Genre

The term genre (/(d)ʒɑn.ɹə/, from French genre, meaning 'kind, sort') refers to a particular category of literature, music, film, or other forms of art or entertainment; a genre or category is defined by various conventions that have developed over time. Conventions refer to typical stylistic criteria, characteristics, or standards that are socially agreed upon, that is, that the artists and the public have come to agree upon, in terms of the various techniques and characteristics that they expect or typically use for audiences of a particular genre. The concept of genre and conventions can apply to any kind of written, spoken, audio, or visual products, whether they are more entertainment driven and commercially motivated, or more serious, aesthetic, or artistic.

The first to define genre in the Western tradition was Aristotle, in his book The Poetics, in which he specified features that were characteristic of and appropriate for each genre, such as poetry (including odes and epic poems), prose, comedy, drama, and tragedy. Some genre categories today may be fairly rigid, while others may be more flexible. Genres can change over time, and new ones may emerge, as genres are created, and old ones fall out of use. Major genres may be divided into subcategores (see examples below). Some works may fall into multiple genre or subgenre categories by borrowing and recombining their stylistic conventions. The term genre generally applies to larger works, as opposed to the individual styles of shorter stand-alone texts or pieces.

1 Literature

Literary genres are often distinguished by the following stylistic characteristics.

• literary techniques
• tone
• content
• length
• intended audience

Common literary genres include:

1. Prose or poetry - which other genres may be classified under.
2. epic
3. tragedy
4. comedy
5. novel
6. parody
7. short story
8. poetry

More specific genre categories include the following.

1. Literary fiction, dealing with characters and their inner lives and perspectives
2. Romance
3. Action adventure, which involves a protagonist in danger and action (which is often fast-paced)
4. Suspense/Thriller, which involves a protagonist in danger
5. Science fiction
6. Fantasy, which has mythical or magical elements, such as Lord of the Rings
7. Speculative fiction, which is set in a somewhat different world or timeline; this may overlap with some types of science fiction or alternative histories.
8. Young adult, with teenagers or very young adults as major characters, and aimed at teenage and young adult audiences
9. New adults, with college-age major characters, aimed at young adult audiences
10. Mystery, in which a protagonist solves a crime
11. Police procedurals, in which a police officer or detective solves a crime
12. Westerns: stories that are set in the old American West. Plots and characters include cowboys, settlers, outlaws, native Americans ("Indians"), miners, and stories of survival, romance, or adventure.
13. Family saga, involving two or more generations of families
14. Women's fiction, involving female characters and typical situations of women
15. Magical realism, in which characters' lives involve magical events, which they don't find unusual; a good example is Cien Anos de Soledad (100 Years of Solitude) by Gabriel Marquez.
16. Memoirs
17. Biography
18. Play
19. Musical
20. Satire
21. Horror

More serious non-fiction, rhetorical (i.e., persuasive) and academic writing can include the following.

1. Rhetorical, persuasive, or argumentative essay
2. Problem-solution essay
3. Research essay or paper
4. Thesis: a major work involving original research for an advanced university degree
5. Conference paper
6. Monograph: a research-based academic book

2 Film

Films might be classified as full-length feature films, short films, and documentaries. Many genres and subgenres exist, and various techniques can be used such as tropes and literary techniques. Basic film genres include many of the literary genres, plus a few more that are more unique to visual media, such as the following.

1. Drama
2. Documentary
3. Docudrama, a dramatization of a real event
4. Musical
5. Western
6. War film
7. Horror
8. Romance
9. Romantic comedy
10. Crime film
11. Science fiction

3 Music

Many musical genres and subgenres exist, and the terms genre, style and form may be used interchangeably, as they can be difficult to distinguish.

1. "Classical" music includes classical proper (from the classical period of the 18th century), baroque, romanticism, impressionism, minimalism, experimentalism, and others.
2. Renaissance styles include dance, madrigal, motet, canzona, and ricercar
3. Jazz includes vocal jazz, big band, swing, progressive jazz, acid jazz, fusion, lounge, Latin jazz, rhythm & blues / blues, and soft jazz.
4. Rock includes classic rock / pop, rockabilly, blues rock, heavy metal, rap / hip-hop, punk / new wave / alternative.

4 Painting & visual arts

Examples include:

1. Genre painting, which involve scenes of everyday life, and/or people who are not identified, and are not specific individuals, but general, unnamed people in a scene
2. History painting, including narrative, religious, mythological, and allegorical subjects or characters
3. Portrait painting
4. Landscape, or a landscape scene, and cityscape
5. Animal painting
6. Still life