LITERATURE

PROSE POETRY

FICTION NON-FICTION
LYRIC NARRATIVE

SHORT NOVEL DRAMATIC

STORY
LETTER
A. ODE
ESSAY B. ELEGY A. BALLAD
DIARY C. SONNET B. EPIC
D. SONG A. TRAGEDY
B. COMEDY
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
AND BIOGRAPHY

*FEATURES PROSE POETRY

FORM Written in PARAGRAPH form Written in VERSE form

LANGUAGE Expressed in COMMON/EVERYDAY LANGUAGE form Expressed in FIGURATIVE language

OBJECTIVE To CONVINCE (about a content) To STIR IMAGINATION

EXAMPLES • SHORT STORY • ODE

• NOVEL • ELEGY
• ESSAY • SONNET
• AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND BIOGRAPHY • SONG
 • DIARY • TRAGEDY
• LETTER • COMEDY
• BALLAD
• EPIC

DEFINITION OF TERMS: (PLEASE MEMORIZE THESE TERMS)

PROSE

I. Fiction - can be defined as narrative literary works whose con-tent is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on
fact.
1. SHORT STORY – a fictitious narrative compressed into one unit of time, place and action. It deals with single character
interest, a single emotion or series of emotions called forth by a single. It is distinguished from the novel by its
compression.
2. NOVEL – a long fiction narrative with a complicated plot
II. Nonfiction - informational text dealing with an actual, real-life subject and offers opinions or conjectures on facts and reality.
1. ESSAY – short literary composition in prose that deals with a single matter usually from a personal point of view.
2. BIOGRAPHY - written account of another person’s life.
3. AUTOBIOGRAPHY - gives the history of a person’s life, written or told by that person.
4. DIARY- a daily written record of account of the writer’s own experiences, thoughts, activities or observations.
5. LETTER - a written message which displays aspects of an author’s physiological make-up not immediately apparent in his
more public writings.

POETRY

I. DRAMATIC POETRY – portrays life and character through action in powerful, emotion-packed lines such as those in Shakespeare.
1. TRAGEDY – type of drama in which the chief character undergoes morally significant struggle that ends disastrously.
2. COMEDY – a type of drama which aims to amuse and which ends happily. The comedy presents incongruous aspects of human
speech, character and conduct as they are displayed in social life.
II. NARRATIVE POETRY – tells a story in richly imaginative and rhythmical language.
1. BALLAD – the simplest type of narrative poetry. It is s short narrative poem telling a single incident in simple meter and
stanzas. It is meant to be sung.
2. EPIC – a long narrative poem of the largest proportions. Epic is a tale mainly about a hero concerning the beginning,
continuance, and the end of events of great significance on tribal or national significance.