Literary Genres: Definitions and Characteristics

Lyric Poetry

The writer expresses subjectivity, feelings, or thoughts. The first person—the self of the author—predominates. This category includes original lyrical works and popular traditions.

Cultivated Lyric

Works by known authors, transmitted through writing:

• Ode: A composition expressing enthusiasm, admiration, or love.
• Cultured Song: A short love poem.
• Elegy: Expresses pain and sorrow for personal or group events.
• Eclogue: A composition featuring dialogues between shepherds about love.
• Satire: A poem that ridicules and criticizes actions or people.
• Epistle: A composition in the form of a letter.
• Epigram: A festive, short poem.

Popular Lyric (Lore)

Designed for song, often using minor art verses:

• Zejel: An Arabic lyrical composition.
• Carol: A traditional composition with a refrain, often in quatrain form.
• Romance: Lyrical ballads in which the theme of love predominates.

Narrative Literature

The writer recounts events outside of themselves, creating a fictional world where characters live and events occur. It is narrated in the third person as something external to the author.

Epic Poetry

• Epic: An extensive narration recounting the exploits of a hero. It features a grand tone, involving gods and heroes, reflecting the origins and beliefs of a people (e.g., The Iliad and The Odyssey).
• Epics (Chansons de Geste): Adventures of a warrior hero representing popular sentiment, such as The Song of the Cid, traditionally sung by minstrels.

Prose Narrative

• Novel: An extensive narration written in prose; a complex and flexible literary form.
• Story: A short narrative with a simple, linear plot. Originally featuring fantastic elements, stories exist in both traditional popular and cultivated forms.

Theater and Drama

Aims to depict scenes in public, combining literary features with performance elements expressed through dialogue.

Major Dramatic Forms

• Tragedy: A conflict where the protagonist faces a tragic fate and succumbs to an unequal struggle. The Chorus is a key feature of Greek tragedy, acting as a collective character that comments on the action and interacts with the protagonist.
• Comedy: Created to amuse and cheer; a satirical representation that has evolved into a complex theatrical form.
• Drama: Features a blend of tragedy and comedy, combining painful conflicts with comic elements.
• Auto Sacramental: A short, religious play presented in allegorical form, characteristic of the Middle Ages.
• Entremés, Paso, and Farce: Short plays performed during the intervals of comedies, featuring a happy, popular character.

Musical Theater

• Opera: A piece where texts are sung, often based on literary works.
• Zarzuela: A Spanish form of operetta combining spoken dialogue and singing. It typically features a cheerful, manners-based tone.