Knowra Literary genre Literary genre A category of literary works defined by shared forms, subjects, conventions, or effects. Genres guide composition and interpretation while changing across periods and cultures.
Literary form : The structural arrangement and expressive mode of a literary work, such as poetry, drama, or prose. Form is one of the main features used to distinguish genres.
Genre theory : The study of how genres are defined, structured, interpreted, and transformed. It explains the frameworks used to analyze literary categories.
Tragedy : A dramatic form centered on serious conflict and suffering, often ending in catastrophe. Its conventions make downfall and consequence central to a genre.
Aristotle's Poetics : An ancient Greek work of literary theory that analyzes poetry, especially tragedy and epic. Its account of dramatic kinds became a lasting foundation for genre theory.
Literary mode : A broad manner of literary expression, such as the comic, the tragic, or the fantastic. Modes can cross genre boundaries rather than naming stable categories of works.
Literary convention : A recurring practice or expectation that shapes how literary works are written and understood. Shared conventions give a genre recognizable patterns.
Rhetorical genre studies : An approach that studies genres as recurring forms of communication shaped by social situations. It treats genre as a practice rather than a fixed checklist of traits.
Comedy : A dramatic or literary form that uses humor and commonly moves toward reconciliation or a happy ending. Its endings and comic patterns contrast with tragic expectations.
Classical antiquity : The civilizations and cultures of ancient Greece and Rome, conventionally dated from about 800 BCE to 500 CE. Many influential Western genre categories took shape in Greek and Roman literature.
Literary period : A span of literary history associated with shared historical conditions or artistic tendencies. Periods group works by historical setting, not primarily by shared conventions.
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