A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further sub-divided into more concrete distinctions.[1] The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, and even the rules designating genres change over time and are fairly unstable.[2]
Genres can all be in the form of prose or poetry. Additionally, a genre such as satire, allegory or pastoral might appear in any of the above, not only as a subgenre (see below), but as a mixture of genres. They are defined by the general cultural movement of the historical period in which they were composed.
^Todorov, Tzvetan; Howard, Richard (1976). "The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre". The Slavic and East European Journal. 20 (2): 186–189. doi:10.2307/305826. JSTOR305826.
Literature portal