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Literary genre

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A literary genre is one of the divisions of literature into genres according to particular criteria such as literary technique, tone, or subject matter (content). Literary genres are also categories of marketing, literary criticism and consumption [citation needed]. One of the areas in the study of literature is the difference between literary fiction on the one hand and genre fiction or escapist fiction on the other [citation needed].

[edit] Subgenres

Genres are often divided into sub-genres. Literature can be organized according to the "poetic genres" and the "prose genres". Poetry might be subdivided into epic, lyric, and dramatic, while prose might be subdivided into fiction and non-fiction. Further subdivisions of dramatic poetry, for instance, might include comedy, tragedy, melodrama, and so forth. This parsing into subgenres can continue: "comedy" has its own genres, for example, including farce, comedy of manners, burlesque, and satire. [citation needed],

Many times, the criteria used to divide up works into genres are not consistent, leading to works that belong to more than one genre. Romance and mystery are marked out by their plots, and Western by its setting, which means that a work can easily be a Western romance or Western mystery.

[edit] List of literary genres

Autobiography
Biography
Children's literature
Constrained writing
Diaries and Journals
Erotic literature
Essay
Fiction
Adventure novel
Airport novels
Comedy
Parody
Satire
Crime fiction
Detective fiction
Hardboiled
Whodunit
Erotica
Fable
Fairy tale
Family Saga
Frame story
Gothic
Southern Gothic
Historical fiction
Inspirational fiction
Invasion literature
Mystery
Philosophical literature
Inspirational fiction
Religious literature
Psychological novel
Psychological thriller
Romance
Historical romance
Regency romance
Inspirational romance
Paranormal romance
Saga
Speculative fiction
Alternate/Alternative history
Fantasy (for more details see Fantasy subgenres; fantasy literature)
Epic fantasy
Science fantasy
Steampunk
Urban fantasy
Weird fantasy
Horror
Weird menace
Science fiction (for more details see Science fiction genres and related topics)
Cyberpunk
Hard science fiction
Space opera
Supernatural fiction
Sensation novel
Slave narrative
Thriller
Conspiracy fiction
Legal thriller
Spy fiction/Political thriller
Techno-thriller
Western
Memoir
Non-fiction
Oral Narrative (Oral History)
Outdoor literature
Poetry (see that article for an extensive list of sub-genres and types)
Aubade
Clerihew
Epic
Haiku
Lied
Lyric
Ode
Rhapsody
Song
Sonnet
Speculative poetry
Travel literaturebr:Gennad (Lennegezh)

da:Genre (litteratur) es:Género literario fr:Genre littéraire it:Generi letterari oc:Genre e fòrma literària ru:Литературные жанры uk:Літературні жанри zh:文学流派

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