Understanding Literary Genres: Mimesis, Narrative, Lyrical, and Theatrical

Literary Genres: Mimesis and Beyond

Mimesis refers to imitation, encompassing both the representation of reality and the emulation of classical forms. There are three primary models: lyrical, dramatic, and narrative.

Narrative Genre

Narrative genres include epics in verse, which often tell the story of a hero. A prominent narrative form is the novel, characterized by its totalizing intention and extensive fictional plot spanning time and place. Sub-genres include:

• Cavalry novels
• Picaresque novels
• Realistic novels
• Psychological novels
• Detective novels

Novellas and short stories are shorter and less complex forms.

The Short Story (Cuento)

A short story is brief, with a limited number of characters, concentrated in its focus, simple, and often traditional. It may also be a moralistic fable.

The Fable

A fable is a short prose or poetry piece, often didactic and featuring animals. The author tells a story through a narrator. If the narrator is the main character, it's an autobiographical or first-person narrator. A third-person narrator recounts events that have happened to others and can be an omniscient narrator.

Narrator Types

• Omniscient Narrator: Knows everything and ascertains all.
• Objective Narrator: Tells only what is observed, with dialogue being crucial.

Key elements of a narrative include:

• Argument (Argumento): The plot or storyline.
• Theme: The central idea the author conveys.
• Structure: Exposition, rising action (knot), and resolution.
• Characters:
  • Primary and secondary characters.
  • Flat (static) or round (dynamic) characters. Flat characters embody a single quality or idea and do not evolve, while round characters have psychological depth and evolve.
• Space: The real or imaginary setting, described with specific features.
• Time:
  • Historical: The epoch.
  • Temporal duration of the narrative action.
  • Verbal story time: Can be linear or fragmented.

Lyrical Genre

The lyrical genre expresses feelings through beautiful language, often using rhyme (consonant or assonance). Verses can be major or minor, written in verse without a narrator. Common themes include death and love, and compositions are often structured in stanzas. Sub-genres include:

• Ode: Solemn and of high character.
• Elegy: Expressing sadness and pain.
• Eclogue: Focused on nature and shepherds.
• Satire: Censoring reality with wit.
• Epigram: A witty composition.

Theatrical Genre

The theatrical genre relies on dialogue and performance, divided into acts, each potentially consisting of several scenes. Key forms include tragedy, comedy, and drama.

Tragedy

Tragedy involves a conflict between the protagonist (hero) and a superior force, often leading to an adverse fate that cannot be avoided. It is characterized by a high and lofty tone, as seen in works like Oedipus Rex.

Comedy

Comedy aims to evoke laughter and ridicule characters, typically with a happy ending. Notable authors include Menander, Shakespeare, and Molière.

Drama

Drama is a theatrical piece that mixes elements of tragedy and comedy. It often features everyday characters and usually has a happy ending. Authors include Corneille and Lope de Vega. Other forms include:

• Autos Sacramentales: Religious acts.
• Melodrama: Featuring good or bad characters and often sad.
• Farce: A brief, grotesque comedy.
• Sainete: A short, comical ridicule.