EXPLORING IDEAS IN LITERATURE.
THE GENRES.
Within Literature there are different types of genres. Some
of them are fiction, poetry, drama, nonfiction and media, each one with its own characteristics.
A good fiction has a stirring plot, a
vivid setting, compelling characters and also themes or messages about life. It
may be inspired by real events and people, and build a story around them. There
are three different forms of fiction, short stories, novels and novellas. In
the case of a short story, it often focuses on a single event or incident. A
novel is a longer one and has many different events, storylines and characters.
Finally, novellas are longer than a short story but shorter than a novel, and
feature a limited number of characters.
Poems are made up of lines arranged into groups or stanzas whereas
sounds and language are just important as form. Poets search for the perfect
words and then arrange them in such a way that they provoke specific effects. Other
common characteristics are rhythm and rhymes.
A drama is any
work that is written to be performed on a stage. It is primarily written as dialogue between characters,
where the author describes the setting, character´s movements and props as
stage directions. However, a great deal is left to the imagination of the
director, the actors and readers. A drama has all the elements of good
fiction-plot, characters, setting and theme, but it is usually divided into
scenes grouped into acts.
In nonfiction,
the events actually happened, and the characters are real people. Biographies
and true-life adventures are good examples of this. Informational - nonfiction,
however, is nothing like fiction. It includes texts such as news articles and
sources that you consult for information.
Media
messages influence people´s belief and opinions, that´s why it´s important to interpret
all their messages. They include feature films, news media, TV shows, advertising
and web sites for all kind of audience.
