What is the definition of the word genre

Genre (from French genre ‘kind, or sort’^[1]) is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time.^[2] In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other forms of art or entertainment, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria, yet genres can be aesthetic, rhetorical, communicative, or functional. Genres form by conventions that change over time as cultures invent new genres and discontinue the use of old ones.^[3] Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions. Stand-alone texts, works, or pieces of communication may have individual styles, but genres are amalgams of these texts based on agreed-upon or socially inferred conventions. Some genres may have rigid, strictly adhered-to guidelines, while others may show great flexibility.

Genre began^{[clarification needed]} as an absolute classification system for ancient Greek literature, as set out in Aristotle’s Poetics.^[4] For Aristotle, poetry (odes, epics, etc.), prose, and performance each had specific design features that supported appropriate content of each genre. Speech patterns for comedy would not be appropriate for tragedy, for example, and even actors were restricted to their genre under the assumption that a type of person could tell one type of story best.

Genres proliferate and develop beyond Aristotle’s classifications in response to changes in audiences and creators.^[5] Genre has become a dynamic tool to help the public make sense out of unpredictability through artistic expression. Given that art is often a response to a social state, in that people write, paint, sing, dance, and otherwise produce art about what they know about, the use of genre as a tool must be able to adapt to changing meanings.

Musician Ezra LaFleur argues that discussion of genre should draw from Ludwig Wittgenstein’s idea of family resemblance.^[6] Genres are helpful labels for communicating but do not necessarily have a single attribute that is the essence of the genre.

Visual arts[edit]

The term genre is much used in the history and criticism of visual art, but in art history has meanings that overlap rather confusingly. Genre painting is a term for paintings where the main subject features human figures to whom no specific identity attaches – in other words, figures are not portraits, characters from a story, or allegorical personifications. These are distinguished from staffage: incidental figures in what is primarily a landscape or architectural painting. Genre painting may also be used as a wider term covering genre painting proper, and other specialized types of paintings such as still-life, landscapes, marine paintings and animal paintings.

The concept of the «hierarchy of genres» was a powerful one in artistic theory, especially between the 17th and 19th centuries. It was strongest in France, where it was associated with the Académie française which held a central role in academic art. The genres in hierarchical order are:

• History painting, including narrative, religious, mythological and allegorical subjects
• Portrait painting
• Genre painting or scenes of everyday life
• Landscape (landscapists were the «common footmen in the Army of Art» according to the Dutch theorist Samuel van Hoogstraten) and cityscape
• Animal painting
• Still life

Literature[edit]

A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even (as in the case of fiction) length. Genre should not be confused with age category, by which literature may be classified as either adult, young adult, or children’s. They also must not be confused with format, such as graphic novel or picture book. The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, often with subgroups.

The most general genres in literature are (in loose chronological order) epic, tragedy,^[7] comedy, novel, and short story. They can all be in the genres prose or poetry, which shows best how loosely genres are defined. Additionally, a genre such as satire might appear in any of the above, not only as a subgenre but as a mixture of genres. Finally, they are defined by the general cultural movement of the historical period in which they were composed. In popular fiction, which is especially divided by genres, genre fiction is the more usual term.

In literature, genre has been known as an intangible taxonomy. This taxonomy implies a concept of containment or that an idea will be stable forever. The earliest recorded systems of genre in Western history can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle. Gérard Genette, a French literary theorist and author of The Architext, describes Plato as creating three Imitational genres: dramatic dialogue, pure narrative, and epic (a mixture of dialogue and narrative). Lyric poetry, the fourth and final type of Greek literature, was excluded by Plato as a non-mimetic mode. Aristotle later revised Plato’s system by eliminating the pure narrative as a viable mode and distinguishing by two additional criteria: the object to be imitated, as objects could be either superior or inferior, and the medium of presentation such as words, gestures or verse. Essentially, the three categories of mode, object, and medium dialogue, epic (superior-mixed narrative), comedy (inferior-dramatic dialogue), and parody (inferior-mixed narrative). Genette continues by explaining the later integration of lyric poetry into the classical system during the romantic period, replacing the now removed pure narrative mode. Lyric poetry, once considered non-mimetic, was deemed to imitate feelings, becoming the third leg of a new tripartite system: lyrical, epical, and dramatic dialogue. This system, which came to «dominate all the literary theory of German romanticism (and therefore well beyond)…» (38), has seen numerous attempts at expansion or revision. However, more ambitious efforts to expand the tripartite system resulted in new taxonomic systems of increasing scope and complexity.

Genette reflects upon these various systems, comparing them to the original tripartite arrangement: «its structure is somewhat superior to…those that have come after, fundamentally flawed as they are by their inclusive and hierarchical taxonomy, which each time immediately brings the whole game to a standstill and produces an impasse» (74). Taxonomy allows for a structured classification system of genre, as opposed to a more contemporary rhetorical model of genre.

Film[edit]

The basic genres of film can be regarded as drama, in the feature film and most cartoons, and documentary. Most dramatic feature films, especially from Hollywood fall fairly comfortably into one of a long list of film genres such as the Western, war film, horror film, romantic comedy film, musical, crime film, and many others. Many of these genres have a number of subgenres, for example by setting or subject, or a distinctive national style, for example in the Indian Bollywood musical.

Music[edit]

A music genre is a conventional category that identifies pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions.^[8] It is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometimes used interchangeably.^{[citation needed]} There are numerous genres in Western classical music and popular music, as well as musical theatre and the music of non-Western cultures. The term is now perhaps over-used to describe relatively small differences in musical style in modern rock music, that also may reflect sociological differences in their audiences.^{[citation needed]} Timothy Laurie suggests that in the context of rock and pop music studies, the «appeal of genre criticism is that it makes narratives out of musical worlds that often seem to lack them».^[9]

Music can be divided into different genres in several ways. The artistic nature of music means that these classifications are often arbitrary and controversial, and some genres may overlap. There are several academic approaches to genres. In his book Form in Tonal Music, Douglass M. Green lists madrigal, motet, canzona, ricercar, and dance as examples of genres from the Renaissance period. According to Green, «Beethoven’s Op. 61 and Mendelssohn’s Op. 64 are identical in genre – both are violin concertos – but different in form. However, Mozart’s Rondo for Piano, K. 511, and the Agnus Dei from his Mass, K. 317 are quite different in genre but happen to be similar in form.»^[10] Some, like Peter van der Merwe, treat the terms genre and style as the same, saying that genre should be defined as pieces of music that share a certain style or «basic musical language».^[11]

Others, such as Allan F. Moore, state that genre and style are two separate terms, and that secondary characteristics such as subject matter can also differentiate between genres.^[12] A music genre or subgenre may be defined by the musical techniques, the styles, the context, and content and spirit of the themes. Geographical origin is sometimes used to identify a music genre, though a single geographical category will often include a wide variety of subgenres.

Several music scholars have criticized the priority accorded to genre-based communities and listening practices. For example, Laurie argues that «music genres do not belong to isolated, self-sufficient communities. People constantly move between environments where diverse forms of music are heard, advertised and accessorised with distinctive iconographies, narratives and celebrity identities that also touch on non-musical worlds.»^[9]

Popular culture and other media[edit]

The concept of genre is often applied, sometimes rather loosely, to other media with an artistic element, such as video game genres. Genre, and numerous minutely divided subgenres, affect popular culture very significantly, not least as they are used to classify it for publicity purposes. The vastly increased output of popular culture in the age of electronic media encourages dividing cultural products by genre to simplify the search for products by consumers, a trend the Internet has only intensified.

Linguistics[edit]

In philosophy of language, genre figures prominently in the works of philosopher and literary scholar Mikhail Bakhtin. Bakhtin’s basic observations were of «speech genres» (the idea of heteroglossia), modes of speaking or writing that people learn to mimic, weave together, and manipulate (such as «formal letter» and «grocery list», or «university lecture» and «personal anecdote»). In this sense, genres are socially specified: recognized and defined (often informally) by a particular culture or community. The work of Georg Lukács also touches on the nature of literary genres, appearing separately but around the same time (1920s–1930s) as Bakhtin. Norman Fairclough has a similar concept of genre that emphasizes the social context of the text: Genres are «different ways of (inter)acting discoursally» (Fairclough, 2003: 26).

A text’s genre may be determined by its:

1. Linguistic function.
2. Formal traits.
3. Textual organization.
4. Relation of communicative situation to formal and organizational traits of the text (Charaudeau and Maingueneau, 2002:278–280).

Rhetoric[edit]

In the field of rhetoric, genre theorists usually understand genres as types of actions rather than types or forms of texts.^[13] On this perspective, texts are channels through which genres are enacted. Carolyn Miller’s^[14] work has been especially important for this perspective. Drawing on Lloyd Bitzer’s concept of rhetorical situation,^[15] Miller reasons that recurring rhetorical problems tend to elicit recurring responses; drawing on Alfred Schütz,^[16] she reasons that these recurring responses become «typified» – that is, socially constructed as recognizable types. Miller argues that these «typified rhetorical actions» (p. 151) are properly understood as genres.

Building off of Miller, Charles Bazerman and Clay Spinuzzi have argued that genres understood as actions derive their meaning from other genres – that is, other actions. Bazerman therefore proposes that we analyze genres in terms of «genre systems»,^[17] while Spinuzzi prefers the closely related concept of «genre ecologies».^[18] Reiff and Bawarshi define genre analysis as a critical reading of people’s patterns of communication in different situations.^[13]

This tradition has had implications for the teaching of writing in American colleges and universities. Combining rhetorical genre theory with activity theory, David Russell has proposed that standard English composition courses are ill-suited to teach the genres that students will write in other contexts across the university and beyond.^[19] Elizabeth Wardle contends that standard composition courses do teach genres, but that these are inauthentic «mutt genres» that are often of little use outside of composition courses.^[20]

Genre is effective as a tool in rhetoric because it allows a speaker to set the context for a rhetorical discussion. Devitt, Reiff, and Bawarshi suggest that rhetorical genres may be assigned based on careful analysis of the subject matter and consideration of the audience.^[21]

Genre is related to Ludwig Wittgenstein’s theory of Family resemblance in which he describes how genres act like a family tree, where members of a family are related, but not exact copies of one another. ^[22]

History[edit]

This concept of genre originated from the classification systems created by Plato. Plato divided literature into the three classic genres accepted in Ancient Greece: poetry, drama, and prose. Poetry is further subdivided into epic, lyric, and drama. The divisions are recognized as being set by Aristotle and Plato; however, they were not the only ones. Many genre theorists added to these accepted forms of poetry.

Classical and Romance genre theory[edit]

The earliest recorded systems of genre in Western history can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle. Gérard Genette explains his interpretation of the history of genre in «The Architext». He described Plato as the creator of three imitational, mimetic genres distinguished by mode of imitation rather than content. These three imitational genres include dramatic dialogue, the drama; pure narrative, the dithyramb; and a mixture of the two, the epic. Plato excluded lyric poetry as a non-mimetic, imitational mode. Genette further discussed how Aristotle revised Plato’s system by first eliminating the pure narrative as a viable mode. He then uses two additional criteria to distinguish the system. The first of the criteria is the object to be imitated, whether superior or inferior. The second criterion is the medium of presentation: words, gestures, or verse. Essentially, the three categories of mode, object, and medium can be visualized along an XYZ axis. Excluding the criteria of medium, Aristotle’s system distinguished four types of classical genres: tragedy, epic, comedy, and parody.

Genette explained the integration of lyric poetry into the classical system by replacing the removed pure narrative mode. Lyric poetry, once considered non-mimetic, was deemed to imitate feelings, becoming the third «Architext», a term coined by Gennette, of a new long-enduring tripartite system: lyrical; epical, the mixed narrative; and dramatic, the dialogue. This new system that came to «dominate all the literary theory of German romanticism» (Genette 38) has seen numerous attempts at expansion and revision. Such attempts include Friedrich Schlegel’s triad of subjective form, the lyric; objective form, the dramatic; and subjective-objective form, the epic. However, more ambitious efforts to expand the tripartite system resulted in new taxonomic systems of increasing complexity. Gennette reflected upon these various systems, comparing them to the original tripartite arrangement: «its structure is somewhat superior to most of those that have come after, fundamentally flawed as they are by their inclusive and hierarchical taxonomy, which each time immediately brings the whole game to a standstill and produces an impasse».

Audiences[edit]

Although genres are not always precisely definable, genre considerations are one of the most important factors in determining what a person will see or read. The classification properties of genre can attract or repel potential users depending on the individual’s understanding of a genre.

Genre creates an expectation in that expectation is met or not. Many genres have built-in audiences and corresponding publications that support them, such as magazines and websites. Inversely, audiences may call out for change in an antecedent genre and create an entirely new genre.

The term may be used in categorizing web pages, like «news page» and «fan page», with both very different layout, audience, and intention (Rosso, 2008). Some search engines like Vivísimo try to group found web pages into automated categories in an attempt to show various genres the search hits might fit.

Subgenre[edit]

A subgenre is a subordinate within a genre,^[23][24] Two stories being the same genre can still sometimes differ in subgenre. For example, if a fantasy story has darker and more frightening elements of fantasy, it would belong in the subgenre of dark fantasy; whereas another fantasy story that features magic swords and wizards would belong to the subgenre of sword and sorcery.

Microgenre[edit]

A microgenre is a highly specialized, narrow classification of a cultural practice. The term has come into usage in the 21st century, and most commonly refers to music.^[25] It is also associated with the hyper-specific categories used in recommendations for television shows and movies on digital streaming platforms such as Netflix, and is sometimes used more broadly by scholars analyzing niche forms in other periods and other media.^[26]

See also[edit]

• List of genres

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

Sources[edit]

Further readings[edit]

• Pare, Anthony. «Genre and Identity». The Rhetoric and Ideology of Genre: Strategies for Stability and Change. Eds. Richard M. Coe, Lorelei Lingard, and Tatiana Teslenko. Creskill, N.J.: Hampton Press, 2002.ISBN 978-1572733848.
• Sullivan, Ceri (2007) «Disposable elements? Indications of genre in early modern titles», Modern Language Review 102.3, pp. 641–653.

External links[edit]

• Genres of film at the Internet Movie Database
• Helping Children Understand Literary Genres
• Rhetorica Genre Archived 2021-02-24 at the Wayback Machine
• Museum of Broadcast Communications Archived 2013-05-14 at the Wayback Machine
• Dictionary.com

Genre definition: Genre is the organization and classification of writing.

What does genre mean? Genre is the organization of literature into categories based on the type of writing the piece exemplifies through its content, form, or style.

Example of Literary Genre

The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke fits under the genre of poetry because its written with lines that meter and rhythm and is divided into stanzas.

It does not follow the traditional sentence-paragraph format that is seen in other genres

Types of Literary Genre

There are a few different types of genre in literature. Let’s examine a few of them.

Poetry: Poetry is a major literary genre that can take many forms. Some common characteristics that poetry shares are that it is written in lines that have meter and rhythm. These lines are put together to form stanza in contrast to other writings that utilize sentences that are divided into paragraphs. Poetry often relies heavily on figurative language such as metaphors and similes in order to convey meanings and create images for the reader.

• “Sonnet 18” is a poem by William Shakespeare that falls within this category of literature. It is a structured poem that consists of 14 lines that follow a meter (iambic pentameter) and a rhyme scheme that is consist with Shakespearean Sonnets.

Drama: This literary genre is often also referred to as a play and is performed in front of an audience. Dramas are written through dialogue and include stage directions for the actors to follow.

• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde would be considered a drama because it is written through dialogue in the form of a script that includes stage directions to aid the actors in the performance of the play.

Prose: Prose is a type of writing that is written through the use of sentences. These sentences are combined to form paragraphs. This type of writing is broad and includes both fiction and non-fiction.

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an example of fictional prose. It is written in complete sentences and divided through paragraphs.

Fiction: Fiction is a type of prose that is not real. Authors have the freedom to create a story based on characters or events that are products of their imaginations. While fiction can be based on true events, the stories they tell are imaginative in nature.

Like poetry, this genre also uses figurative language; however, it is more structural in nature and more closely follows grammatical conventions. Fiction often follows Freytag’s plot pyramid that includes an exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, and dénouement.

• The novel Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut is an example of a fictional story about the main character’s experience with his self-acclaimed ability to time travel.

Nonfiction: Nonfiction is another type of prose that is factual rather than imaginative in nature. Because it is more factual and less imaginative, it may use less figurative language. Nonfiction varies however from piece to piece. It may tell a story through a memoir or it could be strictly factual in nature like a history textbook.

• The memoir Night by Elie Wiesel is a memoir telling the story of Wiesel’s experience as a young Jewish boy during the Holocaust.

The Function of Genre

Genre is important in order to be able to organize writings based on their form, content, and style.

For example, this allows readers to discern whether or not the events being written about in a piece are factual or imaginative. Genre also distinguishes the purpose of the piece and the way in which it is to be delivered. In other words, plays are meant to be performed and speeches are meant to be delivered orally whereas novels and memoirs are meant to be read.

Summary: What Are Literary Genres?

Define genre in literature: Genre is the classification and organization of literary works into the following categories: poetry, drama, prose, fiction, and nonfiction. The works are divided based on their form, content, and style. While there are subcategories to each of these genres, these are the main categories in which literature is divided.

Final Example:

The short story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a fictional short story that is written in prose. It fits under the prose category because it is written using complete sentences that follow conventional grammar rules that are then formed into paragraphs.

The story is also identified as fictional because it is an imagined story that follows the plot structure.

Contents

• 1 What is Genre in Literature?
• 2 Example of Literary Genre
• 3 Types of Literary Genre
• 4 The Function of Genre
• 5 Summary: What Are Literary Genres?

Even if you’re not a movie aficionado or an avid reader, you’ve likely come across the word “genre” before — but what exactly is a genre? 

In this article, we’ll provide you with everything you need to know about the term genre, including its definition, origin, and more. So if you’ve ever been curious about genres, keep reading.  

What Is the Definition of Genre?

/ˈʒɑːn.rə /ˈʒɑ̃ː.rə /ˈʒɒn.rə /

According to many trusted American English Dictionaries, a genre is a specific type of writing, music, or film — essentially, a particular type of art. 

Genre, when used in reference to literature or film, is based on the plot of the story, its subject, as well as its setting. When we use genre in reference to music, however, it simply refers to its musical style. 

Below you will find some of the most common musical genres and a few of their subgenres:

• Alternative — grunge, punk, new-wave, progressive, lo-fi, and crossover thrash
• Blues — NY blues, Kansas City blues, piano blues, and modern blues
• Children’s Music — lullabies and sing-alongs
• Classical — wedding music, symphony, sonata, orchestral, and chamber music 
• Comedy — stand up comedy and parody music
• Country — bluegrass, honky tonk, cowboy/ western, and outlaw country
• Dance — dubstep, club, trance, techno, liquid dub, and house
• Easy Listening — elevator and background
• Electronic Music — ambient, drum & bass, electro, and Eurodance
• Hip Hop/ Rap — g-funk, golden age, dirty south, and trap
• Holiday — Christmas. Halloween, thanksgiving, and easter 
• Jazz — contemporary jazz, smooth jazz, neo-swing, and Dixieland
• Latin — cumbia, punta, mariachi, and mambo
• Metal — speed metal, thrash metal, dark metal, black metal, and death metal
• Pop — Europop, bubblegum pop, dance-pop, and wonky pop
• R&B/ Soul — Subgenres include; doo-wop, funk, Motown, and soul
• Reggae — ska, 2-tone, and reggae fusion
• Rock — glam rock, rockabilly, metalcore, and alternative rock

In addition, you may see genre used as a modifier in genre painting. These paintings have Dometic scenes of everyday life at the center of their subject matter. 

What Is the Word Origin of Genre?

Believe it or not, the word genre dates back to the early 19th century. As with many words that are commonly used in daily conversation, genre comes from a language based on Latin — French. You see, genre derives from the French “genre,” which literally means “kind.”

Closely related to the word Genus, this word is one that you may have come across in science class. Genus, as well as genre, contain the root gen- which indicates that everything from a particular category (either genre or genus) belongs to the same family and in turn, has one origin. 

What Are the Common Types of Film Genres?

More often than not, the term genre is used to categorize film, namely movies and television shows. That said, genres on the big screen often overlap with one another. For example, you may see comedy in a romance (AKA rom-com). 

With that in mind, here are some of the most common film genres and their subgenres (when applicable):

• Comedy Genre — Subgenres of the comedy genre; romantic comedy, screwball comedy, dark comedy, satire, slapstick comedy, and farce
• Spy Genre
• Fantasy Genre
• Drama Genre
• Adventure genre
• Crime Genre 
• Action Genre
• Thriller Genre
• Biography Genre
• Film Noir
• Neo-Noir
• Mystery Genre
• Science Fiction Genre 
• War Genre
• Horror Genre
• Western Genre 

What Are the Synonyms and Antonyms of Genre?

To further your understanding of the word genre, let’s review a few synonyms and antonyms. 

A synonym is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in a given language. Synonyms of genre include:

• Type
• Class
• Kind
• Writing style 
• Species
• Group
• Tribe
• Line 
• Brand
• Classification
• Section
• Strain
• Model
• Heirs and assigns
• Category
• Art form
• Subdivision 
• Variety
• Breed
• Menage 
• Make 
• Genealogy
• Lineage
• Ancestry
• Kith and kin

An antonym is a word or phrase opposite in meaning to another. Antonyms of genre include:

• Misrepresentation 
• Individual
• Whole
• Psych out
• Break up
• Clutter 
• Eccentricity 
• Peculiarity 
• Jumble 
• Analogy 
• Individualism 
• Individuality 
• Straying
• Detour 
• One
• Unclassifiability 
• Departure
• Gracelessness 

How Can You Use Genre in a Sentence?

Now that you understand what a genre is, it’s time to put your newfound knowledge to the test! Practice using the word genre in a sentence or feel free to explore our usage examples listed below:

“I have never been one to watch any film out of the thriller genre, I am just far too jumpy.” 

“Mrs. Baker asked us to write a short story from a genre of our choice — so of course I picked sci-fi!”

“I knew it was love at first sight when John told me his favorite movie genre was horror.”

“After reading several books from various genres, I can confidently say that romance novels are my all-time fav.”

“Sarah can’t watch any movies that fall under the blood and guts genre or it’ll give her nightmares.” 

What Are Translations of Genre?

Although there are a number of ways one can say “genre,” some of the most common translations include:

• Italian: genere 
• Japanese: ジャンル
• Korean: 장르
• British English: genre
• European Portuguese: género 
• Spanish: género 
• American English: genre 
• Brazilian Portuguese: gênero 
• Chinese: 体裁文学、绘画、音乐、电影等艺术作品的
• European Spanish: género 
• French: genre 
• German: Genre
• Thai: ประเภทของงานวรรณกรรม ภาพวาด ดนตรี และภาพยนตร์

Bottom Line

Simply put, genre can be defined as a category of musical, artistic, or literary composition characterized by a particular form, style, or content. Some of the most popular genres include rock, romance, rap, country, suspense, metal, horror, and jazz. 

Sources:

1. Genre Synonyms | Collins English Thesaurus 
2. GENRE definition | The Cambridge English Dictionary
3. What does genre mean? Best 9 Definitions of Genre | Your Dictionary 

Definition of Genre

Genre originates from the French word meaning kind or type. As a literary device, genre refers to a form, class, or type of literary work. The primary genres in literature are poetry, drama/play, essay, short story, and novel. The term genre is used quite often to denote literary sub-classifications or specific types of literature such as comedy, tragedy, epic poetry, thriller, science fiction, romance, etc.

It’s important to note that, as a literary device, the genre is closely tied to the expectations of readers. This is especially true for literary sub-classifications. For example, Jane Austen’s work is classified by most as part of the romance fiction genre, as demonstrated by this quote from her novel Sense and Sensibility:

When I fall in love, it will be forever.

Though Austen’s work is more complex than most formulaic romance novels, readers of Austen’s work have a set of expectations that it will feature a love story of some kind. If a reader found space aliens or graphic violence in a Jane Austen novel, this would undoubtedly violate their expectations of the romantic fiction genre.

Difference Between Style and Genre

Although both seem similar, the style is different from the genre. In simple terms, style means the characters or features of the work of a single person or individual. However, the genre is the classification of those words into broader categories such as modernist, postmodernist or short fiction and novels, and so on. Genres also have sub-genre, but the style does not have sub-styles. Style usually have further features and characteristics.

Common Examples of Genre

Genres could be divided into four major categories which also have further sub-categories. The four major categories are given below.

1. Poetry: It could be categorized into further sub-categories such as epic, lyrical poetry, odes, sonnets, quatrains, free verse poems, etc.
2. Fiction: It could be categorized into further sub-categories such as short stories, novels, skits, postmodern fiction, modern fiction, formal fiction, and so on.
3. Prose: It could be further categorized into sub-genres or sub-categories such as essays, narrative essays, descriptive essays, autobiography, biographical writings, and so on.
4. Drama: It could be categorized into tragedy, comedy, romantic comedy, absurd theatre, modern play, and so on.

Common Examples of Fiction Genre

In terms of literature, fiction refers to the prose of short stories, novellas, and novels in which the story originates from the writer’s imagination. These fictional literary forms are often categorized by genre, each of which features a particular style, tone, and storytelling devices and elements.

Here are some common examples of genre fiction and their characteristics:

• Literary Fiction: a work with artistic value and literary merit.
• Thriller: features dark, mysterious, and suspenseful plots.
• Horror: intended to scare and shock the reader while eliciting a sense of terror or dread; may feature scary entities such as ghosts, zombies, evil spirits, etc.
• Mystery: generally features a detective solving a case with a suspenseful plot and slowly revealing information for the reader to piece together.
• Romance: features a love story or romantic relationship; generally lighthearted, optimistic, and emotionally satisfying.
• Historical: plot takes place in the past with balanced realism and creativity; can feature actual historical figures, events, and settings.
• Western: generally features cowboys, settlers, or outlaws of the American Old West with themes of the frontier.
• Bildungsroman: story of a character passing from youth to adulthood with psychological and/or moral growth; the character becomes “educated” through loss, a journey, conflict, and maturation.
• Science Fiction: speculative stories derived and/or inspired by natural and social sciences; generally features futuristic civilizations, time travel, or space exploration.
• Dystopian: sub-genre of science fiction in which the story portrays a setting that may appear utopian but has a darker, underlying presence that is problematic.
• Fantasy: speculative stories with imaginary characters in imaginary settings; can be inspired by mythology or folklore and generally include magical elements.
• Magical Realism: realistic depiction of a story with magical elements that are accepted as “normal” in the universe of the story.
• Realism: depiction of real settings, people, and plots as a means of approaching the truth of everyday life and laws of nature.

Examples of Writers Associated with Specific Genre Fiction

Writers are often associated with a specific genre of fictional literature when they achieve critical acclaim, public notoriety, and/or commercial success with readers for a particular work or series of works. Of course, this association doesn’t limit the writer to that particular genre of fiction. However, being paired with a certain type of literature can last for an author’s entire career and beyond.

Here are some examples of writers that have become associated with specific fiction genre:

• Stephen King: horror
• Ray Bradbury: science fiction
• Jackie Collins: romance
• Toni Morrison: black feminism
• John le Carré: espionage
• Philippa Gregory: historical fiction
• Jacqueline Woodson: racial identity fiction
• Philip Pullman: fantasy
• Flannery O’Connor: Southern Gothic
• Shel Silverstein: children’s poetry
• Jonathan Swift: satire
• Larry McMurtry: western
• Virginia Woolf: feminism
• Raymond Chandler: detective fiction
• Colson Whitehead: Afrofuturism
• Gabriel García Márquez: magical realism
• Madeleine L’Engle: children’s fantasy fiction
• Agatha Christie: mystery
• John Green: young adult fiction
• Margaret Atwood: dystopian

Famous Examples of Genre in Other Art Forms

Most art forms feature genre as a means of identifying, differentiating, and categorizing the many forms and styles within a particular type of art. Though there are many crossovers when it comes to genre and no finite boundaries, most artistic works within a particular genre feature shared patterns, characteristics, and conventions.

Here are some famous examples of genres in other art forms:

• Music: rock, country, hip hop, folk, classical, heavy metal, jazz, blues
• Visual Art: portrait, landscape, still life, classical, modern, impressionism, expressionism
• Drama: comedy, tragedy, tragicomedy, melodrama, performance, musical theater, illusion
• Cinema: action, horror, drama, romantic comedy, western, adventure, musical, documentary, short, biopic, fantasy, superhero, sports

Examples of Genre in Literature

As a literary device, the genre is like an implied social contract between writers and their readers. This does not mean that writers must abide by all conventions associated with a specific genre. However, there are organizational patterns within a genre that readers tend to expect. Genre expectations allow readers to feel familiar with the literary work and help them to organize the information presented by the writer. In addition, keeping with genre conventions can establish a writer’s relationship with their readers and a framework for their literature.

Here are some examples of genres in literature and the conventions they represent:

Example 1: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

The formal genre of this well-known literary work is Shakespearean drama or play. Macbeth can be sub-categorized as a literary tragedy in that the play features the elements of a classical tragic work. For example, Macbeth’s character aligns with the traits and path of a tragic hero–a protagonist whose tragic flaw brings about his downfall from power to ruin. This tragic arc of the protagonist often results in catharsis (emotional release) and potential empathy among readers and members of the audience.

In addition to featuring classical characteristics and conventions of the tragic genre, Shakespeare’s play also resonates with modern readers and audiences as a tragedy. In this passage, one of Macbeth’s soliloquies, his disillusionment, and suffering is made clear in that, for all his attempts and reprehensible actions at gaining power, his life has come to nothing. Macbeth realizes that death is inevitable, and no amount of power can change that truth. As Macbeth’s character confronts his mortality and the virtual meaninglessness of his life, readers and audiences are called to do the same. Without affirmation or positive resolution, Macbeth’s words are as tragic for readers and audiences as they are for his own character.

Like Macbeth, Shakespeare’s tragedies are as currently relevant as they were when they were written. The themes of power, ambition, death, love, and fate incorporated in his tragic literary works are universal and timeless. This allows tragedy as a genre to remain relatable to modern and future readers and audiences.

Example 2: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and my uncles. A girl child ain’t safe in a family of men. But I never thought I’d have to fight in my own house. She let out her breath. I loves Harpo, she say. God knows I do. But I’ll kill him dead before I let him beat me.

The formal genre of this literary work is novel. Walker’s novel can be sub-categorized within many fictional genres. This passage represents and validates its sub-classification within the genre of feminist fiction. Sofia’s character, at the outset, is assertive as a black woman who has been systematically marginalized in her community and family, and she expresses her independence from the dominance and control of men. Sofia is a foil character for Celie, the protagonist, who often submits to the power, control, and brutality of her husband. The juxtaposition of these characters indicates the limited options and harsh consequences faced by women with feminist ideals in the novel.

Unfortunately, Sofia’s determination to fight for herself leads her to be beaten close to death and sent to prison when she asserts herself in front of the white mayor’s wife. However, Sofia’s strong feminist traits have a significant impact on the other characters in the novel, and though she is not able to alter the systemic racism and subjugation she faces as a black woman, she does maintain her dignity as a feminist character in the novel.

Example 3: A Word to Husbands by Ogden Nash

To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
Whenever you’re right, shut up.

The formal genre of this literary work is poetry. Nash’s poem would be sub-categorized within the genre of humor. The poet’s message to what is presumably his fellow husbands is witty, clear, and direct–through the wording and message of the last poetic line may be unexpected for many readers. In addition, the structure of the poem sets up the “punchline” at the end. The piece begins with poetic wording that appears to romanticize love and marriage, which makes the contrasting “base” language of the final line a satisfying surprise and ironic twist for the reader. The poet’s tone is humorous and light-hearted which also appeals to the characteristics and conventions of this genre.

Synonyms of Genre

Genre doesn’t have direct synonyms. A few close meanings are category, class, group, classification, grouping, head, heading, list, set, listing, and categorization. Some other words such as species, variety, family, school, and division also fall in the category of its synonyms.

The great gestures, the large-scale maps, the grand manner are for history and epic, but genre for the novel — and what _genre_ is so momentous to it as the human? ❋ Maurice Hewlett (1892)

Writers making serious dough in genre is good news for everyone. ❋ Unknown (2009)

The traditional meaning of the term genre has been distorted. ❋ Unknown (2009)

Exorbitant claims are inherent in another title genre: things that have changed the world. ❋ Unknown (2009)

The use of the term genre is difficult as it’s less a commercial genre as it is a fan genre coming primarily out of fiction literature gradually expanding into the cinema. ❋ Unknown (2008)

LNN: Some of the traits that separate your projects from other short films in the genre is the high production value and the acting. ❋ Unknown (2009)

I also think that writers like Christina Dodd and Karen Robards returning to the genre is a very good thing. ❋ Unknown (2010)

I think that the puzzle could be clarified if we are absolutely clear about what the genre is here; not «rap» but «rap artists stocked by Tower Records». ❋ Unknown (2009)

«I’m not used to this genre,» she announces before declaring, rightly, that it’s the first time the word «genre» has been used in panto. ❋ Unknown (2011)

Then I noticed that the genre is also a mirror to better reflect the dark side of human beings. ❋ Unknown (2009)

Taboos in scifi-fantasy fiction as asked of «writers» of this genre is the question, I am a reader, so I do not have to stick to the issue like a fly in a web. ❋ Unknown (2009)

There were problems, birth pains, if you will, but the enthusiasm of the 3500 fans who attended was a reminder of why this genre is a living, growing community …. ❋ Lou Anders (2008)

To be elevated above the genre is a transcendent death and the birth of Literature, but as these movements harden, coalesce, are named, they fall back as subgeneric moments of SF. ❋ Hal Duncan (2008)

The last issue with the genre is the poor execution. ❋ Unknown (2008)

David was nominated for a Pulitzer and even though my genre is about as far away from his as one can get and still both be called fiction, he’s shouted from the rooftops and beat the drums in support. ❋ Unknown (2008)

Past the to-ing and fro-ing and scene dressing, the genre is about the search for a reliable truth. ❋ Unknown (2008)

Examples of film genres could include: Action, Comedy, Drama, [Romance], Kids, [Horror], [Science Fiction]. ❋ Bluemovieboi (2006)

[My favorite] genre is [Science Fiction]. ❋ Downstrike (2004)

I was once [kicked out] of a music [chat room] based on the «metal» genre because I listen to «[nu-metal]». ❋ Nine.inch.needles (2004)

Examples of «genres» include:
[Literature]: Fantasy, [Romance]
Music: [Death metal], Country ❋ Zeei (2006)

Examples of film genres could include: Action, Comedy, Drama, [Romance], Kids, [Horror], [Science Fiction]. ❋ Bluemovieboi (2006)

I gave u a example [up there]!!!! Genres r like [labels] and ppl should » Put labels on [soup cans] NOT ppl» ❋ Kelly (2005)

The [genre] of [death metal] ❋ LarsTaiT (2003)

post-emopop punk-core (a genreful [version] of the more [simple] ‘pop’ [genre]). ❋ Aktion (2006)

Me: So you listen to metal?
Genre Fag: I don’t listen to [metal man], I only listen to post punk [harmonic] death [core]. ❋ Toxicmind (2009)

I found them to be genre challenged as they were [stuck] on [the music] they listened to in their [teens]. ❋ Mike Motschko (2007)