional sacred story, typically 

  revolving around the activities of gods and heroes, which aim to explain a natural phenomenon or cultural practice.

  Myths
• These are merely products of the writer’s imagination and the main aim is to bring out lessons to the reader.

  Anecdotes
• This expresses the viewpoint or opinion of the writer about a particular problem or event. The best example of this is the Editorial page of a newspaper.

  Essay
• This deals with the life of a person which may be about himself, his autobiography or that of others.

  Biography
• This is a report of everyday events in society, government, science and industry, accidents etc., happening nationally or not.

  News
• This is a formal treatment of a subject and is intended to be spoken in public. It appeals to the intellect, to the will or to the emotions of the audience.

  Oration
• It is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices as to evoke emotional response.

  Poetry
• This form describes important events in life either real or imaginary.

  Narrative Poetry
• It is an extended narrative about heroic exploits under supernatural control. It may deal with heroes and gods. The hero/heroine usually has the following characteristics: idealism, courage, wisdom, beauty, endurance, chivalry and justice.

  Epic
• often without a definite author and is of slow growth.

  Ancient Epic
• with a definite author.

  Modern Epic
• This is a narrative which is written in verse and can be classified either as a ballad or metrical romance.

  Metrical Tales
• This is considered as the shortest and simplest of the narrative poems. It has a simple structure and tells of a single incident.

  Ballads
• Originally, this refers to that kind of poetry meant to be sung to the accompaniment of  a lyre, but now, this applies to any type of poetry that expresses emotions and feelings to the poet.

  Lyric Poetry
• These are short poems intended to be sung. The common theme is love, despair, grief, doubt, joy, hope, and sorrow.

  Folk Songs
• This is a lyric of poem of 14 lines dealing with an emotion, a feeling or an idea. There are two types: the Italian and the Shakespearean.

  Sonnets
• This is a lyric poem which expresses feelings of grief and melancholy, and whose theme is death.

  Elogy
• This is a poem of a noble feeling, expressed with dignity, with no definite number of syllables or definite number of lines in a stanza.

  Ode
• This is a song praising God or the Virgin Mary and containing a philosophy of life.

  Psalms
• These have the measures of twelve syllables (dodecasyllabic) and slowly sung to the accompaniment of a guitar or banduria.

  Awit
• These have measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic)and recited to a martial beat. The songs are often about oppressions, daily life of peasants, and other socially important information.

  Corridos
• This is an emotional piece of literature which includes a story which is recited or sung. Soliloquy and dramatic monologues are the main instruments of this form of poetry.

  Dramatic Poetry
• This word comes from the Greek term “Komos” meaning festivity or revelry. This form usually is light and written with a purpose of amusing, and usually has a happy ending.


  Comedy
• This is usually seen in musical play with the opera. Today, this is related to tragedy just as the farce to comedy. It arouses immediate and intense emotion and is usually sad but there is a happy ending for the principal character.

  Melodrama
• This involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces; he meets death or ruin without success and satisfaction obtained by the protagonist in a comedy.

  Tradegy
• This is an exaggerated comedy. It seeks to arouse mirth by laughable lines; situations are too ridiculous to be true; the characters seem to be caricatures and the motives undignified and absurd.

  Farce
• This form is either purely comic or tragic and its pictures the life of today. it may aim to bring about changes in the social conditions.

  Social Poems