Literary genres: the 3 types that exist and their subgenres

Reading is common for many of us, either as hobbies or for research. However, few people would know how to place their books within one of the literary genres; It may sound intimidating or complicated, but actually literary genres are simple to recognize!

So if you want to learn about what are the different types of literary genresPay attention to the following 3 categories and their subgenres.

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The 3 types of literary genres and their subgenres

Literature has been around for a long time, and they have always sought ways to catalog each writing style or way of narrating.

Finally, following the guidelines that Aristotle gave in his work The Poetics of him, it ended up being divided into three main genres: the lyrical genre, the epic genre and the dramatic genre. Each one includes different subgenres, which we describe below.

1. The lyrical genre

This literary genre is characterized by the transmission of feelings and emotions regarding an object or being of inspiration (its muse, so to speak). Usually

this expression is made through poems, but verse and poetic prose are also used.

Some famous authors of this genre include the English poet Shakespeare, the Spanish artist Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, or the acclaimed Chilean Pablo Neruda. All have produced poems of high sentimentality, coinciding with the lyrical genre. Lyric subgenres include:

• The song: It is an exalted poem that expresses great emotion and feeling, usually of love theme. It goes back to the Provencal troubadours.
• The hymn: It is a poetic composition highly exalted and solemn in tone. It usually expresses patriotic, warrior or religious feelings.
• The ode: It is a work of a poetic and meditative nature used to exalt something or someone.
• The Elegy: It is a melancholic poem, usually of mourning. Show a lot of emotion.
• Eclogue: It is a type of lyrical writing that idyllically portrays rural life and pastoral, describing a dialogue between two pastors to deal with generally loving themes.
• Satire: It is a writing in verse or prose, to ridicule or denounce something or someone in a scathing way.
• Romance: It is a poem used for narration transmitted in time by oral tradition.

As we mentioned before, literary genres are very old. Lyric is the most used genre to show emotionn, and although the other literary genres can also do it, writers often choose this medium to denote feelings, since the literary resources to express them abound more than in other genres literary.

2. The epic genre

This literary genre is closely linked to the narrative, as it consists of tales of legendary events with epic characters, so that they seem true or based on it. The usual form of writing is narrative, although dialogue and descriptions are sometimes mixed; We can say that they are like the stories they told us when we were little, but with rhyme.

This literary genre is not so common anymore, but in earlier times it was widely used. They are an example The odyssey Homer or the famous Song of Mio Cid didactic in nature. The latter allows us to mention that the vast majority of the epic work was not written at first, since when the genre was more used, these stories were transmitted verbally by the troubadours.

• The epic: Its purpose is the exaltation of a people, and its course is the story of the exploits of the heroes protagonists. The battles it recounts can be imaginary or real, but the barrier between these two often melts.
• The epic: They recount facts of the ancient age with mythological character, the main characters being gods, heroes, and extraordinary creatures.
• The song of feat: It is very similar to the epic, but centered on the Middle Ages.
• Novel: This subgenre is the most used today. It is also the most complex, and consists of narrating a series of invented events (or partially) in order to please those who read it. They have an aesthetic literary purpose, so to speak, and are written in prose.
• Legend: It is a short story based on a supernatural phenomenon or mysterious, usually based on some kind of cultural tradition.
• Apologue: It is a short story with didactic purposes, which can be written in verse or prose.
• Fable: It is very similar to the apologue, but with a simpler moral and usually written in prose. Many times personified animals appear.

3. The dramatic genre

Of all the literary genres, this is the one that reaches its peak in the theater. The dramatic genre tries to portray someone's life. Usually a particular moment of this is shown, and usually this moment is that of a conflict or dilemma.

Even if a dramatic work can be written in verse or prose, differs from other literary genres in that the purpose of it is to be represented in front of an audience. This is why it is often composed by dialogue, although they do not usually have the figure of the narrator.

As well-known playwrights we could mention Shakespeare again, but authors such as the acclaimed García Lorca or Alejandro Casona also stand out. These are the subgenres of the drama genre:

• The tragedy: It is in which protagonists inevitably face problems that brings an unchangeable destiny.
• Comedy: It is a work in which most of the scenes are humorous and / or festive.
• The tragicomedy: It is a mixture of the previous two, which comes in a revolutionary way as it is a kind of constant antithesis. There comes sarcasm and parody.
• The melodrama: It is a dramatic work that aims to evoke emotions strong in the audience.

These are all the different literary genres, doesn't it seem easier that way? Now you can place what you read within these categories, and find what you like easier!

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