Literary Genres

➢ Two basic categories: 1) Nonfiction 2) Fiction ➢ Each category can be divided into Prose & Poetry ○ Nonfictional Prose ■ Biography, Autobiography, Personal Essay ○ Fictional Prose ■ Novel ■ Short Story

Literary Genres: Fiction ➢ What is fiction? ○ Anything imaginative and made up ○ The story itself is not real, but can be set in a real place “Fiction does not pretend to tell the truth,” but “it does not necessarily lie.” “Fiction does claim to tell the truth (or reveal truth) in a deeper sense.”

REMEMBER!!! Literature is not black or white, but relatively grey.

Short Story Also known as short ficiton.

Short Story ➢ Define “short” ○ short means less in length than a novel (a relative term) - at times can be read in one sitting or over the course of a few days ○ Novel - because of length it is read over the course of weeks and at times months

Short Story Definition ➢ Britannica definition - brief fictional prose narrative that is shorter than a novel and that usually deals only with a few characters ○ Fictional is an imagined story ○ Prose is something other than poetry ■ Narrative is a type of prose work that tells a story

Short Story Characteristics ➢ “incident” - is the basic unit of all narratives that are nonfiction or fiction ➢ Episode - is the basic incidental unit of a short story ○ Short story usually focuses on a single incident ○ More than one episode, the author usually… ■ summarizes them in the exposition ■ scatters them in the story as flashbacks

Short Story Plot ➢ Usually there is one (maybe two) non-complex plot that develops from one episode (incident) ○ non-complex is simple, straight forward, and easy to follow

Short Story Plot ➢ Conflict (introduced by the inciting incident) ○ “central character contends with forces that may defeat and even destroy him” ○ Internal - Man vs. Himself ○ External - Man vs. Man, Man vs. Higher Power

Short Story Plot ➢ Characters - in a short story there are few characters ○ Protagonist vs. Antagonist ➢ Character development - through actions and drama ○ Static vs Dynamic ○ Flat vs Round

Short Story Plot ➢ Setting - the time and place in which the story is lived ➢ Atmosphere - the emotion pervading a story ○ these emotions are shared by the characters and the reader (example: Step-by-Wicked-Step) ➢ Tone - the attitude of approval or disapproval toward a character, event, situation, or idea ○ the attitude is shared between the author and the reader