Creative Non-Fiction

The common characteristics or conventions of any genre, including film are sometimes called codes.
These can include structural codes which are such features as particular kinds of plot, character, or
setting. Stylistic codes include such features as particular lighting, shooting style or music.

Conventions

• A particular genre which includes certain basic ingredients which we call conventions.
• Familiar common things / traditional
• Texts often fit into multiple genres

Genre

• Is a French word meaning kind or group

• Any category of literature or other forms of art or entertainment

Genres of Literature

• Mystery – Suspenseful story about a puzzling event that is not solved until the end of the story.
• Historical Fiction – Takes place in a particular time/period in the past and the setting is often
real, but the characters are made up from the author’s imagination.
• Traditional Literature – Stories that are passed down from one group to another in history, such
as folktales, legends, fables, fairy tales and myths from different cultures.
• Horror – Baddies, supernatural creatures like vampires, victims, believers and sceptics of the
supernatural, innocent children and young women, hero, savior, slayers, mad scientist clever
experts. It is also set in an isolated dark place, cemeteries, good vs evil, revenge, suspense,
killing.
• Realistic Fiction – Story using made-up characters that could happen in real life.
• Fantasy - Includes elements that are impossible such as talking animals, magic powers etc.
• Science Fiction – A type of fantasy that uses science and technology such as robots, space, time
machines, aliens, and time travel.
• Romance - Story that takes place in a particular time/period in the past.
• Crime Fiction – Is a story that takes place in a particular time or period in the past and its setting
is often real, but the made-up characters are from the author’s imagination. It is also crime
solved by a detective which involves interpretation of clues, villains etc.
• Fractured Fairy Tale – When authors modernize/change more elements of the story is called a
fractured fairy tale.
• Myths – Mythology is a related body of stories which makes up the official beliefs or explanation
of a religious system, it also attempts to explain the beginning of the world, natural phenomena,
the relationships between the gods and humans and the origins of civilization.

The Genre Codex

• Action Horror
• Comedy Musical
 • Crime Mystery
• Drama Romance
• Family Fantasy
• Sci-Fi War

Definition of Literature

• The word literature is derived from the Latin term litera which means letter. It has been defined
differently by various writers.
• Some loosely interpret literature as any printed matter written within a book, a magazine, or a
pamphlet. Others define literature as a faithful reproduction of man’s manifold experiences
blended into one harmonious expression.
• Because literature deals with ideas, thoughts and emotions of man, literature can be said to be
the story of man. Man loves griefs, thoughts, dreams, and aspirations coached in beautiful
language is literature,

Literature | S.H.E (Significant, Human, Experience)

• Is a body of written works

• Originated from oral traditions
• Are imaginative works
• Deals with stories and poetry
• The content depends on the author

There are two major schools of literature: ORAL and Written

Oral – includes ballads, folklore, jokes and fables that are passed down by word of mouth.
Written – Includes poetry and novels with subsections for fiction, prose, myth, short story and novel.

• Oral Literature – Riddles & Proverbs

• Folk Songs – Lullabies, Drinking Songs, Love Songs, Songs of Death, Religious Songs
• Folk Tales - Myths, Legends, Fables, Epics

Main Literary forms are FICTION, DRAMA & POETRY

Each of the three major literary genres are different, they have many elements in common. For
example, in all three genres, authors makes purposeful of diction (word choice), employ imagery
(significant detail) and each piece of literature has its own unique tone (emotional quality). An
important element that you will find in all three genres is themes.

WHY IS KNOWING THEM

Three Points of Literature

• Portrays human experience

• Authors interpret these human experiences
• It is an art from and a style of style and expression.
Literary Forms in Philippine Literature

• Pre-history - Pre-colonial inhabitants of our islands show case a rich past through their folk
speeches, folk songs, folk narratives and indigenous rituals and mimetic dances that affirm our
ties with our Southeast Asian neighbors.
• Riddle – Tigmo in Cebuano, Bugtong in Tagalog, paktakon in Ilongo and patotototdon in Bicol is
the most seminal literary form in the Philippines.
• Talinghaga - or metaphor it reveals the subtle resemblance between two unlike objects and
one’s power of observation and wit are put to the rest.
• Tanaga - the extended form of metaphor. a mono-riming heptasyllabic quatrain expressing
insights and lessons on life is more emotionally charged than the verse proverbs thus have
affinities with folk lyrics.

Elements of Nonfiction

• It only deals with real people, events or ideas.

• Narrated from the POV or perspective of the author who’s a real person.
• Presents facts or discusses concepts
• May reflect historical context if the time period including references to major social and
cultural information.

Poetry

• A collection of words that expresses an emotion or idea

• Poems are literary attempts to share personal experiences and feelings.
• Good poems show images which leave the reader the sense of delight, awe, and wonder

Poetic Justice – ideal form of justice in which the good characters are rewarded and the bad characters
are punished by an ironic twist of their fate.

Elements of Poetry

Poetry is the most compact form of literature. A poem packs all kinds of ideas, feelings and sounds into
a few carefully chose words. The look, sound, and language of poetry all work together to create a total
effect.

• Theme – A truth, lesson or message about life

• Rhythm – the beat, sound and feel of a poem
• Meter – is the number and style of accented syllables in a line
• Rhyme – describes words that have the same ending sounds
• Stanza - a group of lines in a poem
• Line - a single row of words in a poem
• Mood - is the feeling the poet is trying to convey

Characteristics of a Poetry

• It should look like a poem, meaning that lines don’t run to the margins and some lines are not
even sentences.
• Usually, some musical devices that gives the poem a song like lyrical quality
• Images are conveyed through sensory details and figurative language
• The poem has some form to hold it together and some poems have a prescribed form like the
haikus and sonnets.
• The poem has some meaning, image or emotion it wants to share with the reader. These three
things are shown by the above that makes it a poem.