The Forms of Literature Prose
The Forms of Literature Prose
The Forms of Literature Prose
Literature is any body of written works. More restrictively, literature refers to writing considered to be
an art form, or any single writing deemed to have artistic or intellectual value, often due to deploying
language in ways that differ from ordinary usage.
Back in ancient Greece, literature was divided into two main forms: tragedy and comedy. Nowadays
there are 5 forms of literature. The five main forms of literature we should be familiar with are Poetry,
Drama, Prose, Nonfiction, and Media
• Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art which uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language to evoke
meanings in addition to, or in place of, prosaic ostensible meaning.Poetry has traditionally been
distinguished from prose by its being set in verse, prose is cast in sentences, poetry in lines; the syntax
of prose is dictated by meaning, whereas that of poetry is held across meter or the visual aspects of the
poem. In 1658 a definition of poetry is "any kind of subject consisting of Rhythm or Verses".
• Prose
Prose can be defined as any kind of written text that isn’t poetry (which means drama, discussed below,
is technically a type of prose). The most typical varieties of prose are novels and short stories, while
other types include letters, diaries, journals, and non-fiction (also discussed below). Prose is written in
complete sentences and organized in paragraphs. Instead of focusing on sound, which is what poetry
does, prose tends to focus on plot and characters.
Prose is the type of literature read most often in English classrooms. Any novel or short story falls into
this category. Like poetry, prose is broken down into a large number of other sub-genres. Some of these
genres revolve around the structure of the text, such as novellas, biographies, and memoirs, and others
are based on the subject matter, like romances, fantasies, and mysteries.
• Drama
Drama is literature intended for performance.[43] The form is often combined with music and dance, as
in opera and musical theater. A play is a subset of this form, referring to the written dramatic work of a
playwright that is intended for performance in a theater; it comprises chiefly dialogue between
characters, and usually aims at dramatic or theatrical performance rather than at reading.
• Non-fiction
Poetry and drama both belong to the broader category of fiction—texts that feature events and
characters that have been made up. Then there is non-fiction, a vast category that is a type of prose and
includes many different sub-genres. Non-fiction can be creative, such as the personal essay, or factual,
such as the scientific paper. Sometimes the purpose of non-fiction is to tell a story (hence the
autobiography), but most of the time the purpose is to pass on information and educate the reader
about certain facts, ideas, and/or issues.
Some genres of non-fiction include histories, textbooks, travel books, newspapers, self-help books, and
literary criticism.
• Media
The newest form of literature that has been defined as a distinct genre is media. This categorization was
created to encompass the many new and important kinds of texts in our society today, such as movies
and films, websites, commercials, billboards, and radio programs. Media literature can serve a wide
variety of purposes—among other things it can educate, entertain, advertise, and/or persuade.
• Oral Literature The oldest type of literature, and the foundation on which culture was built. Now
most oral texts have been written down, of course, and are usually taught in the form of epic poems or
plays or folk tales.
• Folklore/Folk Tales/Fables: A distinction is often made between regular prose and folklore. Most
folk tales were originally oral literature, and are short stories meant to pass on a particular lesson or
moral. They often have a timeless quality, dealing with common human concerns that are just as
relevant to us today, while still being products of a very specific culture and time period.
• Graphic Novels and Comic Books: It used to be that most educators saw comic books as the
lowest form of literature, not suitable or valuable for children. But times have changed, and many
teachers have come to realize that comic books and the more modern graphic novels are both appealing
to kids and are a valid form of literature in their own right.