The term “literature” refers to any and all written work in a culture, language, time period, or country. Literature is grouped by similar types of written works. This not only allows the reader to compare and contrast literary works easier, but it allows the reader to organize a continually growing list of literature.

Think of it like this. You walk into a video game store. You notice that all of the video games are organized by the type of gaming system. On one wall, there are all of the games for the Xbox 360TM. On another wall we find all of the PlayStationTM games. In the center aisles, the staff has arranged all of the WiiTM games together. Sorting the games by gaming system allows you to more easily find the games that are compatible with your gaming system. Imagine what a mess it would be if all of the games were just lumped together into one large pile! While this type of categorization is helpful, most game stores go one step further and group games into sub-categories within these sections. Educational games and games for small children might be placed together, while fantasy role-playing games are grouped together elsewhere in the same gaming-system section. This allows you to zero in specifically on the particular type of game you want. Additionally, grouping the games into sub-categories allows you to compare and contrast different games based on a set of similar elements found in the games.

Literary Genres and Sub-Genres

This is the same concept behind classifying written works into literary genres and sub-genres. If all works that share a set of similar characteristics are grouped together, it becomes easier to organize, but also easier to compare and contrast each piece. Organizing, comparing, and contrasting allows for a better understanding of each piece of literature. Furthermore, each literary genre can be separated into smaller categories called sub-genres, just like the games in the store. In this interactivity, click on each of the spinning circles on the literary genres to learn about their sub-genres. Click the player button to begin.

Download a printable version of this interactivity.

 

The Characteristics of Genre Review

See what you have learned about literary genres, sub-genres, and the characteristics of each by completing the this non-graded activity. Drag and drop each genre or sub-genre next to its description. Once you have made your matches, click SUBMIT. Click the player button to get started.