CWRC Literary Genre Ontology Specification - 0.1

Versions of written works produced by condensation and omission but with retention of the general meaning and manner of presentation of the original, often prepared by someone other than the author of the original. (Getty, 2017)

A novel in which the characters and plots are fictionalized, but can actually be recognized as real people and events in disguise. French for "novel with a key." (DBpedia, 2017)

Short poems or prose compositions in which text is arranged so that the first letters of each line form a word, phrase, or motto. (Getty, 2017)

Written works or works derived from written works, where the second work is an alteration or amendment a text to make it suitable for another purpose. An example of an adaptation is a version of an earlier text made to better agree with a philosophy other than that intended by the original. Other examples are written works adapted for another medium, such as film, broadcasting, or stage production. For visual works adapted from another work, use "adaptations (derivative objects)."

Action-filled fiction in which a protagonist is removed from her or his ordinary life to undertake some sort of journey or quest. Along the way, the protagonist is exposed to extraordinary events and physical dangers that put his or her virtues, such as bravery, to the test. (Oxford, 2015)

The text of an advertisement for any type of medium. Typically short, and full of attention-grabbing, persuasive language that aims to quickly convince a consumer to make a purchase. (WebFinance Inc., 2017)

A short drama performed after a main play, popularized in the 1700s as justification for a new half-price entrance fee charged to latecomers. Typically a comedic one-act, regardless of the genre of the preceding play. (Penguin, 1999)

A section that appears towards the end of a book, does not form part of the main body, and often concludes or summarizes. (Oxford, 2015)

Derived from agitation propaganda, meaning intended to inspire political action. With reference to visual art, refers to the specific art movement arising in Soviet Russia following the Bolshevik revolution. (Getty, 2017)

Literary works, art works, or other creative works that employ allegory to express complex abstract ideas, for example works that employ symbolic, fictional figures and actions to express truths or generalizations about human conduct or experience. (Getty, 2017)

1- Anagrammatic poetry is poetry with the constrained form that either each line or each verse is an anagram of all other lines or verses in the poem. A poet that specializes in anagrams is an anagrammarian. Writing anagrammatic poetry is a form of a constrained writing similar to writing pangrams or long alliterations. (DBpedia, 2017)

2- Words or phrases made by transposing the letters of other words or phrases. (Getty, 2017)

Notes added as comment or explanation, such as those accompanying an entry in a bibliography, reading list, or catalogue intended to describe, explain, or evaluate the publication referred to. (Getty, 2017)

A form of intertextuality in which an author writes a response to a work by another writer, typically to argue against the statements of that work. Often takes the form of an essay or letter.

A song in which the lyrics promote pride in and allegiance to the identity and values of a particular group, such as a nation, sports team, or social cause. (Oxford, 2015)

Collections of choice extracts, from the writings of one author, or various authors, and usually having a common characteristic such as subject matter or literary form. (Getty, 2017)

A text that rejects in some way the form of the romance novel. Often linked to satirical and picaresque novels.

Short, pithy statements of principle or precepts, often of known authorship; distinguished from "proverbs" which are statements repeated colloquially and which often embody the folk wisdom of a group or nation. (Getty, 2017)

A text in which a writer defends the possibly controversial opinions contained in his or her writing. (Oxford, 2015)

"The study or practice of the analytical description, interpretation, and evaluation of visual art works and exhibitions." (Getty, 2017)

Documents of any type that are biographies of individuals written by themselves. For the overall genre, use "autobiography (genre)."(Getty, 2017)

A ballade (from French ballade, [baˈlad], and German Ballade, [baˈlaːdə], both being words for "ballad"), in classical music since the late 18th century, refers to a setting of a literary ballad, a narrative poem, in the musical tradition of the Lied, or to a one-movement instrumental piece with lyrical and dramatic narrative qualities reminiscent of such a song setting, especially a piano ballad. (DBpedia, 2017)

A drama combining song and spoken dialogue, popularized in the 1700s by John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. It can be seen as a precursor to the modern musical. (Penguin, 1999)

"Dramatic entertainments consisting of dance and mime performed to music. Ballets are characterized by stylized poses and steps that are combined with light and flowing figures and movements, such as leaps and turns; often combined with music, scenery, costume, and sometimes pantomime or speech to convey a story, theme, or atmosphere to the audience." (Getty, 2017)

A folk dance originating in Bergamo, Italy, in the 16th century, but often included in theatre productions unrelated to Italian culture. (Merriam-Webster, 2017)

Collections of moralized fables, especially as written in the Middle Ages, about actual or mythical animals. (Getty, 2017)

A work that rewords the text of the Bible, often to improve clarity or to make it accessible to a wider audience.

Novels of a traditional German genre that focuses on the spiritual development or formative years of an individual. Now in broad use to refer to this type of novel written in any language or in any culture. (Getty, 2017)

A reference text containing biographical entries on multiple people, often with a common link between them (for example, a biographical dictionary of women), and typically arranged alphabetically.

1- Brief profiles of a people's life or work. (Getty, 2017)

2- The genre of nonfiction that concerns accounts of the lives of individuals. For examples of this genre, prefer "biographies (documents)." (Getty, 2017)

Fiction dealing with bisexuality.

A black comedy (or dark comedy) is a comic work that employs morbid humor, which, in its simplest form, is humor that makes light of subject matter usually considered taboo. Black humor corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor. Black comedy is often controversial due to its subject matter. (DBpedia, 2017)

The result of a game popularized in 17th-century France in which a poet must write a logical poem using a list of random rhyming words written by someone else. (Oxford, 2015)

Large sheets of paper with a poem or song, especially a ballad, printed on only one side. (Oxford, 2015)

A form of comic drama set to music, first popularized in the 1700s. (Penguin, 1999)

Various forms of entertainment, often involving dancing, singing, or comedy acts, performed at a venue such as a nightclub in which the audience is seated at tables. Live music played in restaurants or public houses would not usually be considered cabaret without an additional component. (Oxford, 2015)

Captivity narratives are usually stories of people captured by enemies whom they consider uncivilized, or whose beliefs and customs they oppose. The best-known captivity narratives are those concerning the indigenous peoples of North America. These narratives (and questions about their accuracy) have an enduring place in literature, history, ethnography, and the study of Native peoples. However, captivity narratives have also come to play a major role in the study of contemporary religious movements, thanks to scholars of religion like David G. Bromley and James R. Lewis. In this article, both main types of captivity narratives are considered. Traditionally, historians have made limited use of certain captivity narratives. They have regarded the genre with suspicion because of its ideological underpinnings. As a result of new scholarly approaches, historians with a more certain grasp of Native American cultures are distinguishing between plausible statements of fact and value-laden judgements in order to study the narratives as rare sources from "inside" Native societies. Contemporary historians such as Linda Colley and anthropologists such as Pauline Turner Strong have also found the narratives useful in analyzing how the colonists constructed the "other", as well as what the narratives reveal about the settlers' sense of themselves and their culture, and the experience of crossing the line to another. Colley has studied the long history of English captivity in other cultures, both the Barbary pirate captives who preceded those in North America, and British captives in cultures such as India, after the North American experience. Certain North American captivity narratives involving Native peoples were published from the 18th through the 19th centuries, but they reflected a well-established genre in English literature. There had already been English accounts of captivity by Barbary pirates, or in the Middle East, which established some of the major elements of the form. Following the American experience, additional accounts were written after British people were captured during exploration and settlement in India and East Asia. Other types of captivity narratives, such as those recounted by apostates from religious movements (i.e. "cult survivor" tales), have remained an enduring feature of modern media, and currently appear in books, periodicals, film, and television. The unifying factor in most captivity narratives, whether they stem from geopolitical or religious conflicts, is that the captive portrays the captors' way of life as alien, undesirable, and incompatible with the captive's own (typically dominant) culture. This underscores the utility of captivity narratives in garnering support for social control measures, such as removing Native Americans to "reservations", or stigmatizing participation in religious movements – whether Catholicism in the nineteenth century, or ISKCON in the twentieth. Captivity narratives tend to be culturally chauvinistic, viewing an "alien" culture through the lens of the narrator's preferred culture, thus making (possibly unfair) value judgements like "Puritans good, Indians bad." (DBpedia, 2017)

1- Manuals or guides for instructing through a series of questions and answers, especially for religious instruction. (Getty, 2017)

2- A catechism (/ˈkætəˌkizəm/; from Greek: κατηχέω, to teach orally), is a summary or exposition of doctrine and served as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult converts. Catechisms are doctrinal manuals - often in the form of questions followed by answers to be memorised - a format in non-religious or secular contexts as well. The term catechumen refers to the designated recipient of the catechetical work or instruction. In the Catholic Church, catachumens were usually placed separately during Holy Mass from those who received the Sacrament of Baptism. Early catecheticals emerged from Graeco-Roman mystery religions, especially the late cult of Mithras meant to educate their members into the secretive teachings, which competed with the Christian Church as an underground religion in the 1st to 4th centuries CE and allegedly shared its many ritual practices. Today, they are characteristic of Western Christianity but are also present in Eastern Christianity. (DBpedia, 2017)

Small books or pamphlets, usually cheaply printed and containing such texts as popular tales, treatises, ballads, or nursery rhymes, formerly peddled by chapmen. (Getty, 2017)

Any representation of an individual being presented in a dramatic or narrative work through extended dramatic or verbal representation. The reader can interpret characters as endowed with moral and dispositional qualities expressed in what they say (dialogue) and what they do (action). (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

A form of riddle in which clues are given about each syllable of a word so that the entire word may be guessed. Originally, these riddles were written, often in the form of a poem, but it soon gained popularity as a parlour game in which the clues were mimed rather than written in verse. (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2017)

Literature written and published for children. (Getty, 2017)

A clerihew is a whimsical, four-line biographical poem invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley. The first line is the name of the poem's subject, usually a famous person put in an absurd light. The rhyme scheme is AABB, and the rhymes are often forced. The line length and metre are irregular. Bentley invented the clerihew in school and then popularized it in books. (DBpedia, 2017)

A drama, often written in verse and frequently with extensive stage directions, that is meant to be read in private rather than performed for an audience. (Oxford, 2015)

Books containing outline drawings, for coloring in with crayons, watercolor, colored pencils, or other media, usually intended for use by children. (Getty, 2017)

Genre encompassing forms of theatre, literature, and improvisation with the basic objective to amuse, humor, and induce laughter. In general, it is often contrasted with tragedy and can be applied in the form of social criticism through satire and political or intellectual wit or applied in the form of pure spectacle through farce or burlesque. (Getty, 2017)

A dramatic form popularized in the 16th century in which the comedy depends on complex plots, surprising twists, and ridiculous situations. The characters and their development tend to be secondary to plot in importance. (Penguin, 1999)

The comedy of manners is an entertainment form which satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class or of multiple classes, often represented by stereotypical stock characters. For example, the miles gloriosus ("boastful soldier") in ancient times, the fop and the rake during the English Restoration, or an old person pretending to be young. Restoration comedy is used as a synonym for "comedy of manners". The plot of the comedy, often concerned with scandal, is generally less important than its witty dialogue. A great writer of comedies of manners was Oscar Wilde, his most famous play being The Importance of Being Earnest. The comedy of manners was first developed in the new comedy of the Ancient Greek playwright Menander. His style, elaborate plots, and stock characters were imitated by the Roman playwrights Plautus and Terence, whose comedies were widely known and copied during the Renaissance. The best-known comedies of manners, however, may well be those of the French playwright Molière, who satirized the hypocrisy and pretension of the ancien régime in such plays as L'École des femmes (The School for Wives, 1662), Le Misanthrope (The Misanthrope, 1666), and most famously Tartuffe (1664). (DBpedia, 2017)

A type of comedic drama in which the dark humour stems from the main characters’ fear, irrational or not, that some dark force threatens them. (Penguin, 1999)

Sequence of illustrations containing a story or stories (called "comics," because some are humorous), often serialized, published in booklet form. (Getty, 2017)

Pertaining to the process of coming out sexually.

Books in which noteworthy literary passages, cogent quotations, poems, comments, recipes, prescriptions, and other miscellaneous document types are written. (Getty, 2017)

An authoritative and often academic handbook or collection providing a guide to and overview of a subject field, composed of short entries or longer essays, and generally encycopedic in scope or structure.

A compilation of coded instructions or sequence of code that, when run, achieves a certain task in a mechanism, usually a computer. (Getty, 2017)

A form of narrative fiction, named for a phrase from Thomas Carlyle's “Chartism” (1839), that addresses Victorian social and political issues with a focus on political unrest and class conflict, and typically seeks to instill empathy for the poor and understanding of social iniquities and injustices. Closely related to the industrial novel because of its interest in the impact of the industrial revolution.

Prescriptive literature, usually directed to a specific gender, that outlines the rules of appropriate behaviour according to the gender roles and societal norms prevalent at the time of writing. Conduct books became very popular in the 18th century. (Penguin, 1999)

1- A cookbook (sometimes cookery book in Commonwealth English or cook book) is a kitchen reference publication that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions. Cookbooks can also cover a wide variety of topics, including cooking techniques for the home, recipes and commentary from famous chefs, institutional kitchen manuals, and cultural commentary. (DBpedia, 2017)

2- Reference publications containing collections of recipes with ancillary content on selection of ingredients or the broader context of the types of cooking presented. Contemporary cookbooks may focus on cultural or regional themes. (Getty, 2017)

Fiction in which courtship is a major part of the plot.

Scholarship, typically non-fiction, dealing with the study of crime, criminals, and criminal justice.

A short bit of text conventionally appearing before the start of a novel or poem in which the author or poet addresses some individual, invoking his or her gratitude or thanks to that individual. Frequently, the dedication is to a spouse, friend, loved one, child, mentor, or individual who inspired the work. Several of the Inklings dedicated specific fictional works to each other (or in the case of C.S. Lewis, to children of fellow Inklings). Among scholars, one of the most significant types of dedications is a festschrift. A festschrift is a collection of essays or studies in book form, dedicated to a former teacher or professor in his or her advanced age. The individual scholarly writings come from his or her students, who typically collaborate to organize the work and contact the publisher, and they present the collection to the teacher upon its publication. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—either professional or amateur—investigates a crime, often murder.

Christian devotional literature (also called devotionals or Christian living literature) is religious writing that is neither doctrinal nor theological, but designed for individuals to read for their personal edification and spiritual formation. Theologian Karl Holl has suggested that devotional literature came into full development at the time of Pietism during the second half of the 17th century. (DBpedia, 2017)

A popular style of fiction in the 17th and 18th centuries featuring conversations between the ghosts of well-known figures. Based on the satirical Dialogues of the Dead by Lucian (120-around 180 CE), but not necessarily satirical themselves. (Mazella, 2007)

A text made up of a conversation between two or more characters, often in which the characters take up opposing sides of an argument. (Oxford, 2015)

Refers to books containing the daily, personal accounts of the writer's own experiences, attitudes, and observations. Use "journals (accounts)" when referring to an individual's or an organization's account of occurrences or transactions. (Getty, 2017)

Reference sources containing alphabetical lists of words with information given for each word; generally including meanings, pronunciation, etymology, and often usage guidance. (Getty, 2017)

Writing that is "preachy" or seeks overtly to convince a reader of a particular point or lesson. Medieval homilies and Victorian moral essays are often held up as examples of didactic literature, but one might argue that all literature is didactic to one extent or another since the written word frequently implies or suggests an authorial attitude. Sometimes, the lesson is overtly religious, as in the case of sermons or in literature like Milton's Paradise Lost, which seeks to "justify God's ways to men." In a more subtle way, much of Romantic literature hints at a critique of urbanized and mechanized life in 19th-century London. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

Enumerations of names, addresses, and other data about specific groups of persons or organizations; may appear in alphabetic or graphic format. (Getty, 2017)

"Written treatises, or the records of a discourse on a subject, usually prepared and presented as the final requirement for a degree or diploma and typically based on independent research and giving evidence of the candidate's mastery of the subject and of scholarly method." (Getty, 2017)

"Written, oral, sound, or photographic recordings, or presentations in other media that explain or re-create actual events, eras, life stories, or other factual information in a manner purporting to be objective and accurate." (Getty, 2017)

Domestic realism normally refers to the genre of nineteenth-century novels popular with women readers. This body of writing is also known as "sentimental fiction" or "woman's fiction". The genre is mainly reflected in the novel though short-stories and non-fiction works such as Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Our Country Neighbors" and The New Housekeeper's Manual written by Stowe and her sister-in-law Catharine Beecher are works of domestic realism. The style's particular characteristics are: "1. Plot focuses on a heroine who embodies one of two types of exemplar: the angel and the practical woman (Reynolds) who sometimes exist in the same work. Baym says that this heroine is contrasted with the passive woman (incompetent, cowardly, ignorant; often the heroine's mother is this type) and the "belle," who is deprived of a proper education. 2. The heroine struggles for self-mastery, learning the pain of conquering her own passions (Tompkins, Sensational Designs, 172). 3. The heroine learns to balance society's demands for self-denial with her own desire for autonomy, a struggle often addressed in terms of religion. 4. She suffers at the hands of abusers of power before establishing a network of surrogate kin. 5. The plots "repeatedly identify immersion in feeling as one of the great temptations and dangers for a developing woman. They show that feeling must be controlled. . . " (Baym 25). Frances Cogan notes that the heroines thus undergo a full education within which to realize feminine obligations (The All-American Girl). 6. The tales generally end with marriage, usually one of two possible kinds: A. Reforming the bad or "wild" male, as in Augusta Evans's St. Elmo (1867) B. Marrying the solid male who already meets her qualifications.Examples: Maria Cummins, The Lamplighter (1854) and Susan Warner, The Wide, Wide World (1850) 7. The novels may use a "language of tears" that evokes sympathy from the readers. 8. Richard Brodhead (Cultures of Letters) sees class as an important issue, as the ideal family or heroine is poised between a lower-class family exemplifying poverty and domestic disorganization and upper-class characters exemplifying an idle, frivolous existence (94)." An example of this style of novel is Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres in which the main character's confinement is emphasized in such a way. Some early exponents of the genre of domestic realism were Jane Austen and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. (DBpedia, 2017)

A composition in prose or verse presenting, in pantomime and dialogue, a narrative involving conflict between a character or characters and some external or internal force (see conflict). Playwrights usually design dramas for presentation on a stage in front of an audience. Aristotle called drama "imitated human action." Drama may have originated in religious ceremonies. Thespis of Attica (sixth century BCE) was the first recorded composer of a tragedy. Tragedies in their earliest stage were performed by a single actor who interacted with the chorus. The playwright Aeschylus added a second actor on the stage (deuteragonist) to allow additional conflict and dialogue. Sophocles and Euripides added a third (tritagonist). Medieval drama may have evolved independently from rites commemorating the birth and death of Christ. During the late medieval period and the early Renaissance, drama gradually altered to the form we know today. The mid-sixteenth century in England in particular was one of the greatest periods of world drama. In traditional Greek drama, as defined by Aristotle, a play was to consist of five acts and follow the three dramatic unities. In more recent drama (i.e., during the last two centuries), plays have frequently consisted of three acts, and playwrights have felt more comfortable disregarding the confines of Aristotelian rules involving verisimilitude. See also unities, comedy, tragedy, revenge play, miracle play, morality play, and mystery play. An individual work of drama is called a play. DRAMATIC CONVENTION: See convention. DRAMATIC IRONY: See irony. DRAMATIC (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

Dramatic monologue, also known as a persona poem, is a type of poetry written in the form of a speech of an individual character. M.H. Abrams notes the following three features of the dramatic monologue as it applies to poetry. (DBpedia, 2017)

Literature, typically a poem and frequently an allegory or symbolic tale, in which the plot is a dream recounted by a narrator who dreamed it. (Oxford, 2015)

(from Greek, dys topos, "bad place"): The opposite of a utopia, a dystopia is an imaginary society in fictional writing that represents, as M. H. Abrams puts it, "a very unpleasant imaginary world in which ominous tendencies of our present social, political, and technological order are projected in some disastrous future culmination" (Glossary 218). For instance, while a utopia presents readers with a place where all the citizens are happy and ruled by a virtuous, efficient, rational government, a dystopia presents readers with a world where all citizens are universally unhappy, manipulated, and repressed by a sinister, sadistic totalitarian state. This government exists at best to further its own power and at worst seeks actively to destroy its own citizens' creativity, health, and happiness. Examples of fictional dystopias include Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, George Orwell's 1984, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, and Ursula Le Guin's The Dispossessed. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

An eclogue is a poem in a classical style on a pastoral subject. Poems in the genre are sometimes also called bucolics. (DBpedia, 2017)

Mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poems, especially funeral songs or laments for the dead. (Getty, 2017)

Books, set of books, or disks, containing informational articles on subjects in every field of knowledge, or limited to a special field or subject, usually arranged in alphabetical order. (Getty, 2017)

Meaning extended from "epic poetry," in modern usage refers to literary art forms, such as prose, poetry, plays, films, and other works where the story has a theme of grandeur and heroism. (Getty, 2017)

Refers to short satiric poems or any similar pointed sayings. (Getty, 2017)

A conclusion added to a literary work such as a novel, play, or long poem. It is the opposite of a prologue. Often, the epilogue refers to the moral of a fable. Sometimes, it is a speech made by one of the actors at the end of a play asking for the indulgence of the critics and the audience. Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream contains one of the most famous epilogues. Contrast with prologue. Do not confuse the term with eclogue. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

Literary genre taking the form of letters, usually of a literary, formal, or public nature. Examples are the epistles in the Biblical New Testament. (Getty, 2017)

Novels written by using the device of a series of letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings, or other documents. (Getty, 2017)

An epithalamiumLatin form of Greek ἐπιθαλάμιον epithalamion from ἐπί epi "upon," and θάλαμος thalamos nuptial chamber) is a poem written specifically for the bride on the way to her marital chamber. This form continued in popularity through the history of the classical world; the Roman poet Catullus wrote a famous epithalamium, which was translated from or at least inspired by a now-lost work of Sappho. According to Origen, Song of Songs, might be an epithalamium on the marriage of Solomon with Pharaoh’s daughter. (DBpedia, 2017)

Brief narrative poems in dactylic hexameter of ancient Greece, imitated by Romans and others. Usually dealing with mythological and romantic themes. They are characterized by lively description, miniaturistic attitude, scholarly allusion, and an elevated tone similar to that of the elegy. (Getty, 2017)

Literature, graphic art, or moving images in which much or all of the content is of a sexual nature. While pornography tends to be exclusively intended to arouse the reader or viewer, erotica typically uses sexual content to express the beauty of the human body as a form of art. (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2017)

Short literary compositions on single subjects, often presenting the personal view of the author. (Getty, 2017)

A eulogy (from εὐλογία, eulogia, Classical Greek for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person(s) or thing(s), especially one who recently died or retired or as a term of endearment. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. They take place in a funeral home during or after a wake. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions. Eulogies can also praise people who are still alive. This normally takes place on special occasions like birthdays, office parties, retirement celebrations, etc. Eulogies should not be confused with elegies, which are poems written in tribute to the dead; nor with obituaries, which are published biographies recounting the lives of those who have recently died; nor with obsequies, which refer generally to the rituals surrounding funerals. Catholic priests are prohibited by the rubrics of the Mass from presenting a eulogy for the deceased in place of a homily during a funeral Mass. The modern use of the word eulogy was first documented in the 15th century and came from the Medieval Latin term “eulogium” (Merriam-Webster 2012). “Eulogium” at that time has since turned into the shorter “eulogy” of today. Eulogies are usually delivered by a family member or a close family friend in the case of a dead person. For a living eulogy given in such cases as a retirement, a senior colleague could perhaps deliver it. On occasions, eulogies are given to those who are severely ill or elderly in order to express words of love and gratitude before they die. Eulogies are not limited to merely people, however; Places or things can also be given eulogies (which anyone can deliver), but these are less common than those delivered to people, whether living or deceased.

Publications that document the works displayed in an exhibition. (Getty, 2017)

1- A brief story illustrating human tendencies through animal characters. Unlike the parables, fables often include talking animals or animated objects as the principal characters. The interaction of these animals or objects reveals general truths about human nature, i.e., a person can learn practical lessons from the fictional antics in a fable. However, unlike a parable, the lesson learned is not necessarily allegorical. Each animal is not necessarily a symbol for something else. Instead, the reader learns the lesson as an exemplum--an example of what one should or should not do. The sixth century (BCE) Greek writer Aesop is most credited as an author of fables, but Phaedrus and Babrius in the first century (CE) expanded on his works to produce the tales we know today. A famous collection of Indian fables was the Sanskrit Bidpai (circa 300 CE), and in the medieval period, Marie de France (c. 1200 CE) composed 102 fables in verse. After the 1600s, fables increasingly became common as a form of children's literature. See also allegory, beast fable, and parable. Click here for a PDF handout discussing the difference between fables and parables. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

2- Fictitious narratives usually with animals or inanimate objects as protagonists, intended to convey a hidden meaning regarding human conduct. (Getty, 2017)

plural, fabliaux): A humorous, frequently ribald or "dirty" narrative popular with French poets, who traditionally wrote the story in octosyllabic couplets. The tales frequently revolve around trickery, practical jokes, sexual mishaps, scatology, mistaken identity, and bodily humor. Chaucer included several fabliaux in The Canterbury Tales, including the stories of the Shipman, the Friar, the Miller, the Reeve, and the Cook. Examples from French literature include Les Quatre Souhais Saint Martin, Audigier, and Beranger au Long Cul (Beranger of the Long Ass). (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

1- Fairytale fantasy is distinguished from other subgenres of fantasy by the works' heavy use of motifs, and often plots, from folklore. (DBpedia, 2017)

2- Narratives set in the distant past recounting events impossible in the real world, often magical and with fairies, but with humans as heroes and heroines. (Getty, 2017)

Literary genre in which works are of a whimsical or visionary nature, having suppositions that are speculation or resting on no solid grounds. (Getty, 2017)

(from Latin Farsus, "stuffed"): A farce is a form of low comedy designed to provoke laughter through highly exaggerated caricatures of people in improbable or silly situations. Traits of farce include (1) physical bustle such as slapstick, (2) sexual misunderstandings and mix-ups, and (3) broad verbal humor such as puns. Many literary critics (especially in the Victorian period) have tended to view farce as inferior to "high comedy" that involves brilliant dialogue. Many of Shakespeare's early works, such as The Taming of the Shrew, are considered farces. Contrast with comedy of manners. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

Writing concerned with the unique experience of being a woman or alternatively writing designed to challenge existing preconceptions of gender. Examples of feminist writings include Christine de Pisan's medieval work, The City of Ladies; Aemilia Lanyer's Renaissance treatise, Salve Deus, Rex Judaeorum (which presented the then-shocking idea that Adam was just as much to blame for the fall of man as Eve was in the Genesis account); Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication, and Susan B. Anthony's nineteenth-century essays (which presented the equally shocking idea that women in America and Canada should have the right to vote). Many female students in my class preface their discussions of feminist writings by stating, "I'm not a feminist, but ..." This tendency always puzzled me, since it implies that feminism is something negative, radical, or always liberal. Worse yet, it implies that it's bad for women to want crazy, misguided things like education, equal health insurance, similar pay to what men earn in similar professions, freedom from harassment, and funding for medical problems concerning women, such as breast and uterine cancer research, which are the primary concerns of feminism. Somewhere toward the end of the twentieth-century, detractors of such writers have caricatured these demands as "man-hating" or "anti-family." As an antidote to such thinking, keep in mind the broader definition: a feminist is anyone who thinks that women are people too. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

"Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's social roles, experience, interests, chores, and feminist politics in a variety of fields, such as anthropology and sociology, communication, psychoanalysis, home economics, literature, education, and philosophy." (DBpedia, 2017)

Poetic or prosaic literary forms derived from medieval narratives of love, legendary or heroic adventures, and chivalry. Extends to narratives about important religious figures, or fantastic or supernatural events. (Getty, 2017)

"Written texts of stage plays, screenplays, and radio or television broadcasts." (Getty, 2017)

A song recorded or transcribed after being preserved for generations by a particular culture through an oral tradition, or more recent songs composed in the style of that tradition. (Oxford, 2015)

A text, typically non-fiction, dealing with the subject of gardening.

Accounts or histories of the descent of persons, families, or other groups, from an ancestor or ancestors; enumerations of ancestors and their descendants in the natural order of succession. (Getty, 2017)

Poetry about rural life that gives practical advice on the subject of agriculture. Unlike pastoral poetry, it does not portray the countryside as an idyllic escape, but rather focuses on the necessity of outdoor labour. (Oxford, 2015)

Prose tales of the supernatural in which the living encounter manifestations of the spirits of the dead. (Getty, 2017)

Books, usually illustrated literary anthologies, intended to be given as gifts and often published annually; popular in the 19th century. For works produced to mark an occasion, use "keepsakes (books)." (Getty, 2017)

Romantic fictions having a prevailing atmosphere of mystery and terror, often combined with a love story. The genre was introduced in England ca. 1765, but soon became popular elsewhere in Europe, reaching its heyday in the 1790s. The genre has undergone frequent revivals in subsequent centuries. It is called "Gothic" because the early examples were often set in part among medieval buildings and ruins, such as castles or monasteries. (Getty, 2017)

An official government publication covering any of a wide variety of subjects.

GRAMMAR: Another term for transformational grammar. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

An 18th-century poetic form dealing with the subjects of death and immortality. The name originates from the setting typical of these poems: the graveyard. (Oxford, 2015)

Handbooks for the guidance of strangers or visitors in a district, town, building, etc., giving a description of the roads, places, or objects of interest to be found there. (Getty, 2017)

1- Biographies of saints, usually written, but includes oral or visual works as well.

2- Saints' lives as a branch of literature or legend. (Getty, 2017)

(plural: haiku, from archaic Japanese): The term haiku is a fairly late addition to Japanese poetry. The poet Shiki coined the term in the nineteenth century from a longer, more traditional phrase, haikai renga no hokku ("the introductory lines of light linked verse"). To understand the haiku's history as a genre, peruse the vocabulary entries for its predecessors, the hokku and the haikai renga or renku. The haiku follows several conventions: Many Japanese poets have used the form, the two acknowledged masters being Bashó (a nom de plume for Matsuo Munefusa, 1644-94); and Kobayashi Issa (a nom de plume for Kobayashi Nobuyuki). The Imagist Movement in 20th century English literature has been profoundly influenced by haiku. The list of poets who attempted the haiku or admired the genre includes Ezra Pound, Amy Lowell, Robert Frost, Conrad Aiken, and W. B. Yeats. Contrast haiku with the tanka and the senryu. See also hokku, below, and haikai, above. See also kigo and imagism. You can click here to download a PDF handout summarizing this discussion of haiku, or you can click here to download PDF samples of haiku. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

"Books popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, originally often depicting harlequins, in which folded parts of pages are lifted to reveal new pictures, fitted neatly onto the remaining parts of the previous pictures." (Getty, 2017)

Form of poetry comprising long narratives celebrating on a grand scale the adventures and deeds of one or more heroic figures, ordinarily concerning a serious subject significant to a culture or nation. Classical epic poetry employs dactylic hexameter and recounts a journey. (Getty, 2017)

Refers to maps that indicate political administrative boundaries or other characteristics of a region at periods of time before the present. They typically include historical names for places, historical population dispositions, and the historical state of physical features. (Getty, 2017)

Chronological records of significant events, as of the life or development of a people, country, or institution, often with an explanation of the causes. (Getty, 2017)

A religious song consisting of one or more repeating rhythmical stanzas. In classical Roman literature, hymns to Minerva and Jupiter survive. The Greek poet Sappho wrote a number of hymns to Aphrodite. More recently a vast number of hymns appear in Catholic and Protestant religious lyrics. A particularly vibrant tradition of hymn-writing comes from the South's African-American population during the nineteenth century. In the realm of fiction, C.S. Lewis creates hymns for the Solid Ones in The Great Divorce, and Tolkien creates Elvish hymns such as "O Elbereth" in The Lord of the Rings, typically with quatrain structure alternating with couplet stanzas. In the example of "O Elbereth," the hymn honors one of the Maiar spirits. See also paean. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

A form of intertextuality in which a writer intentionally adopts the style of another writer or borrows important elements of someone else's work. (Penguin, 1999)

A novel that exposes the living or working conditions of the 19th century-working class as a result of the industrial revolution. The shocking circumstances—extreme poverty, deplorable factory conditions, widespread disease, over-crowded housing, etc.—are typically described in great detail. Solutions are often proposed, but the main goal of an industrial novel is to make the plight of the lower class known to the middle and upper classes in order to promote social change. (Penguin, 1999)

The opening section of a text, often in the form of an essay, that usually provides an overview of the text's subject matter and explains the author's reason for writing. (Penguin, 1999)

Content prepared for a newspaper, magazine, news website, or other form of news media, typically with the purpose of recording facts about a person or event. (Merriam-Webster, 2017)

Literary or artistic works produced by persons in their childhood or youth; usually used to set those works apart from later, mature works. (Getty, 2017)

Originating in Britain in the 1950s, realistic drama centred on the domestic lives of working-class characters. (Oxford, 2015)

German for “artist-novel.” A novel in which an artist is the main character, often following the development of his or her life and artistic growth, as in a bildungsroman. (Oxford, 2015)

A laisse is a type of stanza, of varying length, found in medieval French literature, specifically medieval French epic poetry (the chanson de geste), such as The Song of Roland. In early works, each laisse was made up of (mono) assonanced verses, although the appearance of (mono) rhymed laisses was increasingly common in later poems. Within a poem, the length of each separate laisse is variable (whereas the metric length of the verses is invariable, each verse having the same syllable length, typically decasyllables or, occasionally, alexandrines. The laisse is characterized by stereotyped phrases and formulas and frequently repeated themes and motifs, including repetitions of material from one laisse to another. Such repetitions and formulaic structures are common of orality and oral-formulaic composition. When medieval poets repeated content (with different wording or assonance/rhyme) from one laisse to another, such "similar" laisses are called laisses similaires in French. (DBpedia, 2017)

A coarse or crude satire ridiculing the appearance or character of another person. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

"Legal writing is a type of technical writing used by lawyers, judges, legislators, and others in law to express legal analysis and legal rights and duties. Legal writing in practice is used to advocate for or to express the resolution of a client's legal matter." (DBpedia, 2017)

Stories that have been maintained over time, usually by a particular culture through an oral tradition. Often understood within originating cultures as historical accounts although they differ from Western record-keeping. (Getty, 2017)

Azalea: A Magazine by Third World Lesbians was a quarterly periodical for black, Asian, Latina, and Native American lesbians published between 1977 and 1983 by the Salsa Soul Sisters, Third World Wimmin Inc Collective. The Collective also published the Salsa Soul Sisters/Third World Women's Gay-zette (c. 1982). (DBpedia, 2017)

"Pieces of correspondence that are somewhat more formal than memoranda or notes, usually on paper and delivered." (Getty, 2017)

Moralised case-histories in the form of letters in which the dead strive to reclaim the living beloved by persuading them to repent and reform. Often include features of lively fiction: character-drawing, narrative, suspense, surprise, humour, and love-situations including transgression of all kinds.

Books or booklets containing the text or words of an opera or similar extended musical composition. (Getty, 2017)

Writing that analyzes or critiques a literary work, often through the use of a particular literary theory, and typically in the form of an essay.

Writing, typically in the form of a prayer or a song, to be used by a particular religious community for the purpose of worship. (Getty, 2017)

Generic modifier for a representation that deals primarily with the subject of love.

Lyric Essay is a subgenre of essay writing, which combines qualities of poetry, essay, memoir, and research writing. The lyric essay is considered high art, and often requires work and association on behalf of the reader. Proponents of the lyric essay classification insist it differs from prose poetry in its reliance on association rather than line breaks and juxtaposition. (DBpedia, 2017)

A style of fiction popularized in Latin-American writing from the mid-twentieth century, in which magical or fantastical elements are not treated as unusual, but rather occur alongside realistic elements as a natural part of the narrative. (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2017)

Formal written declarations, promulgated by a sovereign or by the executive authority of a state or nation, such as to proclaim its reasons and motives for declaring a war, or other international action; also public declarations or proclamations of political, social, artistic, or other principles. (Getty, 2017)

Books or treatises, often compendious, containing rules or instructions needed to perform tasks, operations, processes, occupations, arts, or studies, and intended to be used as reference while the task or study is performed. (Getty, 2017)

"Refers to graphic or photogrammetric representations of the Earth's surface or a part of it, including physical features and political boundaries, where each point corresponds to a geographical or celestial position according to a definite scale or projection. The term may also refer to similar depictions of other planets, suns, other heavenly bodies, or areas of the heavens. Maps are typically depicted on a flat medium, such as on paper, a wall, or a computer screen." (Getty, 2017)

Not to be confused with a masquerade, a masque is a type of elaborate court entertainment popular in the times of Queen Elizabeth I, King James I, and Charles I--i.e., the early 17th Century after Queen Elizabeth's death. The masque as a performance grew out of medieval plays, but it was more spectacle than drama proper. The content was suitable for amateur actors rather than professional performers. The masques tended to use long speeches and little action. They combined poetic drama, singing, dancing, music, and splendid costumes and settings. The imagery was influential on later poets and poems, such as Andrew Marvell, who makes use of masque-imagery in "Upon Appleton House." (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

Writing, typically of a scientific nature, relating to the field of medicine.

A dramatic form characterized by excessive sentiment, exaggerated emotion, sensational and thrilling action, and an artificially happy ending. Melodramas originally referred to romantic plays featuring music, singing, and dancing, but by the eighteenth century they connoted simplified and coincidental plots, bathos, and happy endings. These melodramatic traits are present in Gothic novels, western stories, popular films, and television crime shows, to name but a few more recent examples. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

"Visual works created using multiple media." (Getty, 2017)

Writing that uses the conventions of a specific genre satirically in order to mock or parody that genre.

In theatre, a monologue (from Greek μονόλογος from μόνος mónos, "alone, solitary" and λόγος lógos, "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their mental thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media (plays, films, etc.), as well as in non-dramatic media such as poetry. Monologues share much in common with several other literary devices including soliloquies, apostrophes, and aside. There are, however, distinctions between each of these devices. (DBpedia, 2017)

Religious dramas or pageants, typically written anonymously, that were popular in medieval Europe. Mystery plays represent one or more scenes from the Bible, and were first performed in the 13th century, often using a wagon as a stage to allow a performance to take place in various locations, . Morality plays were first popularized in the 15th century, and are allegorical rather than directly representational works in which personified vices and virtues compete to win a human soul for eternity. (Oxford, 2015)

"Contemporary works of art that employ several distinct art forms, such as sculpture and music or painting and light art." (Getty, 2017)

Writing dealing with the scientific study of music. (Getty, 2017)

A novel focused on suspense and solving a mystery--especially a murder, theft, kidnapping, or some other crime. The protagonist faces inexplicable events, threats, assaults, and unknown forces or antagonists. Conventionally, the hero is a keenly observant individual (such as Sherlock Holmes) and the police are depicted as incompetent or incapable of solving the crime by themselves. Many of the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, and Agatha Christie are mystery novels. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

Legendary stories without a determinable basis of fact or natural explanation, typically concerning a being, hero, deity, or event and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature. (Getty, 2017)

Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often making use of the voices of a narrator and characters as well; the entire story is usually written in metred verse. Narrative poems do not have to follow rhythmic patterns. The poems that make up this genre may be short or long, and the story it relates to may be complex. It is usually well it normally dramatic, with objectives, diverse characters, and metre. Narrative poems include epics, ballads, idylls, and lays. Some narrative poetry takes the form of a novel in verse. An example of this is The Ring and the Book by Robert Browning. In terms of narrative poetry, a romance is a narrative poem that tells a story of chivalry. Examples include the Romance of the Rose or Tennyson's Idylls of the King. Although these examples use medieval and Arthurian materials, romances may also tell stories from classical mythology. Shorter narrative poems are often similar in style to the short story. Sometimes these short narratives are collected into interrelated groups, as with Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. Some literatures contain prose naose narratives, and the Old Norse sagas include both incidental poetry and the biographies of poets. An example is "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service. (DBpedia, 2017)

A romantic genre developed in early nineteenth-century, particularly associated with Ireland and Scotland, in which historical content is woven into narratives treating such subjects as the formation or defence of a nation, political conflict with a bearing on nationhood, and national identity or culture. (Foster, 2006)

Notebook is a style of writing where people jot down what they have thought or heard at the spur of moment. The contents of a notebook are unorganized, and the number of subjects covered in a notebook are unlimited: a paragraph of autobiography can be followed immediately by one on astronomy or one on history. Some famous authors are also famous for the notebooks they left. The Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi kept a notebook, called Zibaldone, from 1817 to 1832. The idea of keeping that, which contains no fewer than 4,526 pages, was possibly suggested by a priest who fled from the French Revolution and came to live in the poet's hometown. The priest suggested that "every literary man should have a written chaos such as this: notebook containing sottiseries, adrersa, excerpta, pugillares, commentaria... the store-house out of which fine literature of every kind may come, as the sun, moon, and stars issued out of chaos." There are writers who earned their posthumous fame solely by their notebooks, such as the German scientist and humorous writer Georg Lichtenberg. He called his notebooks "waste book," using the English book-keeping term. He explains the purpose of his "waste book" in his notebook E: The notebooks of scientists, such as those of Michael Faraday and Charles Darwin, can reveal the development of their scientific theories. On the other hand, the notebooks used by scientists for recording their experiments are called lab notebooks. The notebooks used by artists are usually referred as sketchbooks, which may contain more than sketches. Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks contain his writings on painting, sculpture, architecture, anatomy, mining, inventions and music, as well as his sketches, his grocery lists and the names of people who owed him money. In Chinese literature, "notebook" or biji is a distinct genre, and has a broader meaning. (DBpedia, 2017)

Invented prose narratives of considerable length and a certain complexity that deal imaginatively with human experience through a connected sequence of events involving a group of persons in a specific setting. (Getty, 2017)

Short prose tales popular in the Renaissance and for later prose narratives intermediate between novels and short stories. (Getty, 2017)

Tales in rhymed verse for children. (Getty, 2017)

Obituary poetry, in the broad sense, includes any poem that commemorates a person or group of people's death: an elegy. In its stricter sense, though, it refers to a genre of popular verse or folk poetry that had its greatest popularity in the nineteenth century, especially in the United States of America. The genre consists largely of sentimental narrative verse that tells the story of the demise of its typically named subjects, and seeks to console their mourners with descriptions of their happy afterlife. The genre achieved its peak of popularity in the decade of the 1870s. While usually full chiefly of conventional pious sentiments, the obituary poets in one sense continue the program of meditations on death begun by the eighteenth-century graveyard poets, such as Edward Young's Night Thoughts, and as such continue one of the themes that went into literary Romanticism. (DBpedia, 2017)

Occasional poetry is poetry composed for a particular occasion. In the history of literature, it is often studied in connection with orality, performance, and patronage.

Lyric poems of exalted emotion devoted to the praise or celebration of its subject; often employing complex or irregular metrical form. (Getty, 2017)

A theatre production of only one act, typically under an hour in length and with a very small cast. (Penguin, 1999)

"Dramatic musical performances in which most roles are sung with instrumental accompanyment, usually including arias, recitives, and choruses. Typically, they are intended to be staged with costumes, sets, and dramatic movement." (Getty, 2017)

A lengthy musical composition for voice and orchestra, typically narrative and religious in nature. Unlike an opera, it is not a theatrical performance and does not include costumes or sets. (Oxford, 2015)

Writing about the East by Western writers and with a Western perspective, encompassing everything from fiction to scientific writing. In Oriental writing, even if not looked down upon as inferior, Eastern cultures are represented as foreign and exotic, and in need of translation, interpretation, or explanation. (Penguin, 1999)

"Entertainments, frequently held in the open air, illustrating themes by means of spectacle rather than by consecutive narrative and dramatic characterization." (Getty, 2017)

A speech or poem designed to praise another person or group. In ancient Greek and Roman rhetoric, it was one branch of public speaking, with established rules and conventions found in the works of Menander and Hermogenes. Famous examples include Pliny's eulogy on Emperor Trajan and Isocrates' oration on the Olympic games of 380. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

"Pantomime (informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production, designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is still performed there, generally during the Christmas and New Year season and, to a lesser extent, in other English-speaking countries. Modern pantomime includes songs, slapstick comedy and dancing, employs gender-crossing actors, and combines topical humour with a story loosely based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale. It is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers." (DBpedia, 2017)

Short, fictitious stories that illustrate a moral attitude or religious principle. (Getty, 2017)

Text surrounding the main body of a written work that contains supplementary information about the body, such as a preface, afterword, footnote, or glossary. (Oxford, 2015)

A parody (/ˈpærədi/; also called spoof, send-up, take-off or lampoon), in use, is a work created to imitate, make fun of, or comment on an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of satiric or ironic imitation. As the literary theorist Linda Hutcheon puts it, "parody … is imitation, not always at the expense of the parodied text." Another critic, Simon Dentith, defines parody as "any cultural practice which provides a relatively polemical allusive imitation of another cultural production or practice."Parody may be found in art or culture, including literature, music (although "parody" in music has an earlier, somewhat different meaning than for other art forms), animation, gaming and film. The writer and critic John Gross observes in his Oxford Book of Parodies, that parody seems to flourish on territory somewhere between pastiche ("a composition in another artist's manner, without satirical intent") and burlesque (which "fools around with the material of high literature and adapts it to low ends"). Meanwhile, the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot distinguishes between the parody and the burlesque, "A good parody is a fine amusement, capable of amusing and instructing the most sensible and polished minds; the burlesque is a miserable buffoonery which can only please the populace." Historically, when a formula grows tired, as in the case of the moralistic melodramas in the 1910s, it retains value only as a parody, as demonstrated by the Buster Keaton shorts that mocked that genre. In his 1960 anthology of parody from the 14th through 20th centuries, critic Dwight Macdonald offered this metaphor: "Parody is making a new wine that tastes like the old but has a slightly lethal effect." (DBpedia, 2017)

Genre that depicts or evokes idyllic life in the country; in works of pictorial art, often scenes of shepherds and shepherdesses in idealized arcadian landscapes. (Getty, 2017)

Writing dealing with the theory and practice of teaching. (Oxford, 2015)

Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than print distribution. (DBpedia, 2017)

Publications issued at regular intervals, but not daily, containing articles on various subjects by different authors for the general reader. (Getty, 2017)

Includes any written requests and lists of signatures submitted to an authority to appeal for the performance of specific action. (Getty, 2017)

Writing engaging in philosophical questions, that may or may not be considered philosophy per se.

(Greek, "Love of wisdom"): The methodical and systematic exploration of what we know, how we know it, and why it is important that we know it. Too frequently, students use the term somewhat nebulously. They often mistakenly state, "My philosophy about X is . . ." when they really mean, "My opinion about X is . . ." or "My attitude toward X is . . ." Traditional areas of Western philosophic inquiry include the following areas. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

The picaresque novel (Spanish: "picaresca," from "pícaro," for "rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction which depicts the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. Picaresque novels typically adopt a realistic style, with elements of comedy and satire. This style of novel originated in 16th-century Spain and flourished throughout Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. It continues to influence modern literature. According to the traditional view of Thrall and Hibbard (first published in 1936), seven qualities distinguish the picaresque novel or narrative form, all or some of which may be employed for effect by the author. (1) A picaresque narrative is usually written in first person as an autobiographical account. (2) The main character is often of low character or social class. He or she gets by with wit and rarely deigns to hold a job. (3) There is no plot. The story is told in a series of loosely connected adventures or episodes. (4) There is little if any character development in the main character. Once a picaro, always a picaro. His or her circumstances may change but they rarely result in a change of heart. (5) The picaro's story is told with a plainness of language or realism. (6) Satire might sometimes be a prominent element. (7) The behavior of a picaresque hero or heroine stops just short of criminality. Carefree or immoral rascality positions the picaresque hero as a sympathetic outsider, untouched by the false rules of society. However, Trall and Hibbert's thesis has been questioned by scholars[specify] interested in how genre functions, rather than how it looks on the surface. (DBpedia, 2017)

"Pindarics (alternatively Pindariques or Pindaricks) was a term for a class of loose and irregular odes greatly in fashion in England during the close of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century. Abraham Cowley, who published fifteen Pindarique Odes in 1656, was the poet most identified with the form though many others had composed irregular verses before him. The term is derived from the name of a Greek archaic poet, Pindar, but is based on a misconception since Pindar's odes were in fact very formal, obeying a triadic structure, in which the form of the first stanza (strophe) was repeated in the second stanza (antistrophe), followed by a third stanza (epode) that introduced variations but whose form was repeated by other epodes in subsequent triads." (DBpedia, 2017)

Poetry is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language—such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre—to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning. (DBpedia, 2017)

Aggressive, forcefully presented arguments, often disputing a policy or opinion. (Getty, 2017)

Writing on the subject of politics, often persuasive in tone and written in favour of a particular political party or cause.

Visual arts produced by or for the general public, often reflecting fads and as a response to the daily environment; works produced for mass audiences as distinct from fine art and folk art. (Getty, 2017)

1- Reverent petitions, usually in verse or prose, to a deity or other spiritual entity. (Getty, 2017)

2- Documents containing prayers that are associated with donning official priestly vestments or transfer of vestments, most commonly in Christian contexts.

"Texts preceding the main literary work and containing comments about such matters as the reason for or circumstances of the author's writing the work, or comments by another about the author or the work." (Getty, 2017)

Writing by members of the working-classes or poor, including that by those who consider themselves members of the proletariat, and sometimes also writing produced to raise awareness of poor economic or labour conditions.

(1) In original Greek tragedy, the prologue was either the action or a set of introductory speeches before the first entry (parados) of the chorus. Here, a single actor's monologue or a dialogue between two actors would establish the play's background events. (2) In later literature, a prologue is a section of any introductory material before the first chapter or the main material of a prose work, or any such material before the first stanza of a poetic work. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

1- (Latin, "things that must be sent forth"): In its original use, the term referred to a committee of cardinals the Roman Catholic church founded in 1622 (the Congregatio de propaganda fide). This group established specific educational materials to be sent with priests-in-training for foreign missions . The term is today used to refer to information, rumors, ideas, and artwork spread deliberately to help or harm another specific group, movement, belief, institution, or government. The term's connotations are mostly negative. When literature or journalism is propaganda and when it is not is hotly debated. For instance, the Roman Emperor Augustus commissioned Virgil to write The Aeneid for specific goals. He wanted Virgil to glorify Rome's greatness, instill public pride in Rome's past, and cultivate traditional Roman virtues such as loyalty to the family, the Empire, and the gods. Is this propaganda? Or patriotism? Typically, readers claim a work is propaganda when it sets forth an argument with which they personally disagree. In other cases, readers will call a work propagandistic if they can perceive that the characters or the author advances particular doctrines or principles. Harry Shaw notes: "Propaganda is attacked by most critics and general readers because it is an attempt to influence opinions and actions deliberately, but by this definition all education and most literature are propagandistic" (220). (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

2- Ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to support one cause or individual or to damage another. (Getty, 2017)

Prophecy involves a process in which one or more messages allegedly communicated to a prophet are then communicated to other people. Such messages typically involve] inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of events to come (compare divine knowledge). Historically, clairvoyance has been used[by whom?] as an adjunct to prophecy. (DBpedia, 2017)

"Sacred songs that may be sung or recited in religious worship, particularly those contained in the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament and Hebrew Scriptures." (Getty, 2017)

Writing related to the field of psychology or psychiatry, particularly in connection with Sigmund Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis.

A brief, interactive text that poses questions for the reader to answer, often as an assessment of knowledge in the form of questionnaire.

"Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theater, or audio theater) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story." (DBpedia, 2017)

1- General term for a quality of art works in which the depiction is based on or seems to be based on the direct observation of the external world, including or even emphasizing flaws and imperfections rather than the beauty or idealized characteristics. Although a work may be both realistic and naturalistic, naturalism may somewhat idealize the flaws or ugliness of the subject depicted. (Getty, 2017)

2- Fiction that attempts to capture life as it is, rejecting idealism in favour of exposing in detail the realities, including the flaws, of its characters and their lives. (Oxford, 2015)

Writing dealing with religion or spirituality.

"Periodicals, reports, or essays giving critical estimates and appraisals of art, a performance, or event." (Getty, 2017)

Periodicals, reports, or essays giving critical estimates and appraisals of art, a performance, or event. For other critical descriptions and analyses, prefer "criticism." (Getty, 2017)

(from Old English roedel, from roedan meaning "to give council" or "to read"): A universal form of literature in which a puzzling question or a conundrum is presented to the reader. The reader is often challenged to solve this enigma, which requires ingenuity in discovering the hidden meaning. A riddle may involve puns, symbolism, synecdoche, personification (especially prosopopoeia), or unusual imagery. For instance, a Norse riddle asks, "Tell me what I am. Thirty white horses round a red hill. First they champ. Then they stamp. Now they stand still." The answer is the speaker's teeth; these thirty white horses circle the "red hill" of the tongue; they champ and stamp while the riddler speaks, but stand still at the end of his riddle. Another famous example is the riddle of the sphinx from Sophocles' Oedipus Trilogy. The sphinx asks Oedipus, "What goes on four feet, on two feet, and then three. But the more feet it goes on, the weaker is he?" The answer is a human being, which crawls as an infant, walks erect on two feet as an adult, and totters on a staff (the third leg) in old age. The earliest known English riddles are recorded in the Exeter Book, and they probably date back to the 8th century. Examples, however, can be found in Greek, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, and Chinese, and many other languages. Authors of Anglo-Latin riddles include Aldhelm of Sherborne, Archbishop Tatwine of Canterbury, and Abbot Eusebius of Wearmouth. A large Renaissance collection can also be found in Nicolas Reusner's Aenigmatographia (1602). (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

Poetic or prosaic literary forms derived from medieval narratives of love, legendary or heroic adventures, and chivalry. Extends to narratives about important religious figures, or fantastic or supernatural events. (Getty, 2017)

Sage writing was a genre of creative nonfiction popular in the Victorian era. The concept originates with John Holloway's 1953 book The Victorian Sage: Studies in Argument. Sage writing is a development from ancient wisdom literature in which the writer chastises and instructs the reader about contemporary social issues, often utilizing discourses of philosophy, history, politics, and economics in non-technical ways. Prominent examples of the genre include writings by Thomas Carlyle, Matthew Arnold, John Ruskin, and Henry David Thoreau. Some 20th-century writers, such as Joan Didion and New Journalists such as Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe, have also been identified as sage writers. (DBpedia, 2017)

Literary compositions in verse or prose, or ideas expressed as the subjects of art works, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule. (Getty, 2017)

Writing by a scholar, either amateur or professional, typically focused on a specific field or topic in which the author is an expert.

"The school story is a fiction genre centering on older pre-adolescent and adolescent school life, at its most popular in the first half of the twentieth century. While examples do exist in other countries, it is most commonly set in English boarding schools and mostly written in girls' and boys' subgenres, reflecting the single-sex education typical until the 1950s. It focuses largely on friendship, honor and loyalty between pupils. Plots involving sports events, bullies, secrets, rivalry and bravery are often used to shape the school story." (DBpedia, 2017)

Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, parallel universes and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a "literature of ideas." It usually eschews the supernatural, and unlike the related genre of fantasy, historically science fiction stories were intended to have at least a faint grounding in science-based fact or theory at the time the story was created, but this connection has become tenuous or non-existent in much of science fiction. (DBpedia, 2017)

Writing relating to scientific research, often reporting the findings of a particular scientific study.

"Blank books or albums designed so that a variety of items may be affixed to the pages, including photographs, clippings, and other memorabilia." (Getty, 2017)

The sensation novel was a literary genre of fiction popular in Great Britain in the 1860s and 1870s, following on from earlier melodramatic novels and the Newgate novels, which focused on tales woven around criminal biographies. It also drew on the gothic and romantic genres of fiction. The sensation novel's appearance notably follows the Industrial Revolution, which made books available on a mass scale for people of all social standings and increased the sensation novel's popularity. Sensation novels used both modes of romance and realism to the extreme where in the past they had traditionally been contradictory modes of literature. The sensation novelists commonly wrote stories that were allegorical and abstract; the abstract nature of the stories gave the authors room to explore scenarios that wrestled with the social anxieties of the Victorian Era. The loss of identity is seen in many sensation fiction stories because this was a common social anxiety; in Britain, there was an increased use in record keeping and therefore people questioned the meaning and permanence of identity. The social anxiety regarding identity is reflected in stories, such as, The Woman in White and Lady Audley's Secret. The genre of sensation fiction was established by the publications of the following novels The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins in 1859; East Lynne by Ellen Wood in 1861; Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon in 1862. Perhaps the earliest use of the term, sensation fiction, as a name for such novels appears in the 1861 edition of the Saunders, Otley, & co.'s Literary Budget. The neo-Victorian novel of New Zealand author Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries, which won the 2013 Man Booker Prize, has been described as being heavily based on sensation literature, with its plot devices of "suspect wills and forged documents, secret marriages, illegitimacy and opium" (DBpedia, 2017)

The sentimental novel or the novel of sensibility is an 18th-century literary genre which celebrates the emotional and intellectual concepts of sentiment, sentimentalism, and sensibility. Sentimentalism, which is to be distinguished from sensibility, was a fashion in both poetry and prose fiction beginning in the eighteenth century in reaction to the rationalism of the Augustan Age. Sentimental novels relied on emotional response, both from their readers and characters. They feature scenes of distress and tenderness, and the plot is arranged to advance both emotions and actions. The result is a valorization of "fine feeling," displaying the characters as a model for refined, sensitive emotional effect. The ability to display feelings was thought to show character and experience, and to shape social life and relations. (DBpedia, 2017)

(from Latin sequi, to follow): A literary work complete in itself, but continuing the narrative of an earlier work. It is a new story that extends or develops characters and situations found in an earlier work. Two sequels following an original work (together) are called a trilogy. Three sequels following an original work together are called a tetralogy.Often sequels have a reputation for inferior artistry compared to the original publication since they are often hastily written from the desire to capitalize on earlier financial success. Examples include Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer Abroad, which is a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Alexandra Ripley's Scarlett, which is a sequel to Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. In the late twentieth century, it became common retroactively to write "prequels," a later book with the same geographic setting or characters, but which takes place in an earlier time. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

A sermon is an oration, lecture, or talk by a member of a religious institution or clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts. Elements of the sermon often include exposition, exhortation and practical application. In Christianity, a sermon (also known as a homily within some churches) is usually delivered in a place of worship from an elevated architectural feature, variously known as a pulpit, a lectern, or an ambo. The word "sermon" comes from a Middle English word which was derived from Old French, which in turn came from the Latin word sermō meaning "discourse". The word can mean "conversation", which could mean that early sermons were delivered in the form of question and answer, and that only later did it come to mean a monologue. However, the Bible contains many speeches without interlocution, which some take to be sermons: Moses in Deuteronomy 1-33 ; Jesus' sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 (though the gospel writers do not specifically call it a sermon; the popular descriptor for Christ's speech there came much later); Peter after Pentecost in Acts 2:14-40 (though this speech was delivered to nonbelievers and as such is not quite parallel to the popular definition of a sermon). In modern language, the word "sermon" is used in secular terms, pejoratively, to describe a lengthy or tedious speech delivered with great passion, by any person, to an uninterested audience. A sermonette is a short sermon (usually associated with television broadcasting, as stations would present a sermonette before signing off for the night). (DBpedia, 2017)

Fiction in which a character, typically an adolescent, experiences sexual desires for the first time or has a first sexual encounter.

Relatively brief invented prose narratives. (Getty, 2017)

A mocking term for a popular literary genre depicting life in upper-class British society in the 1820s-1840s. (Oxford, 2015)

Short literary compositions on single subjects, often presenting the personal view of the author. (Getty, 2017)

Books or pads of blank sheets used or intended for sketching, which are informal or rough drawings. (Getty, 2017)

An autobiographical account of the life of an escaped or freed slave. Typically written and published in the Americas and used as a form of protest against the slave trade. (Oxford, 2015)

Writing dealing with the study of human societies and relationships across several fields of scientific study, including anthropology, political science, and sociology.

A lyric poem with a number of repeating stanzas (called refrains), written to be set to music in either vocal performance or with accompaniment of musical instruments. See dawn song and lyric, above and stanza, below. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

Poems consisting of 14 decasyllabic lines, often in a rhyming scheme. The sonnet form is considered to be of Italian origin, appearing in the 13th century in Sicily, after which it spread to Tuscany, where Petrarch perfected the form with his Canzioniere, a series of 317 sonnets to his idealized love, Laura. The Petrarchian sonnet has historically been the most widely used of the form, although the Elizabethan form (3 quatrains, with a final rhyming couplet) is also common. (Getty, 2017)

Documents containing the text of any public address or talk (Getty, 2017)

Solemn declarations, written or verbal; usually made orally by a witness under oath in response to interrogation by a lawyer or authorized public official, then reduced to writing for the record. (Getty, 2017)

Books used as standard works for the formal study of a particular subject. (Getty, 2017)

"The Theatre of Cruelty (French: Théâtre de la Cruauté) is a form of theatre developed by avant-garde playwright, actor, essayist, and theorist, Antonin Artaud, in The Theatre and its Double. Originally a member of the surrealist movement, Artaud eventually began to develop his own theatrical theories. The Theatre of Cruelty can be seen as break with traditional Western theatre, and a means by which artists assault the senses of the audience, and allow them to feel the unexpressed emotions of the subconscious. While Artaud was only able to produce one play in his lifetime that reflected the tenets of the Theatre of Cruelty, the works of many theatre artists reflect his theories." (DBpedia, 2017)

"The Theatre of the Absurd (French: théâtre de l'absurde) is a post–World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s, as well as one for the style of theatre which has evolved from their work. Their work focused largely on the idea of existentialism and expressed what happens when human existence has no meaning or purpose and therefore all communication breaks down, in fact alerting their audiences to pursue the opposite. Logical construction and argument gives way to irrational and illogical speech and to its ultimate conclusion, silence." (DBpedia, 2017)

A branch of religious writing attempting to deal systematically with the study of a deity or deities or religious beliefs; the science of religion.

"A semantic network of unique concepts, including relationships between synonyms, broader and narrower contexts, and other related concepts. Thesauri may be monolingual or multilingual. Thesauri may have the following three relationships between terms: equivalence (synonyms), hierarchical (whole/part), and associative (various types of other relationships)." (Getty, 2017)

Fiction full of action and suspense in which the protagonist is threatened by some sort of danger, often through the actions of a villain or criminal. The protagonist must usually employ both physical skill and wit to escape danger and outsmart the villain. (Oxford, 2015)

Topographical poetry or loco-descriptive poetry is a genre of poetry that describes, and often praises, a landscape or place. John Denham's 1642 poem "Cooper's Hill" established the genre, which peaked in popularity in 18th-century England. Examples of topographical verse date, however, to the late classical period, and can be found throughout the medieval era and during the Renaissance. Though the earliest examples come mostly from continental Europe, the topographical poetry in the tradition originating with Denham concerns itself with the classics, and many of the various types of topographical verse, such as river, ruin, or hilltop poems were established by the early 17th century. Alexander Pope's "Windsor Forest" (1713) and John Dyer's "Grongar Hill' (1762) are two other oft-mentioned examples. More recently, Matthew Arnold's "The Scholar Gipsy" (1853) praises the Oxfordshire countryside, and W. H. Auden's "In Praise of Limestone" (1948) uses a limestone landscape as an allegory. Subgenres of topographical poetry include the country house poem, written in 17th-century England to compliment a wealthy patron, and the prospect poem, describing the view from a distance or a temporal view into the future, with the sense of opportunity or expectation. When understood broadly as landscape poetry and when assessed from its establishment to the present, topographical poetry can take on many formal situations and types of places. Kenneth Baker identifies 37 varieties and compiles poems from the 16th through the 20th centuries—from Edmund Spenser to Sylvia Plath—correspondent to each type, from "Walks and Surveys," to "Mountains, Hills, and the View from Above," to "Violation of Nature and the Landscape," to "Spirits and Ghosts." Common aesthetic registers of which topographical poetry make use include pastoral imagery, the sublime, and the picturesque. These latter two registers subsume imagery of rivers, ruins, moonlight, birdsong, and clouds, peasants, mountains, caves, and waterscapes. (DBpedia, 2017)

Writing printed on a single sheet of paper or in a small booklet, designed to be distributed to the public. The subject matter is typically religious or political, and aims to persuade the reader of a certain point of view. (Getty, 2017)

Literary works of serious and dignified character that reach disastrous or sorrowful conclusions. (Getty, 2017)

1- Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragic and comic forms. Most often seen in dramatic literature, the term can variously describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a serious play with a happy ending. (DBpedia, 2017)

2- A experimental literary work--either a play or prose piece of fiction--containing elements common to both comedies and tragedies. The genre is marked by characters of both high and low degree, even though classical drama required upper-class characters for tragedy and lower-class characters for comedy. Tragicomedies were of some interest in the Renaissance, but some modern dramas might be considered examples as well. Typically, the early stages of the play resembled those of a tragedy, but an abrupt reversal of circumstance prevent the tragedy. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

1- The act of conveying the meaning of words in one language by attempting to say the same thing in another language, as opposed to paraphrasing, summarizing, and transliteration. (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

2- Translated versions of a text.

Writing about time spent abroad, typically containing descriptions of the scenery and culture of places visited. Sometimes includes biographical content, such as travel literature written in the form of a personal journal or diary.

Formal and systematic written expositions of the principles of a subject, generally longer and more detailed than essays. (Getty, 2017)

An imaginary place or government in which political and social perfection has been reached in the material world as opposed to some spiritual afterlife as discussed in the Christian Bible or the Elysian fields of The Odyssey. The citizens of such utopias are typically universally clean, virtuous, healthy, and happy, or at least those who are criminals are always captured and appropriately punished. A utopian society is one that has cured all social ills. See discussion under Utopian literature, below. Contrast with dystopia. UTOPIAN (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there will usually be a large cast, multiple voices, dialogue, narration, description, and action in a novelistic manner. (DBpedia, 2017)

In theatrical script writing, sketch stories, and poetry, a vignette is a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression about a character, idea, setting, or object.[citation needed] This type of scene is more common in recent postmodern theater, where less emphasis is placed on adhering to the conventions of theatrical structure and story development. Vignettes have been particularly influenced by contemporary notions of a scene as shown in film, video and television scripting. It is also a part of something bigger than itself: for example, a vignette about a house belonging to a collection of vignettes or a whole story, such as The House On Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros. A blog can provide a form of vignette. (DBpedia, 2017)

A versatile genre of poetry consisting of nineteen lines--five tercets and a concluding quatrain. The form requires that whole lines be repeated in a specific order, and that only two rhyming sounds occur in the course of the poem. A number of English poets, including Oscar Wilde, W. E. Henley, and W. H. Auden have experimented with it. Here is an example of an opening stanza to one poem by W. E. Henley: Probably the most famous English villanelle is Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night." (L. K Wheeler, 2017)

Writing aimed at a young adult audience.