CHAPTER II

LITERARY GENRE AND ELEMENTS

I.LITERATURE
Before you are going to study about some literary genre and its element, the first time you
should know what is actually means. Look at the following definition:
1. Gyasi (1973) defines it in its broad sense that literature "anything that is written",
2. Rees (1973) sees it in the narrow sense of "writing which expresses and communicates
thought, feelings and attitudes towards life".
3. Moody (1987) writes that literature springs from our in born love of telling a story, of
arranging words in pleasing patterns, of expressing in words some special aspects of our
human experience.
4. Boulton (1980) defines literature from a functional perspective as the imaginative work
that gives us R’s: recreation, recognition, revelation and redemption.
5. Rees (1973), after describing what he regarded as literature, summed up that literature is
a permanent expression in words of some thoughts or feelings in ideas about life and the
world.i
From the definition, it can be defined simply that literature is an imaginative art which
expresses thoughts and feelings of the artist on events around him. In most cases, it deals with
life experiences. The author/artist uses words in a powerful, effective and captivating manner to
paint his picture of human experience. All of us who read literature will find our knowledge of
human affairs broadened and deepened, whether in the individual, the social, the racial or the
international sphere; we shall understand the possibilities of human life, both for good and evil;
we shall understand how we came to live at a particular time and place, with all its pleasures and
vexations and problems; and we shall perhaps be able to make right rather than wrong choices.
Literature can be in written or oral form. It could also be presented in form of performance
literature which entertains us best does not keep us for long in the other-world of fantasy
or unreality. The greatest pleasure and satisfaction to be found in literature occurs where (as it so
often does) it brings us back to the realities of human situations, problems, feelings and
relationships. The writers of literature, being less tied to fact than the historian or the scientist,
have more scope to comment on the facts, to arrange them in unusual ways to speculate not only

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on what is, but on what ought to be, or what might be. Writers are sometimes, therefore people
with visionary or prophetic insights into human life. Therefore, literature involves imagination,
creativity, suggestion or indirection.

II.GENRE OF LITERATURE
Literature, as you must have learnt in your previous studies, comprises some major types or
forms or genres. These major types, which could be further reduced to sub-types or categories,
are three and they are poetry, drama and novel or prose fiction. The following are several types
of literature:
a. The two main categories separating the different genres of literature are fiction and
nonfiction. There are several genres of literature that fall under the nonfiction category.
Nonfiction sits in direct opposition to fiction. Non-fiction such as, essay, biography,
autobiography and speech. The other one is Fiction, its include drama, fantasy, humor,
poetry, fable, fairy tales, short story, folklore, tall tale, legend, mystery and mythology.ii
b. There are Four genres of literature:iii
1. Prose fiction : Myths, parables, romances, novels, short stories
2. Poetry
3. Drama
4. Nonfiction prose : News reports, feature articles, essays, editorials, textbooks,
historical and biographical works
c. There are three major of literature genre, they are prose, drama and poetryiv

Prose

According to Iwuchukwu (2008) Prose refers to the literary or written form of the
language of ordinary speech. We often talk about a book written in prose style or
continuous form. The novel falls under prose. It is the latest arrival of the literary genres,
in fact, novel means new. Novels, essays, short stories and work of criticism are examples
of prose.v
According to Klarer (2004) Prose is the most typical form of language and it is derived
from the Latin word prosa which literally means 'straight-forward.' It is like talking to

24
someone in a straight- forward manner and not in a sing-song or poetic way. This means
that anything you say or write in prose is presented in a straight- forward manner.vi
Iwuchukwu (2008) explained that The prose could be fiction or non-fiction. Fictions are
imagined or invented stories. Thus, the events presented did not occur in real life,
although they may be real to life, because, all literary work should depict life of various
types. They include fables common in African literature and the modern George Orwell's
Animal Farm, where the characters, mainly animals are made to talk, act and behave like
human beings. Others are allegory which are similar to fables, but whose characters
represent ideas, such as love, hope, meekness and the like, as is seen in John Bunyan's
Pilgrim's Progress. Also included in the class of prose are parables, romance and short
stories.vii
a.Short Story

Now, in this part, we are going to understand the definition of short story. Short
story is a work of fiction, usually written in narrative prose. Emerging from earlier
oral storytelling traditions in 17th century, the short story has grown to encompass a
body of work so diverse as to defy easy characterization. At its most prototypical the
short story features a small cast of named characters, and focuses on a self-contained
incident with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. In so doing, short stories
make use of plot and other dynamic components.
Short story is one of literature fictions which does not take much time to read.
Klarer also explains that short story can be read in one sitting without interruption, it
is also shorter than novel or novelette. viii According to Iwuchukwu (2012) that there is
difference volume between short story and novel, they are followed by :ix
1. Short story is a work of at least 2,000 words but under 7,500 words. (5-25 pages)
2. Novel is a work of 50,000 words or more. (about 170+ pages)
From the differences above, it can be seen that short story is tend too short in words
and pages, if it compare to Novel or Novellete.
The Characteristics of short story:x
a. Short stories tend to be less complex than novels.
b. Usually a short story focuses on one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a
small number of characters, and covers a short period of time.

25
c. A typical pattern in a short story could be presented with exposition,complication,
climax and resolution as in longer forms of fiction.
However, some short stories may not follow this pattern while some do not follow
any patterns at all.
A. Novel
The Oxford Twentieth Century Dictionary in Iwuchukwu (2008) defines the novel as
a fictional prose narrative or tale presenting the picture of real life. xi the Dictionary of
Literary Terms in Iwuchukwu (2013) also state that the novel is defined as “a
fictitious prose narrative of considerable length, portraying characters, actions, or
scenes representative of real life in a plot of more or less intricacy”xii
In Klarer book “An Introduction to Literary Studies” (2004) there are subgenre of
novel, it can be seen on the following xiii:

1. picaresque novel, which relates the experiences of a vagrant rogue (from the
Spanish “picaro”) in his conflict with the norms of society. Structured as an
episodic narrative, the picaresque novel tries to lay bare social injustice in a
satirical way, as for example Hans Jacob Christoph von Grimmelshausen’s (c.
1621–76) German Simplizissimus (1669), Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders (1722),
or Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones (1749), which all display specific traits of this
form of prose fiction.
2. The Bildungsroman (novel of education), generally referred to by its German
name, describes the development of a protagonist from childhood to maturity,
including such examples as George Eliot’s (1819–80) Mill on the Floss (1860), or
more recently Doris Lessing’s (1919–) cycle Children of Violence (1952–69).
3. epistolary novel, which uses letters as a means of first-person narration, as for
example Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740–41) and Clarissa (1748–49). For the
contemporary epistolary novel such as Alice Walker’s the Color Purple (1982).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999) was written by Stephen Chobsky in the
form of letters from an anonymous character to a secret role model of sorts.
Richard B Wright’s Clara Callan (2001) uses letters and journal entries to weave
the story of a middle-aged woman in the 1930s

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4. historical novel, such as Sir Walter Scott’s (1771–1832) Waverley (1814), whose
actions take place within a realistic historical context. The satirical novel, such as
Jonathan Swift’s (1667–1745) Gulliver’s Travels (1726) or Mark Twain’s (1835–
1910) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), highlights weaknesses of
society through the exaggeration of social conventions.
5. utopian novels or science fiction novels create alternative worlds as a means of
criticizing real sociopolitical conditions, as in the classic Nineteen Eighty-four
(1949) by George Orwell (1903–50) or more recently Margaret Atwood’s (1939–)
The Handmaid’s Tale (1985). Very popular forms are the gothic novel, which
includes such works as Bram Stoker’s (1847–1912) Dracula (1897)
6. Detective novel, one of the best known of which is Agatha Christie’s (1890–
1976) Murder on the Orient Express (1934).

Beside of this, novel can be based on the following: xiv

1. Allegory: The symbolic story revolves around two meanings. What the writer
says directly is totally different from the conveyed meanings at the end. Political
and Historical allegory are two forms of Allegory.
2. Comedy: Satire is very common form in comedy novels and tries to focus on the
facts of the society and their desires.
3. Feminist: These types of novels are written by women writers around the world
to describe the place of women in a male dominated society. E.g Virginia Woolf's
"A Room of one's Own".
4. Gothic fiction is the combination of both horror and romance. Melodrama and
parody were grouped in the Gothic literature in its early stages.
5. Ironic novels are known for excessive use of narrative technique. It is satire on
the contemporary society about cultural, social and political issues
6. Realism: The realistic novels are based on the truths of ordinary society and their
problems. It focuses on the plot, structure and the characters of the novel.
7. Romance: Love and relationship topics are handled optimistically in the romantic
novels. It originated in western countries; basically the story revolves around love

27
 affairs of main characters. Some popular sub categories of romantic novels are
paranormal, erotic, suspense, multicultural and inspirational romance.
8. Folk Tales are traditional stories that have been creating interest since ancient
times. The children and old persons like religious story, magic and superstition as
well. Fable, tall tales, cumulative, trickster and proverbs are the sub categories of
folk tales. Mythology or legend is the ancient religious stories of origin and
human civilization such as story of RobinHood

B. Elements on Prose Fiction

After mastering of some genres in literature, now you will get the description of
the elements on literature. We have discussed about literature definition and the next
is about element. In the free dictionary, it can be found that element is A fundamental,
essential, or irreducible constituent of a composite entity xv. In the oxford dictionary,
it also stated that element is an essential or characteristic part of something abstractxvi.
From the definition, it can be concluded that element can be defined as the essential
part. If its related to literature, it can be defined as the essential parts on literature.
Now, in this part, it will be discussed about the element or the essential part on
Fiction
Elements on Fictionxvii
1. Plot
Plot, or storyline, is often listed as one of the fundamental elements of fiction. It is
the rendering and ordering of the events and actions of a story. Divisions of the
Plot include:
1. Exposition and/or Rising Action: how readers learn details previous
the story’s beginning, and then continues toward the climax of the
story
2. Diversion: any episode prior to the climax that does not contribute
directly to the rising action or add to the suspense (example: comic
relief in tragedy).
3. Climax: the moment in the story at which a crisis reaches its highest
intensity and its potential resolution, the turning point

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 4. Dénouement (“unknotting”) or Falling Action
2. Theme/Subject Matter
Theme is the central dominating idea in a literary work. In literary works, theme is
the “abstract concept which is made concrete through its representation in person,
action and image in the work.”
3. Character/characterization

Character is the mental, emotional, and social qualities to distinguish one entity from
another (people, animals, spirits, automatons, pieces of furniture, and other animated
objects). Meanwhile, Characterization = process by which fictional characters are
presented/developedxviii
According to Iwuchukwu (2012) Basically in a prose fictional narrative, there are two
major characters, the protagonist and the antagonist. There are other characters too. They
include the minor or supporting characters. The minor or supporting characters are
involved in fewer actions or incidents in the work. Their roles are just to support the
major characters in propelling the plot of the story. Characters are developed through
appearance, words, feelings, and reaction of others.
Types of characters:xix

1. Flat: a one-dimensional character, typically not central to the story

2. Two-dimensional characters may be used as vessels to carry out the plot
3. Round: a complex, fully-developed character, usually prone to change
4. Static: these can be either round or flat characters, but they do not change during
the story. Folktales, fairytales, and other types use static and flat characters whose
actions are predictable, so the reader is free to concentrate on the action and
theme as each moves toward an often times universal discovery.
5. Dynamic: a developing character, usually at the center of the action, who changes
or grows to a new awareness of life (the human condition)
6. Stock: “borrowed” personage or archetype (ex. Western hero in white hat; old,
longed-nosed, straggly-haired hag as evil witch). Closely related to stereotype

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 7. Stereotype: a character so little individualized as to show only qualities of an
occupation, or national, ethnic, or other group to which s/he belongs (ex Irishman,
Sicilian, soldier, nerd, dumb blonde, obnoxious brat, silly teenager)
8. Universal: characters with problems and traits common to all humanity
9. Individual: a more eccentric and unusual representation of character
4. Setting
Setting in fiction comprises the location and time of a story and is often listed as one
of the fundamental elements of fiction. It is the place and time in which the story
takes place. Sometimes setting is referred to as milieu, to include a context (such as
society) beyond the immediate surroundings of the story xx. there are two types of
setting-physical setting and geographical setting.
5. Point of View

Abrahm in Iwuchukwu (2012) defines point of view as the mode (modes) established by
an author by means of which the reader is presented with the characters, dialogue, there
are several type of Point of view:

1. Omniscient Point of View, a story told in the third person; the narrator's
knowledge, control, and prerogatives are unlimited, allowing “authorial”
subjectivity.
2. First Person Point of View, he story is told from the first person "I” personal
point-of-view, usually that of the main character.
3. Second Person Point of View, it is a narration presented in the second person
pronoun, “you”
4. Multiple Point of View, This occurs when a number of characters tell the
story. There may o may not be a central narrator; but there are usually a
number of voices/narrators who move the story forward, each contributing to
and passing judgment on the action.
6. Tone and Style
According Clifford (2013)Tone is the methods by which writers and speakers
reveal attitudes or feelings Meanwhile Sytle is ways in which writers assemble

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 words to tell the story, to develop an argument, dramatize the play, compose the
poemxxi.
7. Symbolism
Symbols: symbols are concrete objects/images that stand for abstract subjects. The
objects and images have meanings of their own but may be ascribed subjective
connotations such as heart = love, skull & crossbones = poison, color green =
envy; light bulb = idea, seasons = times in a lifespan.xxii
8. The use of language, such as figure of speech. It can be used in personification,
metaphor, irony etc
9. Atmosphere
Atmosphere (Mood) is the dominant emotion/feeling that pervades a story.
III. Exercises
1. Read the following short story
“The Old Man at the Bridge” by Ernest Hemingway
An old man sits at the side of a country road during the Spanish civil war. Everyone is
fleeing the area, and although he has already traveled 12 kilometers he is too exhausted
and distracted to continue.

An old man with steel rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the
road. There was a pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and
children were crossing it. The mule- drawn carts staggered up the steep bank from the
bridge with soldiers helping push against the spokes of the wheels. The trucks ground up
and away heading out of it all and the peasants plodded along in the ankle deep dust. But
the old man sat there without moving. He was too tired to go any farther. It was my
business to cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond and find out to what point the
enemy had advanced. I did this and returned over the bridge. There were not so many
carts now and very few people on foot, but the old man was still there. "Where do you
come from?" I asked him. "From San Carlos," he said, and smiled. That was his native
town and so it gave him pleasure to mention it and he smiled. "I was taking care of
animals," he explained. "Oh," I said, not quite understanding. "Yes," he said, "I stayed,
you see, taking care of animals. I was the last one to leave the town of San Carlos." He
did not look like a shepherd nor a herdsman and I looked at his black dusty clothes and

31
his gray dusty face and his steel rimmed spectacles and said, "What animals were they?"
"Various animals," he said, and shook his head. "I had to leave them." I was watching the
bridge and the African looking country of the Ebro Delta and wondering how long now it
would be before we would see the enemy, and listening all the while for the first noises
that would signal that ever mysterious event called contact, and the old man still sat there.
"What animals were they?" I asked. "There were three animals altogether," he explained.
"There were two goats and a cat and then there were four pairs of pigeons." And you had
to leave them?" I asked. "Yes. Because of the artillery. The captain told me to go because
of the artillery." "And you have no family?" I asked, watching the far end of the bridge
where a few last carts were hurrying down the slope of the bank. "No," he said, "only the
animals I stated. The cat, of course, will be all right. A cat can look out for itself, but I
cannot think what will become of the others." "What politics have you?" I asked. "I am
without politics," he said. "I am seventy-six years old. I have come twelve kilometers
now and I think now I can go no further." "This is not a good place to stop," I said. "If
you can make it, there are trucks up the road where it forks for Tortosa." "I will wait a
while," he said, " and then I will go. Where do the trucks go?" "Towards Barcelona," I
told him. "I know no one in that direction," he said, "but thank you very much. Thank
you again very much." He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, and then said, having to
share his worry with someone, "The cat will be all right, I am sure. There is no need to be
unquiet about the cat. But the others. Now what do you think about the others?" "Why
they'll probably come through it all right." "You think so?" "Why not," I said, watching
the far bank where now there were no carts. "But what will they do under the artillery
when I was told to leave because of the artillery?" "Did you leave the dove cage
unlocked?" I asked. "Yes." "Then they'll fly." "Yes, certainly they'll fly. But the others.
It's better not to think about the others," he said. "If you are rested I would go," I urged.
"Get up and try to walk now." "Thank you," he said and got to his feet, swayed from side
to side and then sat down backwards in the dust. "I was taking care of animals," he said
dully, but no longer to me. "I was only taking care of animals." There was nothing to do
about him. It was Easter Sunday and the Fascists were advancing toward the Ebro. It was
a gray overcast day with a low ceiling so their planes were not up. That and the fact that

32
 cats know how to look after themselves was all the good luck that old man would ever
havexxiii
2. Determine the elements on the short story above by using the following graphic
organized
PLOT

Climax:

Rising Action List the

example that create Falling Action
complication

Exposition Resolution

Setting:

Situation/climate:

Character:
Source: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson800/IdentifyPlot.pdf

33
Theme

Source: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top_teaching/2011/02/helping-students-grasp-
themes-in-literature

34
Character
Character Traits
 eager  logical
 easy-going  loyal
 efficient  methodical
 energetic  modest
 enthusiastic  motivated
 fair  open-minded
 firm  optimistic
 Flexible  practical
 forgiving  precise
 frank  prudent
 friendly  purposeful
 Generous  realistic
 gentle  reliable
 good-natured  resourceful
 healthy  responsible
 helpful  self-confident
 honest  sensible
 hopeful  serious
 humble humorous  sincere
 imaginative  sociable
 independent  spontaneous
 individualistic  strong-willed
 industrious  tenacious
 intelligent  thorough
 inventive  trustworthy
 kind  versatile
 likable  wary
 witty

What Are They Feeling?

The adjectives listed below describe how someone feels. Write the name of the main character in
the book you are reading next to at least 10 of these adjectives when he or she demonstrates that
feeling. Use the dictionary to confirm your understanding of the word before you assign the
adjective.

35
 addled  hungry
 agitated  introspective
 afraid  helpless
 ambivalent  inadequate
 annoyed  insecure
 antagonistic  interested
 anxious  Intrigued
 Apprehensive  intuitive
 baffled  Involved
 belligerent  Irate
 bewildered  Irritated
 bored  jittery
 calm  jolly
 cautious  jubilant
 confident  lightheaded
 confused  lucky
 connected  Mischievous
 curious  mixed-up
 dejected  Mystified
 despondent  nervous
 detached  Objective
 determined  open-minded
 discouraged  optimistic
 disgusted  overwhelmed
 ecstatic  perplexed
 elated  preoccupied
 Embarrassed  puzzled
 Enthusiastic  resentful
 Euphoric  scared
 exasperated  Surprised
 Excited  sympathetic
 Exuberant  tense
 foolish  terrific
 fortunate  thrilled
 frantic  tranquil
 frustrated  troubled
 furious  uncomfortable
 grateful  Undecided
 hopeful  uneasy
 hostile  uninterested
 humiliated  vexed
 hurrie  wonderful

36
 Character Analysis
List three or five characters from the short story above in the following table:
Characters appearence Prove from the traits Prove from the
text text

How someone/character feeling

List the name of character How they are feeling Prove from the text

The Setting Scene

37
Stories have to begin somewhere. The author decides where the story will take place, but
because stories have to have things happen, the author often changes the place or the time of day.
Changing the place or time in a story sets the scene for new action to occur.Select a book you are
reading. Identify at least four scene changes. Write the title of the book and the author, where the
story began, where it moved to, and what action occurred when the author change the scene.

Setting Action

Point of View

Point of view Prove from the text

Symbolism

38
 Your choosen symbol
Page number/line, context Possible Meaning Suggested by that  Context
Appearance 1

Appearance 2

Appearance 3

Source: 2010, Shmoop University, Inc.

Imagery/the use of figurative language

Imagery: FIND THE FIGURE OF SPEECH

Figure of speech Quotation
Metaphor

Simile

Personification

Alliterations

39
 Hyperbole

Source:
http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/conferencesandevents/ecollab/lpd/Findthe
FigurativeLanguage.pdf

3. Retell your short story above into a picture.

4. Based on the short story above, write a poem!

5. answer the following question based on the story above
1. What was the old man doing in his native town?

40
 a. taking care of animals b. begging on the streets c. helping the soldiers d. talking care of
children
2. What is special about the day the narrator encounters the old man?
a. It is Easter Sunday. b. It is the last day of the war. c. It is Thanksgiving. d. It is Christmas Day.
3. Why does the old man leave the animals?
a. because the children are taking care of them b. because he loses interest c. because they all die
d. because of the artillery
4. Which animal is the old man least concerned about? a. the goats b. the pigeons c. the cat d.
the dog 5. The trucks are crossing the bridge and going where?
a. Vera Cruz b. Barcelona c. San Carlos d. Tortosa
6. What is the old man's native town? a. Vera Cruz b. Ebro Delta c. Barcelona d. San Carlos
7. What is the narrator's job? a. He questions people before they cross the bridge. b. He protects
the people who cross the bridge. c. He scouts ahead for the enemy's location. d. He stops people
from crossing the bridge.
8. Why does the old man stop and not go across the bridge? a. He is asked not to cross the
bridge. b. He doesn't need to cross the bridge. c. He is too tired to cross the bridge. d. He isn't
interested in crossing the bridge.
9. The old man is a symbol of what? a. the causes of war b. the patience of the soldiers c. the
civilian victims of war d. the apathy of the civilians
10. How old is the old man? a. ninety-four b. sixty-six c. eighty-four d. seventy-six
11. Explain why the narrator takes so much time to converse with the old man. Use details from
the story to support your answer.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________
12. What statements from the story suggest that the old man is about to give up on life? Quote
specific statements to back your answer.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

41
13. How is the narrator portrayed in the story? How does he treat the old man? Give examples
from the story to back your answer.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
14. How does Hemmingway show that war is disrupting the lives of the peasants? Is this
portrayal realistic? Why or why not?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
15. What is the setting of the story? Give details from the story to support your answer.
______________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
17. What kind of life has the old man been leading? What keeps him going? Use details from the
story to support your answer.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Poetry
It has been mentioned above that poetry is the oldest literary works in the history of
English literature. And for several years ago poetry is conveyed orally from one person to the
others. In oxford dictionary, poetry can be defined as literary work in which the expression of
feelings and ideas is given intensity by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems
collectively or as a genre of literature. For further information, it can be seen clearly about the
definition of poetry from several author written by yesufu (2006). The following are well-known
definitions of poetry which illustrate the varied view of this genre:xxiv
1. Poetry is the language that tells us, through a more or less emotional reaction, something
that cannot be said. All poetry, great or small, does this. - Edwin Arlington Robinson.
2. I would define poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of beauty. Its sole arbiter is
taste. With the intellect or with the conscience it has only collateral relations. Unless
incidentally, it has no concern whatever either with duty or with truth. – Edgar Allan Poe

42
3. Poetry is the imaginative expression of strong feeling, usually rhythmical...the
spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquillity. – William
Wordsworth
4. The proper and immediate object of Science is the acquirement or communication of
truth; the proper and immediate object of Poetry is the communication of pleasure. -
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
5. Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the best and happiest minds. –
Percy Bysshe Shelley
6. An actual poem is the succession of experiences – sounds, images, thoughts, emotions –
through which we pass when we are reading as poetically as we can. - Andrew Bradley
7. ...the rhythmic, inevitably narrative, movement from an overclothed blindness to a naked
vision. – Dylan Thomas
8. If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold that no fire can ever warm me, I
know that it is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know
that it is poetry. – Emily Dickinson
From the definition above, it can be concluded that poetry is composition writing which is
written by full imagination arts and sound of the feeling, images and thought.
a. Types of Poetry

This unit will equip you with a detailed study of the major forms or types of
poetry with special emphasis on their distinguishing features; it is necessary that you be
able to know the type of poem that you are dealing with at any point in time.
1. Epic
The epic is a poem composed or written on a grand scale, usually in many separate
books or volumes, concerned with the exploits of some great national, historical or
legendary character or hero. In other words, an epic celebrates in the form of continuous
narrative the feats of one or more heroic characters of history or tradition, for example
Beowulf and The Battle of Maldon xxv
2. Ballad
The ballad, one of the earliest form of poetry, is a song that tells a story or conversely a
story told through song. Thus a ballad is a short narrative poem, adapted for singing,
simple in plot and metrical in structure, divided into stanzas of four lines (quatrains)

43
 rhyming alternately and characterised by complete impersonality as far as the author or
singer is concerned. Some example of Ballad are “Sir Patrick Spens”, “The Wife at
Usher’Well”, “The Daemon Lover”, “Edward”, “The Three Ravens”, “Lord Randal”
and “The Twa Corbies”.xxvi

3. Ode
This type of poem is a direct address to a particular person or a thing. It is relatively
elaborate in its structure. Odes have a serious overtone, with the strophe and the
antistrophe looking at the subject from conflicting perspectives, while the epode tries to
resolve the underlying issues. As an example for ode is on a Grecian Urn ~ John Keatsxxvii

4. Elegy
The tone of this type of poem is often set in melancholy and is known to be a funeral
song. Most of the elegies are pastoral in nature that is, it is the lament of a poet mourning
the loss of another fellow poet. An example: An excerpt from Lycidas ~ John Milton xxviii

5. Lyric
In its original form, the lyric was a poem sung to the accompaniment of a lyre a classical
stringed musical instrument. In the Greek classical period, it was sung by a single singer
and was thus differentiated from the ‘choric’, which was performed by a group of
singersxxix
6. Sonnets
A sonnet is a relatively short poem consisting of merely fourteen lines. It is known to
follow a strict pattern of rhyme. It is divided into two parts - the octave and the
concluding sestet. This separation marks the end or break in thought. It is further
classified into Petrarchan, Shakespearean and Miltonic sonnets. An example: Sonnet
116 ~ Shakespeare

B. Elements on Poetry
Yesufu(2006) also claimed that the use of rhythm, diction, sound and imagery is the
characteristic of poetryxxx. its meant that those characteristics are the elements of poetry.
These following are the description:

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1. Imagery is the sensory language used in poetry. By sensory we imply that the language
appeals to or affects the senses of the reader or audience.
2. Sound is the auditory aspect or quality inherent in poetry. The importance of this
characteristic lies in the fact that poetry is meant to be heard and in its original form it
was a song and most short lyrics today still retain this character.
3. Rhythm is the wave-like movement discernible in poetry. It accounts, along with sound,
for the musical quality in poetry.
4. Diction refers to the special choice or selection of words utilised by the poet in his work.
Beside of these, according to Madhavi Ghare (2013) there are more elements of poetry in
home of poetryxxxi, it can be seen on the following:

1. Stanza
A stanza is to a poem what a paragraph is to a piece of prosaic writing - a fixed number
of lines of verse forming a single unit of a poem. A poem is usually composed of multiple
stanzas that are separated from each other an empty line in between. Usually, all stanzas
are made up of equal number of lines in a single poem. Look at the picture:

2. Rhyming
Rhyming in poetry is one convention that makes this form of literature recognizably
different from prose and drama. In poetry, this is generally achieved by using similar
sounding words at the end of lines.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

45
 All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
3. Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of a particular consonant or a vowel sound in the initial
stressed syllables of a series of words or phrases in close succession.
Examples:
1. While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping... - From Edgar Allan
Poe's "The Raven"
2.I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet. - From Robert Frost's "Acquainted with
the Night
5. Simile
Simply put, a simile is a direct comparison drawn between two concepts, objects, or
people using a verb like 'resembles' or connectives such as 'like', 'as' or 'than'.
Examples:
O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune.
6. Metaphor
Metaphor is an indirect parallel drawn between two completely unrelated things. It is a
comparison, yes, but metaphors do not use the connectives 'like', 'as' and 'than'. A
metaphor usually has more layers and depth than a simile which in the resemblance is
usually more linear. Any metaphor can also have multiple interpretations depending on
how complicated the poet chooses to make it
7. Symbol

A symbol can be presented to the readers in the form of a character, an object

strategically placed in the narrative, a word or phrase, or even a place. A symbol is
mostly subtle in nature or at least never blatantly explained. Symbols are mostly multi-
layered in nature and can be interpreted differently by different people

IV. Exercises

46
1. Analyze the following poem by using the graphic organizer
A DAY.

I'll tell you how the sun rose, --

A ribbon at a time.
The steeples swam in amethyst,
The news like squirrels ran.

The hills untied their bonnets,

The bobolinks begun.
Then I said softly to myself,
"That must have been the sun!"

But how he set, I know not.

There seemed a purple stile
Which little yellow boys and girls
Were climbing all the while

Till when they reached the other side,

A dominie in gray
Put gently up the evening bars,
And led the flock away

THE WIND.

Of all the sounds despatched abroad,

There's not a charge to me
Like that old measure in the boughs,
That phraseless melody

47
The wind does, working like a hand
Whose fingers brush the sky,
Then quiver down, with tufts of tune
Permitted gods and me.

When winds go round and round in bands,

And thrum upon the door,
And birds take places overhead,
To bear them orchestra,

I crave him grace, of summer boughs,

If such an outcast be,
He never heard that fleshless chant
Rise solemn in the tree,

As if some caravan of sound

On deserts, in the sky,
Had broken rank,
Then knit, and passed
In seamless company.

INDIAN SUMMER.

These are the days when birds come back,

A very few, a bird or two,
To take a backward look.

48
These are the days when skies put on
The old, old sophistries of June, --
A blue and gold mistake.

Oh, fraud that cannot cheat the bee,

Almost thy plausibility
Induces my belief,

Till ranks of seeds their witness bear,

And softly through the altered air
Hurries a timid leaf!

Oh, sacrament of summer days,

Oh, last communion in the haze,
Permit a child to join,

Thy sacred emblems to partake,

Thy consecrated bread to break,
Taste thine immortal wine!

THE HEMLOCK.

I think the hemlock likes to stand

Upon a marge of snow;
It suits his own austerity,
And satisfies an awe

49
That men must slake in wilderness,
Or in the desert cloy, --
An instinct for the hoar, the bald,
Lapland's necessity.

The hemlock's nature thrives on cold;

The gnash of northern winds
Is sweetest nutriment to him,
His best Norwegian wines.

To satin races he is nought;

But children on the Don
Beneath his tabernacles play,
And Dnieper wrestlers run.

PURPLE CLOVER.

There is a flower that bees prefer,

And butterflies desire;
To gain the purple democrat
The humming-birds aspire.

And whatsoever insect pass,

A honey bears away
Proportioned to his several dearth
And her capacity.

Her face is rounder than the moon,

And ruddier than the gown
Of orchis in the pasture,
Or rhododendron worn.

50
 She doth not wait for June;
Before the world is green
Her sturdy little countenance
Against the wind is seen,

Contending with the grass,

Near kinsman to herself,
For privilege of sod and sun,
Sweet litigants for life.

And when the hills are full,

And newer fashions blow,
Doth not retract a single spice
For pang of jealousy.

Her public is the noon,

Her providence the sun,
Her progress by the bee proclaimed
In sovereign, swerveless tune.

The bravest of the host,

Surrendering the last,
Nor even of defeat aware
When cancelled by the fros
( source: Emily Dickinson xxxii)

Take a Moment
As Pomp and Circumstance serenades you down the aisle,
Take a moment to contemplate how you arrived at this moment.
Remember the help your parents gave and the sacrifices they made.

51
 Spare a thought of gratitude for the teachers who were willing to explain things one more
time...

Be thankful for the friendships you've made, the life lessons you've learned, and all the
experiences you had - the good as well as the bad.
They've shaped who you are today.
As the strains of Pomp and Circumstance guide you down the aisle towards that stage,
Realize you're not just heading towards your high school graduation, you're stepping into
your future.

Your Day Has Arrived

Graduation day is finally here,
And so now ends your high school career.
Always remember the friends you hold dear,
And look toward your future without any fear.

This is the day you've been preparing for

Since the day you walked through that first classroom door.
Now it is time to say good-bye,
And spread your wings - you're ready to fly.

So shed a tear and share a smile,

And be sure to remember all the while,
That although it may now be time to move on,
Today's memories will last your whole lifelong.

(source: http://teens.lovetoknow.com/High_School_Graduation_Poems)

2. Graphic organizer for poem analysis

Poet: types of poetry

Onomatopea

Emotions: senses

52
Theme

Rhyming

Your inferences

3. Write a very short story based on the poem above

3.Drama

In the free dictionary, drama is defined as A prose or verse composition, especially

one telling a serious story, that is intended for representation by actors impersonating the
characters and performing the dialogue and actionxxxiii. In the dictionary of Merriem Webster
defined simply that drama is a piece of writing that tells a story and is performed on a stage.
In conclusion, drama is a piece of composition which has a story and it is acted out on stage.

Types of Drama

53
 After discussing about the elements on drama, now you can consider to the types of
drama. According to Iwuchukwu (2008) drama has several types: xxxiv
1. Tragedy drama
2. Comedy drama, it indicates a kind of pleasure which finds physical expression in
laughter or smile
1. Melodrama, it is a play that utilizes music extensively
2. Tragi-comedy, is a play that mixes both comic and tragic elements in equal
proportion of each. It therefore elicits both tragic and comic emotions.
3. Drame, Dame is a term of the modern period given to a category of dramatic
literature which deals with man in common place and contemporary circumstance.
4. Farce, is referred to as comedy of situation, is a humorous play on a trivial theme
usually one that is familiar to the audience. The themes that are treated in farce
include mistaken identity, elaborate misunderstanding, switched costume (men in
women’s clothes) heroes forced under tables, misheard instructions, discoveries,
disappearances and many such situations.
As the addition of knowledge, it will share another types of drama. Mario Klarer (2008)
in his book An Introduction to Literary Studies wrote another types of drama in spite of
themxxxv It can be seen on the following:
1. History drama such as play Richard II written by William Shakespeare
2. Closet drama, a special form of drama which was not meant to be performed on stage
but rather to be read in private. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s (1792–1822) Prometheus
Unbound (1820) is a well-known example of this unusual form of drama.

b. Elements of Drama

Drama is different from other genres of literature. It has unique characteristics that have
come about in response to its peculiar nature. You can imagine the actor or the story when you
reading a novel, but In drama, the characters/actors talk to themselves and react to issues
according to the impulse of the moment. Drama is therefore presented in dialogue. That is the
reason drama can be defined as the imitation of life. now consider to the following of elements
on drama:xxxvi

54
1. Imitation, it is used to describe a realistic portrayal of life, a reproduction of natural
objects and actions.
2. Plot, it is the organization of a series of action or events usually moving through conflicts
to a climax and resolution. In this case, plot consists of two types simple and complex
plot.
3. Action, it is the process of doing something or the performance itself. If somebody slaps
you and you retaliate, there is an action. In drama action, it can be performed by the three
forms, namely physical, reported and mental action. Physically, action can be presented
by gesture, mime (simple facial), pantomime (gesture or mime mix to the custom which
express emotional action), report action can not be presented but the result of the action)
meanwhile mental action take place in the character’s mind.
4. Dialogue, it is the conversation to tell the content of the story. Drama is presented only in
dialogue so that it should be designed in such a way that through it, the reader or
audience must be able to infer the nature of each character, the public and private
relationship among the several characters, the past as well as the present circumstances of
the various characters.
5. Characterization, it is the playwright’s imaginative creation of characters that can
effectively dramatize his story. The action of the play is presented through such
characters. In play, you can identify each character through his name, through what he
says, what he does, what other characters say about him and what the playwright says
about him. In the characterization, there are several types of character such protagonist
(the hero), Dynamic/ Round Character (This is a character that changes according to
the course of events in the story. He may or may not be the protagonist or the hero),
Static/Flat/Stock Character (the character is complex and does not change in any basic
way in the course of the story. He is presented in outline and without much
individualization. He is usually stable and is said to be static because he retains
essentially the same outlook, attitudes, values and dispositions from the beginning of the
story to the end of the story. He is the opposite of the round character but lakes
complexity in term of presentation).
6. Setting, it is generally refers to the location of a literary work. The setting is a reference
to the placement of a work in both time and place. The locale or environment in which a

55
 play is set will determine a lot about it. The setting is often related to the focus or concern
of the play. Setting has three types, firstly, Geographical/Physical/Occupational: This
is the actual geographical location of the story and whatever surrounds the place where
the story is located. It also includes the manner of daily living of the people. Secondly is
Temporal/Historical Setting: This is the period in which a story takes place. This
includes the date, the season, the general atmosphere in the locale like war, fuel scarcity,
democratic or military rule. Thirdly, General Environmental Setting: The social, moral,
emotional, mental and religious backgrounds of the story. This is highlighted through
dialogue, stage direction and the characters interpersonal relationships.
V.Exercise
1. watch a drama from your lecturer and analyze the element of literature by using the
following graphic organizer
Elements Proof from action or dialogue
Plot Beginning:

Middle:

End:

Characters Types of character

56
Setting Setting scene

Theme

Moral
lesson

57
i
Mario Klarer. An Introduction to Literary Study (Canada: Routdlege.2004)p.5
ii
http://genresofliterature.com/
iii
Mary F. Clifford. http://people.sinclair.edu/maryclifford/literature/literature.pdf 2013
iv
Iwuchukwu, an introduction to Prose Fiction. (Lagos: National Open University of Nigeria, 2008)p. 6
v
Iwuchukwu, Ibid,
vi
Mario Klarer, op. cit p.5
vii
Professor Olaofe Isaac Ade, an introduction to English literature and literary criticism. (Lagos: National Open University
of Nigeria, 2008)p. 8
viii
Mario, Iop.cit., p. 5
ix
Iwuchukwu, p.23
x
Iwuchukwu,P.41
xi
Iwuchukwu, p.28
xii
Iwuchukwu, ibid
xiii
Mario, op.cit.p.11
xiv
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/types-of-literature.html
xv
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/elements
xvi
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/element
xvii
Iwuchukwu. An Introduction to Prose Fiction.. (Lagos: National Open University of Nigeria, 2012)p. 51
xviii
Dr.Hallet. http://elementsonfiction6-4-10.pdf
xix
Dr.Hallet, Loc.cit
xx
Iwuchukwu. Op.cit.p.67
xxi
Mary F. Clifford. Loc.cit
xxii
Dr.Hallet.Loc.cit
xxiii
http://rauschreading09.pbworks.com/f/The+Old+Man+at+the+Bridge+packet.pdf
xxiv
Yesufu,etc. introduction to Prose.(Lagos: National Open University of Nigeria, 2006)p. 33
xxv
Yesufu,etc.op.cit. p.55
xxvi
Yesufu,etc. ibid. p.57
xxvii
Madhavi Ghare. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/types-of-poetry-all-the-different-types-of-poems.html Last Updated:
12/22/2012
xxviii
Madhavi Ghare. ibid
xxix
Iwuchukwu, op.cit.p.69
xxx
Yesufu,etc. ibid. p. 25
xxxi
Madhavi Ghare. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/basic-elements-of-poetry.html
xxxii
Emily Dickinson. Collected Poem.(Guttenberg: Jim Tinsley. 2004)
xxxiii
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/drama
xxxiv
Iwuchukwu, ibid.p.67
xxxv
Mario Klarer. An Introduction to Literary studies.(Rouledge: London 2004)p.45
xxxvi
Iwuchukwu. Elements on Drama. (National Open University of Nigeria Lagos 2008) p. 19