Transcript Forms of Literature

Forms of
Literature
Language Arts Standards:
7E1b.1 Structural Features of Informational Text
7E1c.1 Discuss the purposes and characteristics of
different forms of literary text
Prose
The ordinary form of written language.
 Most writing that is not poetry, drama, or
song is considered prose.
 Prose is one of the major genres of
literature and occurs in two forms, fiction
and nonfiction.
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Children’s Literature
A form of literature for readers and listeners
up to about age twelve and is often
illustrated.
 Children’s literature can include books that
are written by children, books written
specifically for children, or books that are
chosen by/for children.
 Two common forms of children’s literature
are picture books and chapter books.
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Picture Books
A book in which the colorful illustrations
are as important as the text, both
contributing to the telling of the story.
 Often use rhyme, repetition, and other
poetic elements to increase engagement
of young children.
 Picture books are often among the first
books introduced to children and are
usually intended to be read to them.
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Chapter Books
A book long enough to be divided into
chapters, but not long or complex enough
to be considered a novel.
 Chapter books intended for the youngest
children often contain some illustrations.
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Young Adult Literature
Books selected for reading by young adults, ages 13 to
18, whether published specifically for them or for the
general public.
 The vast majority of the stories published specifically for
young adults, portray an adolescent as the protagonist,
rather than an adult or a child.
 The subject matter and story lines are typically
consistent with the age and experience of the main
character.
 Themes in these stories often focus on the challenges of
youth.
 Despite its unique characteristics, this type of literature
shares the fundamental elements of fiction with other
stories: character, plot, setting, theme, and style.
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Young Adult Literature:
Coming-of-Age Story
A type of novel where the protagonist is initiated
into adulthood through knowledge, experience,
or both, often by a process of disillusionment.
 Some of the shifts that take place are these:
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ignorance to knowledge
innocence to experience
false view of world to correct view
idealism to realism
immature responses to mature responses
Short Story
A short story is a brief work of fiction.
 Although concise, is does contain all the literary
story elements.
 Like a novel, a short story presents a sequence of
events, or plot. The plot usually deals with a central
conflict faced by a main character, or protagonist.
 The events in a short story usually communicate a
message about life or human nature. The message,
or central idea, is the story’s theme.
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Novella
A work of fiction intermediate in length
and complexity between a short story and
a novel.
Novel
A novel is a long work of fiction.
 Novels contain all the elements of short stories,
including characters, plot, conflict, and setting.
 However, novels are much longer than short
stories. The writer of novels, or novelists, can
develop these elements more fully than a writer
of short stories can. In addition to its main plot,
a novel may contain one or more subplots, or
independent, related stories. A novel may also
have several themes.
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Poetry
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A form of literary art in which language is used
for its aesthetic qualities, and not usually for its
apparent meaning.
Poems are often divided into lines and stanzas
that employ regular rhythmical patterns, or
meters.
However, some poems are written out like prose
or free verse.
Most poems use highly concise musical and
emotionally charged language.
Many poems use imagery, figurative language,
and special devices such as rhyme.
Drama
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A drama is a story written to be performed by actors.
Although a drama is meant to be performed, one can
also read the script, or written version, and imagine the
action. The script of a drama is made up of dialogue and
stage directions. Both the dialogue and stage directions
aid comprehension when reading a drama.
 Dialogue- the words meant to be spoken by the
actors
 Stage directions- usually printed in italics, describe
the setting and effects of sound and lighting and tell
how the actors should look, move, and speak
 Dramas are often divided into parts called acts. The
acts are often divided into smaller parts called scenes.
Comic Book
A periodic publication containing pictures
and stories and articles of interest to those
who purchase it or subscribe to it
 cartoon strips, comic strips, and/or
funnies- a sequence of drawings telling a
story in a newspaper or comic book
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Graphic Novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in
which the story is conveyed to the reader
using sequential artwork.
 Unlike comic books, graphic novels usually
cover a story from start to finish, rather
than the traditional “cliffhanger” ending.
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Nonfiction Literature
Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir
 Informational Books
 Technical Manuals
 Reference Sources
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 Encyclopedias
 Dictionaries
 Thesaurus
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Articles, Essays, and Critiques
Essay
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An essay is a short nonfiction work about a particular
subject. Most essays have a single major focus and a
clear introduction, body, and conclusion. There are many
types of essays, but most can be placed into one of four
main categories.
Expository- relates information or provides explanations
Narrative- a story about a real-life experience
Persuasive- presents and supports an opinion
Descriptive (Most essays contain elements of description,
but few are purely descriptive essays.)
Critique
Critical Analysis/ Literary Analysis
1. (verb) the study of a literary work by a
critic, student, or scholar.
2. (noun) a report about the elements of
a literary work which is based on a
careful, detailed reading and analysis of
that work
Articles
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A stand-alone section of a larger written work.
These nonfictional prose compositions appear in
magazines, newspapers, academic journals, the Internet or
any other type of publication.
Articles can be divided into two main categories: news and
features.
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News Article- discusses current or recent news of either general
interest or on a specific topic
Feature- nonfiction articles that intend to inform, teach or amuse
the reader on a topic. The topic centers around human interests.
Feature stories may include conventions found in fiction such as
dialogue, plot and character. A feature article is an umbrella term
that includes many literary structures: personality sketches, essays,
how-to's, interviews and many others.
Resources:
http://www.nde.state.ne.us/read/framewo
rk/glossary/general_a-e.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org
 http://www.thefreedictionary.com
 http://www.virtualsalt.com/litterms.htm
 Prentice Hall Literature Bronze
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