Literary Essentials: Genres, Core Concepts, and Oral Poetic Forms

Understanding Literature

Literature is an art form whose raw materials are the units of language, which the writer manipulates to produce an aesthetic and emotional effect on the receiver. The term often refers to the peculiar relationship literary fiction works have with reality.

Key Characteristics of Literary Language

Literary language is used in a deliberately aesthetic way, seeking to create impressions and emotions in the reader. Its primary features include:

• Providing enjoyment and entertainment.
• Facilitating the transmission of ideas.

According to Aristotle, literature is the imitation of reality. However, in literary fiction, the author is guided by reality to recreate a fictional world.

Core Concepts in Literature

Verisimilitude (Likelihood)

This term refers to the illusion of reality that a literary work creates for the reader, making the fictional world seem believable.

The Act of Communication

This concept considers the context and period in which a literary work is created and received, influencing its meaning and interpretation.

Literary Genres

Literary genres are categories established by tradition that allow us to classify literary works by their common features and conventions.

The Epic or Narrative Genre

This genre encompasses works that tell a story, often involving heroic deeds or significant events.

Forms of Epic Poetry

• The Epic Poem: A long narrative poem recounting great heroic deeds.
• The Song of Epic (Chanson de Geste): An epic from the Middle Ages, often recounting the exploits of a real or fictitious hero.
• The Cultured Epic Poem: Works written by educated authors who emulated the epics of the classical period.

Narrative Prose Forms

• The novel
• The short story

The Lyric Genre

The lyric genre is characterized by expressing the author's or speaker's intimate feelings and emotions. Examples include:

• The elegy
• The ode
• The epistle

The Dramatic Genre

The dramatic genre is composed to be represented on a stage before a public audience. Key forms include:

• Comedy
• Tragedy
• Tragicomedy (or Drama)

Poetry of the Oral Tradition

The poetry of the oral tradition was, and often still is, anonymous, with minstrels serving as its primary transmitters.

Key Forms of Oral Poetry

The Jarchas

The Jarchas are a manifestation of lyrical romance from al-Andalus, typically found as the final stanzas within longer muwashshah poems written in Arabic or Hebrew.

Cantigas de Amigo (Songs of Friend)

These poems are characterized by a recurring verse that is repeated in subsequent stanzas with minimal variations, often expressing a female speaker's longing for her beloved.

Villancicos

Villancicos are short poems of minor art, consisting of two main parts:

• The chorus (estribillo) states the main subject.
• The stanzas (coplas) comment on the content of the chorus.

The Romance

A Romance is a poem of variable length composed of eight-syllable lines. Even lines typically rhyme (usually assonance), while odd lines are unrhymed.

Characteristics of Romances

Romances are characterized by:

• Simple syntax and archaic language.
• Dramatic elements.
• Direct address to the listener.
• Fixed formulas and epic epithets.

Romance Classifications

Romances can be classified into various types, including:

• Historical Romances
• Carolingian and Breton Romances
• Border and Moorish Romances
• Romantic and Lyrical Romances

The Song of the Cid (Cantar de Mio Cid)

The Song of the Cid is a prominent example of epic poetry from the oral tradition, traditionally divided into three cantos:

• The Song of Exile (Cantar del Destierro)
• The Song of Weddings (Cantar de las Bodas)
• The Reproach of Corpes (Cantar de la Afrenta de Corpes)