Literary works bear the mark of esthetic concerns. It also carries knowledge. We can distinguish between written and oral literary works. What is literature? What are the main literary genres?
What is literature?
Literature is a collection of written or oral works with aesthetic value. it is an art which expresses an ideal of beauty. It allows, thanks to literary productions, to express emotions and to reveal to readers or listeners what a person has in the heart.
Literary works can trace the reader's daily life. They can relate the past of a continent, a country or a hero. Literature creates joy and allows those who devote themselves to it to escape.
Literary genres
The literary genre is a concept which makes it possible to classify literary productions. The main Literary genres are generally five. There are among others the narrative genre, the poetic genre, the theatrical genre, the argumentative genre, the epistolary genre.
To determine the genre of a set of texts, it is essential to distinguish what brings them together. Indeed, each literary genre has its characteristic. A literary work is of the poetic genre if it is presented in the form of verse or in rhythmic prose.
A text is theatrical when it is intended to be performed on stage. All the texts that develop ideas or opinions are of the argumentative type. Texts which are intended for one or more people in particular are of the epistolary type.
As for the narrative genre, It is characterized by the narrative of the more or less complex sequence of events, vicissitudes with the possibility of establishing the narrative scheme.
We have other literary genres such as the fable, the novel, the short story.
You have just learned a lot about literature. You know the main literary genres that can be recognized simply by their characteristics.