Literary terms and concepts

Genre :

A genre is a type of text. The three main literary genres are; Prose , poetry and drama. Genres include: Romance , historical , sci-fi , crime etc.

Form:

Form refers to the overall shape or pattern of the text. Sometimes it means the same as genre.

Structure:

The terms structure and form are often used interchangably though structure can also be seen as a broader term which includes not only form but also sequence of ideas in a text. For example , this might include looking at how a text begins or ends , or how an episode in one part of a novel or play echoes an episode in another part. There might also be identifiable patterns within a text-- for instance , certain symbols or images may be repeated. Prefiguring occurs when something in a text anticipates or foreshadows a later part of the text.

Language:

Considering how writers use language essentially involves studying their use of vocabulary , grammer and sound.

Imagery and symbolism:

An important aspect of vocabulary is imagery. This term sometimes refers very broadly to writing which appeals to any of our five senses. Looked at in this way , there are five types of imagery , accorfing to which of teh senses is involved.

• Visual imagery -sight
• auditory imagery- hearing
• tactile imagery…