Lyric, Epic, and Drama: Characteristics and Subgenres

Lyric Genre

The lyric genre is characterized by the subjective attitude of the issuer; it expresses personal feelings. It may occur in verse or prose, although its most frequent manifestation is in poetry (verse).

• Satire: A lyrical composition, in verse or prose, that censors individual or collective vices.
• Eclogue: A poetic composition of love feelings and exaltation of nature, placed in the mouths of shepherds.
• Elegy: A poetic composition expressing feelings of grief at individual or collective misfortune.
• Sonnet: A composition consisting of two quartets and two triplets with rhyme and verse, generically heroic verse.
• Song: Expresses emotions, usually of the lovely type.
• Lyrical Romance: A poem composed of an indefinite number of eight-syllable verses, assonance rhyming in pairs; odd verses are free.

Epic Genre

The epic genre shows an objective attitude and utilizes narrative form to tell real and imagined events.

• Epic: A long narrative in verse that follows the exploits of a hero who often represents the character of the nation (e.g., Homer's Iliad).
• Gesta Song: A narration in verse, usually anonymous, that was recited by minstrels for news and exemplary purposes, recounting the exploits of a hero and representing the chivalrous spirit of the time.
• Epic Romance: Narratives in eight-syllable verses, rhyming assonance in pairs, describing acts of war, chivalry, and love.
• Legend: A fictional story that arises from an actual or historical event. It can be written in verse or prose. An example is the legends written by Gustavo Adolfo Becquer.
• Apologue: A short story in prose that usually ends with a teaching or moral. For example, Count Lucanor by Don Juan Manuel.
• Fable: Stories in verse or prose whose characters are often animals. They end with a moral.
• Novel: An extensive prose narrative in which a narrator tells a story that involves characters in a certain time and a spacious setting.
• Story: Short stories. It displays a small number of characters involved in a single action with a single thematic focus. Although traditionally having a moralizing intention, its purpose is usually to provoke an emotional response in the reader.

Drama Genre

The drama genre includes works that are shown to an audience and especially use dialogue.

• Tragedy: The representation of terrible conflicts between superior and very passionate characters, who are victims of an inescapable fate; it usually ends with the protagonist's death.
• Comedy: Represents, through a conflict, the cheerful and fun side of life, and its outcome has to be happy.
• Drama: Represents serious problems, involving, at times, comic elements, and its end is often bleak.