Introduction
The diversity of the literary world is due not only to the existence of different ideologies and approaches to writing the final creative product but also to the variety of genres within which a work can be written. The literary genre is not an abstract or ambiguous concept but has quite an applied meaning every time an author embarks on writing a work.
In general, the genre should be understood as a group of thematically and rhetorically related literary works that are similar to each other in form and content. This does not mean that all works of the same genre express identical morality and bring nothing new to the literary milieu; rather, the need to work within the genre encourages authors to stand out and use unique means to create a unique work. In turn, having an idea of the unique stylistics, tools, and emotional tone of a particular genre, the writer is free to choose which genre his next work will be written in.
The central basis for dividing works into genres is a set of factors that allow us to judge the focus of the work universally. First is the definition of literary form, that is, the structure followed by the text in the work: it can be a poem, a play, or even an essay. Secondly, the division into genres is related to the final content of the work, whether it is a comedy, horror, or tragedy. A third genre distinction is the author’s attitude toward the artistic world being created. More specifically, if the narrative focuses on the adventures of the characters and the author repeatedly describes the subject world, then the work belongs to the literary epic. On the contrary, if the narrative focuses on the feelings and emotional experiences of the character, then the author takes a lyrical approach to the creation of the work. On the integration of epic and lyric, there is a third, combined path called drama.
This paper examines the diversity of literary genres as a basis for research interest. The paper does not evaluate all existing genres, as this is not possible within the framework of an essay. Nevertheless, a parallel comparative study is conducted for four fields of work creation, namely, fiction, poem, play, and drama. These genres are evaluated in terms of their ideological essence and the rhetorical tools to create lively, rich narratives. In addition, examples from the readings in the course are used to make the essays specific.
A Quick Look at the Origins of Genres
Before discussing the differentiation of genres, it is necessary to understand the evolutionary path that led to the divergence of these styles. The development of genres is historical, meaning that genres have evolved consistently. The traditional founder of literary genres-or, more accurately, the classifier of literary movements-is Aristotle. In his seminal Poetics, the ancient Greek philosopher postulated genres as stable, regular literary systems within which authors must ensure that the works they create conform to genre norms. Specifically, Aristotle summarized genre diversity through three literary groups, including rhythm, melody, and language, and the basis for differentiation was the authors’ ability to imitate absolute nature and the use of specific rhetorical elements (Aristotle 3). Remarkably, by imitation, Aristotle meant a natural trait of human nature to observe the world and copy it in artistic language. In other words, literary genres for Aristotle, especially poetry, are attempts to capture nature through text. Importantly, this approach treats genre as an unchanging pillar of the literary world in which norms, not authors, are central. Thus, any genre changes and deviations can be assessed as a conscious violation of stylistic norms.
Meanwhile, literary reality grew and evolved, and cultural, socio-economic, and political evolutions could not be fully described by the traditional genre classification. Aristotle’s Poetics, therefore, quickly ceased to be seen as a framework, and a wide variety of genres began to appear and disappear consistently. These changes were not immediately recognized by normativism theorists, and a telling example of this is the long-standing non-recognition and neglect of the genre of the novel. Genres continued to evolve and reached the stage of hybrid stylistics, where the final product may be written within several genre concepts at once. One of the authors of such combined genres is Shakespeare, who skillfully combined comedy and tragedy into a new stylistic form of tragicomedy (“Attila and Agnes”). Tragicomedy fully responded to the existing sociocultural features of mass society, so the genre survived.
One of the most important driving forces of literature was the separation of fiction designed for the mass reader from elite literature. As mass literature tried to cover the existing demand for reading experiences, the genres of detective, horror, and science fiction began to emerge actively. In this sense, it is appropriate to quote the German philosopher Goethe, who called genres those types of literature that expressed the author’s different textual relationship to objective reality (Attila and Agnes). These specific normative genres required the author to adhere to a style framework. On the other hand, Elite literature attempted to detach itself from genre differentiation, presenting more cleverly written, ambiguous works. Thus, it is correct to postulate that literary genres are dynamic and impermanent; they tend to evolve and expand. In addition, one of the most important genre-forming trends is the formation of hybrid forms of genres when the author wants to use several rhetorical and stylistic means at once. Among today’s hybrid works is the unpretentious dramatic novel American Knees, which tells the romantic story of the protagonist. A closer reading reveals many more issues raised by the author, including post-traumatic stress disorder, racial diversity, and family well-being.
Comparative Analysis of Genres
It should be stated that one of the defining genre trends is fiction or lit fic. This genre refers to works that seek to utilize the full richness of written language in order to convey necessary emotions and meanings through text. One of the distinguishing features of this literary style is the use of a fictional world and characters that have motives, emotions, and desires that are quite clear to the reader. In the ancient Medea, Euripides used the image of a mythological character, modifying her story by adding elements of epic murder as revenge for adultery. It is important to recognize that fiction always strives to be similar to the real world, but the use of fictional constructions can be more revealing and engaging to the end reader than a documentary description of real events. In fact, fiction is not a genre but a special type of written art for which words are used. The genre trends described above whether drama, lyrics, comedy, or horror, are all units of fiction since their authors created their own world but did not describe real events historically, documentarily. Therefore, from the point of view of the literary professional, it is especially important to distinguish between fiction as comprehensive art and fiction as a separate genre. For example, all of the works read in this course belong to this art form but are written in different genres.
The Genre of Fiction
Genre fiction is only part of general fiction and literary movement that has its own framework and rules. Since genre fiction is a more formalized and unambiguous direction, it is true to recognize that such literature is based on the use of specific tropes and archetypes. Appealing to these allows authors to create work within the confines of fiction and to claim the attention of an audience interested in seeking genre literature. In fact, there are quite a few such formulas which defines the diversity of fiction as a genre. This includes works written as crime, detective, science fiction or horror, westerns, and romance, as well as any other genre strictly following its formulas. A deviation from the canons of genres may be acceptable if the author does so knowingly and clearly understands exactly how he should break the rules (Salman 7). If the rules are broken unprofessionally, and the author does not strictly follow the formulas characteristic of the genre, then such literature becomes classified as fiction, that is, it is light and does not claim to be serious.
A genre of fiction can capture the attention of an audience because it will always follow what the reader desires. It is unlikely that a book in the Horror category will be written about romantic relationships and adventure, but on the contrary, the style of rhetoric, literary tropes, and the author’s narrative will evoke the emotions the reader desires: fear, anxiety, and worry. With regard to the genre of fiction, it is appropriate to assume that its reading is associated with an attempt at escapism on the part of the reader. In fact, escaping from reality into the world of science fiction or romantic relationships may be a sign that the genre does not reflect real life but invites the reader into a world of fictional events. In fact, this is not the case since fiction is built on a foundation of the real world, hyperbolized for credibility. Romantic relationships of this genre are stories of real love that have been reinterpreted and embellished, just as horror or detective stories reveal real emotions and problems in their narratives.
The Genre of Poetry
Unlike the prose strands of literature, the poetry genre proves to be the most obvious because it is associated with the use of a uniquely poetic text format. Works in poetic genres require a particular organization of speech based on the division into lines and stanzas. This deliberate approach to the narrative was built on the need to bring an embellishing style format to ordinary language that could portray the same feelings, emotions, and experiences but through the lens of more elegant language. Like alternative genres, poetry has its own tools that define the framework of the genre. In particular, these include verse rhythm, rhyme, and size: constructions of verse that help give the text integrity and unity of style.
The use of a poetic style of stating the author’s thoughts can be more impactful to the reader because there is an emotional effect of rhyme in such material in addition to the plot. As a consequence, poems can be more comfortable to read and absorb information, which justifies their popularity. Meanwhile, the themes for poetry works are not limited, hence, any element of life, from death to scientific concepts, can be described easily through poems. The applied theme of racial profiling is perfectly demonstrated in the poem “Blink Your Eyes” by Sundiata, in which the author worries about the existence of racial stereotypes of social behavior. In other words, the format of the poems is open to any topics and issues that concern the poet. In addition, poetic texts often become the basis for musical works, which further strengthens the genre with its applied significance.
The Play Genre
The third genre within the current study is the play, whose works are traditionally used as subjects for plays and audio productions. The play is one of the oldest genres, as even Aristotle wrote about theatrical productions based on literary texts. Since plays are limited in time, the play cannot be excessively long, which creates an important genre feature, namely the limitation on the length of the narrative. The limitations extend to the need to specify the time and place of the events taking place, as theatrical productions cannot be abstract. An illustrative example of this is Angelina Grimke’s poignant social play Rachel, which deals with issues of racism and, from the beginning, introduces the reader to a list of roles and locations. The focus of the plays is on the characters and their interactions; hence, the authorial narration is not a widespread practice within this genre. There is also a great emphasis on dialogue, as it is the only tool that allows for the development of characters as the story progresses. At the same time, in order to differentiate the plot and make transitions, the plays use breakdowns into acts that allow one plot part to end and another to begin formally.
Notably, a play can be written in any genre but is usually based on comedy, tragedy, their integration, or social and domestic dramas. The possibility of using different stylistic tools depending on the genre, as well as the proximity of the play to real life due to the need to further transfer the plot to the stage, defines the play as an applied genre. For example, in the play The Women, Clare Luce experimentally turned to creating a strictly female narrative such that not a single man is mentioned in the work — in other words, the genre allows creative freedom to the author. The use of real-life elements in the play genre allows the narrative to be closer to the reader and to convey the author’s ideas and views in a more substantive way. In addition, playwrights are free to combine styles in order to give their product more uniqueness. This is clearly seen in Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which the conflict between romantic relationships and family dramas borders on the use of magic by forest spirits and absurd events. Meanwhile, it should be pointed out that the purpose of writing plays is always based on the desire for further theatrical adaptation. Since plays are a reflection of the sociocultural and political narrative of the era, the plays fulfill the same function. For example, in the short play “Sure Thing,” Ives reveals through comic dialogue the important problem of diversity of opinion in society and creates some semblance of censorship. In other words, the applied value of the plays lies in the possibility of socio-historical analysis of the agenda through the ideas hidden in the story.
The Drama Genre
One of the most problematic literary styles to accurately identify is drama. Drama as a genre tends to be closely related to the play, as the functions of both genres are reduced to a further screen adaptation in theater or film. A distinctive feature of drama is the use of everyday plots that are close to reality. This means that dramas do not tell about fantasy worlds or magical events but instead tell about the complexities of human relationships and conflicts that arise in the world. It is for this reason that drama does not have a strictly narrative structure but is built on the dialogues and emotional expressions of the characters. In turn, the focus on human relationships and the search for man’s place in society determine the difficulty of using rhetorical tropes in the work, whether metaphors, epithets, or allegories.
Of the four genres described, drama is as close to real-life as possible because its core is based on a problem close to the reader. Whether it be complex romantic relationships or friendships, family conflicts, or the search for personal identity in society, in all cases, the drama reveals themes the audience understands. This is perfectly evident in Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, which combines the problem of financial scarcity with the racial discrimination of the family. This is the reason dramas are a constant basis for cinematic adaptations since the genre is aimed at a mass audience. It is also worth saying that dramas do not have a single direction, hence, they can also be written as comedies, tragedies, criminals, and even horror, depending on the thoughts and ideas with which the author created the creative product. For example, the story told about Medea was formulated strictly within the genre of tragedy and did not include additional elements that might help us attribute this drama to another subgenre.
Thus, it is correct to note that the four genres studied are similar in their characteristics but have distinctive features. The play, poem, drama, and fiction as genres can be unified by the single term fiction — that is, art that uses words to translate semantic and emotional constructs. What distinguishes these genres is their direct relationship to life; although each of the genres attempts to explore life from a particular angle, only drama appears to be as close to everyday life as possible. In turn, the genre of fiction may be as distant as possible from the use of real elements and appeal to a magical, unimaginative world, but it should be understood that through such an appeal, the author tries to portray elements of objective reality.
A Comparison of the Two Works
The purpose of this study was to examine the two works in this course in order to determine their overall narrative idea, use of rhetorical elements, and personal reading experience. Among the variety of works studied, two works were chosen, namely the poem “Blink Your Eyes” by Sekou Sundiata and the short play Sure Thing by David Ives. The motivation for choosing these works was primarily due to a personal interest in these works, as the issues they broadcast to find the most reflection and emotional resonance in me.
It is paramount to identify the general ideological essence of each of the works in order to make a more substantive comparative analysis in the future. The short work Sure Thing by Ives is written within the genre of the play, and the specific sub-genre is defined as comedy. The comedic features of the narrative are realized through the absurdity of the events taking place, the dialogues between the characters, and the climax of the plot. More specifically, the play tells the story of Betty and Bill meeting in a café and having a conversation between them. The absurdity of this communication, however, is that the conversation between the two protagonists is interrupted every time one of them expresses disagreement or says the word “no.” Each time after this interruption, the interlocutors have to start the conversation all over again, as the call begins to mean that their dialogue is going in the wrong direction. Thus, Betty and Bill consistently attempt to discuss literature, relationship failures, politics, sexism, and film; however, each time, the topic of conversation is replaced by a phone call.
At first glance, the short story of two strangers meeting in a café becomes, upon closer examination, an important reflection by Ives on how a romantic relationship develops and what is behind the dialogue. In short, Ives tells the story of love at first sight and the further development of such a relationship through a comic lens. Two strangers start discussing their eternal love for each other in just a few minutes, which seems absurd in the context of real life. Nevertheless, in the pages of the play, this plot seems real enough, as it not only amuses the reader but also broadcasts the author’s ideas. Among these implicit ideas is the censorship of themes, which determines which issues and directions should be discussed and which are best ignored. It is unclear to the end exactly what type of force made the bell ring each time. Furthermore, upon deeper reflection on this work, it becomes clear that the concept of love, at first sight, does not work in the world of Ives, for, in reality, the woman and man found common ground only for trivial matters; their true opinions on more serious topics were not made public.
A different story in terms of meaning and even emotional coloring is shown in the poem “Blink Your Eyes” by Sekou Sundiata. Sundiata, in his creative product, tells the story of a dark-skinned man who was driving through the streets of New York to visit his woman by car. However, due to the existence of special laws mandating prohibited behavior for black people, the protagonist’s car is stopped, and he does not get to see his woman. This is an even shorter story that sheds light on a critical issue, namely racial profiling.
According to the concepts of such profiling based on skin color, dark-skinned residents cannot be on certain streets at certain times; they are forbidden. However, a character breaks this rule — consciously or unconsciously — which results in his inability to meet his woman. The idea of racial profiling pervades virtually every stanza of the poem, which is why the line “all depends on the skin you are living in” appears so frequently in Sundiata. Among other rhetorical tools for conveying the desired emotional background and creating the necessary meanings, Sundiata uses word repetition, figurative description, and slang terms, all of which allow the average reader to understand the content more deeply and to feel the mood of the poem’s character.
In comparing the two selected works, it is impossible not to identify their commonalities and differences. In terms of similarities, both the play and the poems tell a fictional story that the reader must believe. In addition, both works have few characters involved: Sundiata addresses one explicit protagonist confronted with systemic injustice, while Ives recounts the casual conversation of two strangers in a café. Meanwhile, there are far more differences between the two works than there are similarities. For example, the play is written in prose form, and each phrase is marked by the speaking character. Thus, there is no need to speculate as to which of the protagonists might have said a particular phrase. The poem is narrated by the author, and much less attention is paid to the dialogues. In addition, the play is not built on a rhyming style of narration, hence, Ives feels freer to choose phrases and words, unlike Sundiata, who needs to rhyme the final words in the lines. Finally, the emotional background after reading each of the pieces is also significantly different. “Blink Your Eyes” reads like a tragic story of social injustice and racial oppression, while Sure Thing does not generate similar thoughts at all. Although both works leave the reader with a sense of understatement and moral dissatisfaction, Sure Thing is a more optimistic read.
If I had to choose between only one of these two works, I would prefer Sure Thing by David Ives. The motivation for my choice is for several reasons at once. First, in his work, Ives chooses to expose the complex and profound through humorous exposition. Because of this, it gives the impression that Ives was more reverent about creating a creative product because he was able to explain complex things in simple language implicitly. In contrast, Sundiata originally chose a direct narrative style, hence, all the problems and facets of meaning are offered to the reader from the first lines. Secondly, the narrative in Sure Thing seems more dynamic and livelier, due to the frequent reference to dialogues that the reader understands. The differentiation of the text into roles also proves to be a more successful narrative strategy, as it minimizes any errors associated with misinterpretation of the author’s invested meaning.
Third, the play takes a rhetorical approach in which the reader must experience emotional hesitation. The comicality of the plot is replaced by a sense of the absurdity of what is happening, which flows into sadness about the impossibility of love at first sight. The emotional background of “Blink Your Eyes” was originally chosen to be heavy and pessimistic, which perfectly demonstrates the social and racial agenda of the time but does not find a match in the interests of the author of this work. Based on the reasons described, it seems that the Sure Thing piece seems more impactful and impressive compared to the poem, as Ives invites the reader to reflect on a broader range of topics. This conclusion does not mean, however, that any play will always be better than a poem, but this was indeed the case for the selected works.
Conclusion
To summarize, the wide variety of literary genres within which authors can write their work should be emphasized. Genre defines a unique set of rules and rhetorical tools that a writer must use to conform to genre style. However, it is a mistake to assume that it is incorrect to deviate from a genre or to combine several trends at once; on the contrary, authors are free to experiment and find their own narratives. Through such experimentation, the development of literary genres is catalyzed, and new styles are created. This paper examined four genres of literature, namely drama, poem, play, and fiction. It was shown exactly what each genre is and what distinguishing features it has. In addition, it has been demonstrated that the works created within these genres approximate life to varying degrees but reflect living elements. The paper also evaluated two readings passed in this course, one poem and one play, for general interest and comparative characteristics. A side-by-side comparison determined that Sure Thing by David Ives is the preferred choice for several of the reasons listed.
Works Cited
Aristotle. The Poetics of Aristotle. Good Press, 2019.
Attila, Kiss and Matuska Ágnes. Introduction to the Study of Cultures and Literatures in English. MentorHalo, 2020.
Salman, Yusra M., and Mohammad S. Mansoor. “Linguistic Deviation in Literary Style.” Cihan University-Erbil Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, vol. 4, no. 1, 2020, pp. 7-16.