The genre of the work. Dramatic genres of literature

These types of classification are not mutually exclusive, but demonstrate a different approach to the definition of genres. Therefore, the same book can refer to several of them at once.

Classification of genres of literature by gender

When classifying literary genres by gender, they start from the attitude of the author to what is presented. The basis for this classification was laid by Aristotle. According to this principle, four major genres are distinguished: epic, lyric, dramatic and lyric-epic. Each of them has its own "subgenres".

In epic genres, events are told about events that have already occurred, and the author writes them down according to his memories, while at the same time he is as far away from the assessments of what has been said. These include epic novels, short stories, myths, ballads, fables and epics.

Lyric genre involves the transfer of feelings experienced by the author in the form of a literary work in poetic form. These include odes, epigrams, epistles, and stanzas.

Classic example stanzas - "Childe Harold" Byron.

The lyric-epic genre combines the characteristics of the epic and lyric genres. These include ballads and poems, in which both the plot and author's attitude to what is happening.

The dramatic genre exists at the intersection of literature and theater. Nominally, it includes dramas, comedies and tragedies with a list of participating characters at the beginning and author's notes in the main text. However, in fact, it can be any work recorded in the form of a dialogue.

Classification of genres of literature by content

If we define works by content, then they are combined into three large groups: comedies, tragedies and dramas. Tragedy and drama, telling, respectively, about tragic fate heroes and about the emergence and overcoming of the conflict are quite homogeneous. Comedies are divided into several completely types, according to the action taking place: parody, farce, vaudeville, comedy of positions and characters, sketch and interlude.

Classification of genres of literature by form

When classifying genres by form, only such formal features as the structure and volume of a work are taken into account, regardless of their content.

Lyrical works are classified most clearly in this way; in prose, the boundaries are more blurred.

According to this principle, thirteen genres are distinguished: epic, epic, novel, short story, sketch, play, essay, essay, opus, ode and vision.

Sources:

• "Theory of Literature", V. V. Prozorov, 1987
• « Theoretical poetics: concepts and definitions ", ND Tamarchenko, 1999

Literary is a class of texts with a similar structure, content, limit of variability. There are many genre ov text, and you need to know their characteristics, if you do not want to be mistaken in choosing a type.

Instructions

In order to correctly characterize the text and refer it to a specific genre y, carefully read the work. Think whether it amuses you or upsets you, conveys the author's feelings for his heroes, or just talks about some events, struggles with insurmountable circumstances or with himself? If you can understand the text, you can easily find it literary genre.

There are three ways to classify literary genre ov. They are grouped by form, as a result of which they distinguish such types as, essay, story, ode. A play is a work of a writer intended to be performed from the stage, a story is a small narrative work in prose. A novel, as a rule, differs from a story in its scale. It tells about life and development

Which are combined on the basis of formal and substantive features. They take shape historically, experiencing the emergence, flowering, and some of the decline. They include novels, short stories, elegies, feuilletons, stories, comedies, etc. literary genres narrower than literary genera. Each contains several genres. For example, a story, a novel, a novel is included in the author's epic genus literature.

The first attempt to systematize literary genres was made in his, He presented them as something natural, established once and for all. The author had only to fit into the norms of the genre to which he turned. This understanding led to the emergence of a kind of textbooks on normative poetics. The most famous among them was the treatise "Poetic Art" by N. Boileau. Of course, since the time of Aristotle, literary genres and genres have not remained completely unchanged, but theorists preferred either to ignore the innovations or to reject them. This lasted until it became impossible not to notice the processes taking place in the literature. Some genres of literary works suddenly took off and just as quickly died out, only occasionally flaring up in the creative horizon (as was the case with the ballad). Others, on the contrary, came out of an undeserved "conclusion" (for example, a novel).

In Russian literary criticism, the theory that substantiates literary genres and genres belongs to V.G.Belinsky. He identified three kinds, depending on the author's approach to the way of presenting the subject of conversation: epic, drama and lyrics.

The assignment of a work to a specific genre depends on what criterion is taken as a basis. If the literary gender (drama, lyrics, epic) is taken into account, then all genres are divided, respectively, into dramatic, lyrical and epic.

Works representing the dramatic genus of literature are comedy, drama and tragedy.

Comedy is designed to reflect something incongruous in life, to ridicule everyday or social phenomenon, features human character, sometimes absurd behavior.

A drama is a work depicting a complex conflict between several characters, a serious opposition between them.

Tragedy is a work in which the character character is revealed in the struggle leading to his death, or in conditions from which he sees absolutely no way out.

Literary works representing the epic genus of literature fall into three groups:

Large (novel, and epic);

Medium (story);

Small (short story, sketch, story).

Also this genre includes a fairy tale, an epic, a ballad, a fable, historical song and myth.

Works representing the lyrical kind of literature are stanzas, ode, elegy and message.

Elegy is a small poem completely imbued with light sadness. The most famous are the elegies of the classics of the 19th century.

A message is a work written in the form of a poetic appeal to one person or to several persons.

Oda is a poem in honor of a past or upcoming celebration, in honor of a person, characterized by enthusiasm.

Moreover, on the present stage literary scholars single out another, lyric-epic, type of literature. It combines the features of the lyric and the epic and is represented by a poem. This work really manifests itself ambiguously. On the one hand, it tells in detail about some event, character (like the epic), and on the other hand, it conveys the feelings, moods, experiences of the hero or the narrator himself, inner world, thus approaching the lyrics.

V recent times new genres did not appear in literature.

VG Belinsky was one of the founders of Russian literary criticism. And although even in antiquity, serious steps were taken in the development of the concept literary kind(Aristotle), it is Belinsky who owns the scientifically grounded theory of three literary genera, with which you can get acquainted in detail by reading Belinsky's article "The division of poetry into genera and types."

There are three kinds fiction: epic(from the Greek Epos, narration), lyrical(lyre was called musical instrument, accompanied by verses in chant) and dramatic(from the Greek. Drama, action).

Introducing a particular subject to the reader (meaning the subject of conversation), the author chooses different approaches to it:

First approach: can be detailed tell about the subject, about the events associated with it, about the circumstances of the existence of this subject, etc .; in this case, the position of the author will be more or less detached, the author will act as a kind of chronicler, storyteller, or choose a storyteller from one of the characters; the main thing in such a work will be precisely the story, the narration about the subject, the leading type of speech will be precisely narration; this kind of literature is called epic;

The second approach: you can tell not so much about events as about impression which they produced on the author, about those feelings which they caused; image inner world, experiences, impressions and will relate to the lyrical nature of literature; exactly experience becomes the main event of the lyrics;

Third approach: you can portray item in action, show him on stage; imagine its reader and viewer surrounded by other phenomena; this kind of literature is dramatic; in a drama, the author's voice will be the least likely to sound - in the remarks, that is, the author's explanations to the actions and remarks of the heroes.

Review the table and try to remember its contents:

Childbirth of fiction

Each type of literature, in turn, includes a number of genres.

GENRE is a historically developed group of works united by common features of content and form. Such groups include novels, stories, poems, elegies, short stories, feuilletons, comedies, etc. Literary studies often introduce the concept literary type, it is a broader concept than a genre. In this case, the novel will be considered a type of fiction, and genres - various varieties of the novel, for example, adventure, detective, psychological, parable novel, dystopian novel, etc.

Examples of genus relations in literature:

• Genus: dramatic; view: comedy; genre: sitcom.
• Genus: epic; view: story; genre: fantastic story etc.

Genres as categories historical, appear, develop and eventually "leave" from the "active stock" of artists, depending on historical era: the ancient lyricists did not know the sonnet; in our time, an archaic genre that was born in antiquity and popular in XVII-XVIII centuries Oh yeah; romanticism XIX century brought to life detective literature etc.

Consider the following table, which shows the types and genres related to the different kinds of word art:

Genera, types and genres of fiction

Modern literary criticism also distinguishes fourth, a related genus of literature, combining the features of the epic and lyrical birth: lyro-epic to which the poem... Indeed, by telling the reader a story, the poem manifests itself as an epic; revealing to the reader the depth of feelings, the inner world of the person telling this story, the poem manifests itself as lyrics.

In the table you came across the expression "small genres". Epic and lyrical works are divided into large and small genres to a greater extent in terms of volume. The large ones include an epic, a novel, a poem, and small ones - a story, a story, a fable, a song, a sonnet, etc.

Read the statement of V. Belinsky about the genre of the story:

If the story, according to Belinsky, is a "leaf from the book of life", then, using his metaphor, one can figuratively define the novel from the genre point of view as "a chapter from the book of life", and the story - as "a line from the book of life".

Small epic genres to which the story belongs is "intense" by the content of prose: the writer, due to the small volume, does not have the opportunity to "spread his thoughts along the tree", to get carried away detailed descriptions, enumerations, reproduce a large number of events in detail, and the reader often needs a lot to say.

The story is characterized by the following features:

• small volume;
• the plot is most often based on one event, the rest are only plotted by the author;
• a small number of characters: as a rule, one or two central characters;
• the author is interested in a specific topic;
• one is decided main question, the rest of the questions are "derived" from the main one.

So,
STORY is a small prose with one or two main characters, dedicated to the image of a single event. Somewhat more voluminous story, but the difference between a story and a story is not always possible to catch: A. Chekhov's work "Duel" is called by some a small story, and some - a big story. The following is important: as the critic E. Anichkov wrote at the beginning of the 20th century, " in the center of the stories is the person's personality, but not whole group of people".

The flowering of Russian small prose begins in the 20s of the XIX century, which gave excellent examples of small epic prose, among which are the unconditional masterpieces of Pushkin ("Belkin's Tales", " The Queen of Spades") and Gogol (" Evenings on a farm near Dikanka ", Petersburg stories), romantic novellas by A. Pogorelsky, A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, V. Odoevsky and others. epic works F. Dostoevsky ("Dream funny person"," Notes from the Underground "), N. Leskova (" Lefty "," Dumb Artist "," Lady Macbeth Mtsensk district"), I. Turgenev (" Hamlet of the Shchigrovsky district "," King Lear of the Steppe "," Ghosts "," Notes of a Hunter "), L. Tolstoy (" Prisoner of the Caucasus"," Hadji Murat "," Cossacks ", Sevastopol stories), A. Chekhov as the greatest master short story, works by V. Garshin, D. Grigorovich, G. Uspensky and many others.

The twentieth century also did not remain in debt - and there are stories by I. Bunin, A. Kuprin, M. Zoshchenko, Teffi, A. Averchenko, M. Bulgakov ... Even such recognized lyricists as A. Blok, N. Gumilyov, M. Tsvetaeva "have humbled themselves to despicable prose," in the words of Pushkin. It can be argued that at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, the small genre of epics took leading position in Russian literature.

And for this reason alone, one should not think that the story raises any minor problems and touches on shallow topics. The form story laconic, and the plot is sometimes uncomplicated and concerns, at first glance, simple, as L. Tolstoy said, "natural" relations: the complex chain of events in the story simply has nowhere to unfold. But this is precisely the task of the writer, in order to enclose a serious and often inexhaustible subject of conversation in a small space of the text.

If the plot of the miniature I. Bunin "Muravsky Shlyakh", consisting of only 64 words, captures only a few moments of the conversation between the traveler and the driver in the middle of the endless steppe, then the plot of the story A. Chekhova "Ionych" would be enough for a whole novel: artistic time the story covers almost a decade and a half. But the author does not care what happened to the hero at each stage of this time: it is enough for him to "snatch" from the hero's life chain several "links" - episodes, similar to each other, like drops of water, and the whole life of Doctor Startsev becomes extremely clear to the author, and the reader. "As you live one day of your life, so you will live your whole life," Chekhov seems to say. At the same time, the writer, reproducing the atmosphere in the house of the most "cultured" family provincial town S., can focus on the knock of knives from the kitchen and the smell of fried onions ( artistic details! ), but to say about several years of a person's life as if they did not exist at all, or it was a "passing", uninteresting time: "Four years have passed," "Several more years have passed," as if it was not worth wasting time and paper on the image of such a trifle ...

Image Everyday life of a person, devoid of external storms and shocks, but in a routine that makes a person forever wait for never coming happiness, has become a cross-cutting theme of A. Chekhov's stories, which determined further development Russian small prose.

Historical upheavals undoubtedly dictate other themes and plots to the artist. M. Sholokhov in a cycle of Don stories speaks of terrible and beautiful human destinies in a time of revolutionary upheaval. But the point here is not so much in the revolution itself as in eternal problem man's struggle with himself, in the eternal tragedy of the collapse of the old familiar world, which humanity has experienced many times. And therefore Sholokhov turns to plots that have long been rooted in world literature, depicting private human life as if in the context of the world legendary history... So, in the story "Mole" Sholokhov uses an ancient, like world, plot about a duel between a father and a son, not recognized by each other, which we meet in Russian epics, in the epics of ancient Persia and medieval Germany ... But if ancient epic the tragedy of the father, who killed his son in the battle, explains the laws of fate, not subject to man, then Sholokhov talks about the problem of man's choice of his life path, a choice that determines all further events and in the end makes one a beast in human form, and the other equal greatest heroes of the past.

• A. Pushkin. Stories "Dubrovsky", "Snowstorm"
• N. Gogol. The stories "The Night Before Christmas", "Taras Bulba", "The Overcoat", "Nevsky Prospect".
• I.S. Turgenev. Tale " Noble Nest";" Notes of a Hunter "(2-3 stories optional); story" Asya "
• N.S. Leskov. Stories "Lefty", "Dumb artist"
• Leo Tolstoy. Short stories "After the Ball", "The Death of Ivan Ilyich"
• M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. Fairy tales " Wise minnow"," Bogatyr "," Bear in the Voivodeship "
• A.P. Chekhov. Stories "Jumping", "Ionych", "Gooseberry", "About Love", "Lady with a Dog", "Ward number six", "In the ravine"; other stories of your choice
• I.A. Bunin. Stories and stories "The gentleman from San Francisco", "Dry land", " Light breath", "Antonov apples", "Dark alleys"AIKuprin. The story" Olesya ", the story" Garnet bracelet "
• M. Gorky. Stories "The Old Woman Izergil", "Makar Chudra", "Chelkash"; collection "Untimely Thoughts"
• A.N. Tolstoy. The story "Viper"
• M. Sholokhov. Stories "Birthmark", "Another's Blood", "The Fate of a Man";
• M. Zoshchenko. Stories "Aristocrat", "Monkey tongue", "Love" and others of your choice
• A.I.Solzhenitsyn. The story "Matrenin's yard"
• V. Shukshin. The stories "I Believe!", "Boots", "Space, nervous system and shmat bacon "," Mil pardon, madam! "," Stalled "

Before doing task 6, refer to the dictionary and install exact value concept with which you have to work.

• Grechnev V.Ya. Russian story of the end XIX-beginning XX century. - L., 1979.
• Zhuk A.A. Russian prose second half of the XIX century. - M .: Education, 1981.
• Literary encyclopedic Dictionary... - M., 1987.
• Literary criticism: Reference materials... - M., 1988.
• Russian story of the XIX century: History and problems of the genre. - L., 1973.

Then, to:

a) learn skills in your own genre;
b) know exactly which publisher to offer the manuscript to;
c) study your target audience and to offer the book not to “everyone at all,” but to those people who might be interested in it.

What is fiction?

Fiction refers to all works that have a fictional plot and fictional characters: novels, short stories, stories and plays.

Memoirs are non-fiction because it comes about non-fictional events, but they are written according to the canons of fiction - with a plot, heroes, etc.

But poetry, including lyrics, is fiction, even if the author recalls a past love that actually happened.

Types of adult fiction

Fiction is divided into genre literature, mainstream and intellectual prose.

Genre literature

In genre literature, the plot plays the first violin, while it fits into a certain, previously known framework.

This does not mean that all genre novels must be predictable. The skill of the writer lies precisely in creating a unique world, unforgettable characters and an interesting way to get from point "A" (connection) to point "B" (denouement) under the given conditions.

Usually, genre work ends on a positive note, the author does not delve into psychology and other lofty matters and tries to simply entertain the readers.

Basic plot schemes in genre literature

Detective: crime - investigation - exposure of the offender.

Love story: heroes meet - fall in love - fight for love - unite hearts.

Thriller: the hero lived his ordinary life- a threat arises - the hero tries to escape - the hero gets rid of the danger.

Adventures: the hero sets a goal for himself and, overcoming many obstacles, achieves what he wants.

When we talk about science fiction, fantasy, historical or modern novel, we are talking not so much about the plot as about the scenery, therefore, when defining the genre, two or three terms are used that allow us to answer the questions: "What happens in the novel?" and "Where is going on?" If we are talking about children's literature, then a corresponding note is made.

Examples: "modern love story"," Fantastic thriller "(thriller is an adventure)," historical detective "," children's adventure story "," a fairy tale for primary school age. "

Genre prose, as a rule, is published in series - either author's or general.

Mainstream

In the mainstream (from the English. mainstream- main stream) readers expect unexpected solutions from the author. For this type of book, the most important thing is moral development heroes, philosophy and ideology. The requirements for a mainstream author are much higher than for writers working with genre prose: he must be not only an excellent storyteller, but also a good psychologist and a serious thinker.

One more important sign mainstream - such books are written at the intersection of genres. For example, it is impossible to say unequivocally that “ gone With the Wind" - this is only love story or only historical drama.

By the way, the drama itself, that is, the story of the tragic experience of the heroes, is also a sign of the mainstream.

Typically, novels of this type are released outside of the series. This is due to the fact that serious works are written for a long time and it is rather problematic to form a series out of them. Moreover, the authors of the mainstream are so different from each other that it is difficult to group their books on any basis other than "good book."

When specifying a genre in mainstream novels, the emphasis is usually not so much on the plot, but on some features books: historical drama, novel in letters, fantastic saga, etc.

The emergence of the term

The very term "mainstream" originated from American writer and the critic William Dean Howells (1837–1920). As editor of one of the most popular and influential literary magazines of its time, The atlantic monthly, he gave a clear preference for works written in a realistic manner and focusing on moral and philosophical issues.

Thanks to Howells realistic literature came into vogue, and for some time it was she who was called the mainstream. The term stuck in English language, and from there moved to Russia.

Intellectual prose

In the overwhelming majority of cases, intellectual prose has a gloomy mood and is released outside the series.

Main genres of fiction

Approximate classification

When submitting an application to a publisher, we must indicate the genre - so that our manuscript is sent to the appropriate editor.

Below is an approximate list of genres as they are understood in publishers and bookstores.

• Avant-garde literature. It is characterized by violation of the canons and by language and plot experiments. As a rule, the avant-garde comes out in very small editions. Closely intertwined with intellectual prose.
• Action movie. Focused primarily on the male audience. The plot is based on fights, chases, saving beauties, etc.
• Detective. The main story line- crime disclosure.
• Historical novel... The time of action is the past. The plot, as a rule, is tied to significant historical events.
• Love story. Heroes find love.
• Mystic. The plot is based on supernatural events.
• Adventures. The heroes get involved in an adventure and / or embark on a risky journey.
• Thriller / horror. The heroes are in mortal danger, from which they are trying to get rid of.
• Fantastic. The plot is twisted in a hypothetical future or in parallel world... One of the varieties of fiction is alternative history.
• Fantasy / fairy tales. The main features of the genre are fairy worlds, magic, unseen creatures, talking animals, etc. Often based on folklore.

What is non-fiction?

Non-fiction books are classified by topic (eg gardening, history, etc.) and type (scientific monograph, collection of articles, photo album, etc.).

Below is the classification of nonfiction books, as is done in bookstores. When applying to a publisher, indicate the topic and type of book - for example, a textbook on writing.

Classification of non-fiction literature

• autobiographies, biographies and memoirs;
• architecture and art;
• astrology and esoterics;
• business and finance;
• military establishment;
• upbringing and education;
• house, garden, vegetable garden;
• health;
• history;
• career;
• computers;
• local history;
• love and family relationships;
• fashion and beauty;
• music, cinema, radio;
• science and technology;
• food and cooking;
• gift editions;
• politics, economics, law;
• guidebooks and travel guides;
• religion;
• self-development and psychology;
• Agriculture;
• dictionaries and encyclopedias;
• sport;
• philosophy;
• hobby;
• school textbooks;
• linguistics and literature.