What Is Genre? Definition, Types, and Examples

Once, I asked my friend Saad if he could come with me to watch a movie because he used to watch TV shows. He counters with a question: what type of movie and what is genre of the movie? I was stunned, and instantly went to “Google“ to ask what is a genre and what is genre mean.

It gave me reliable solutions that satisfied my inner hunger for knowledge to answer my pal. Thus, I thought maybe someone among you also suffers from the same issue, so why can’t I write about it? And, here I am with another informative article on genre, its types, and examples.

So, Let’s Begin with Its Definition!

What is a Genre? (Definition)

Genre is a term used to categorize and distribute content in different groups to exemplify their content, style, and structure. Simply, it is a French word which means basically “Type or Style,” and was brought to English in the 1800s with the same meaning still now.

Definition: Genre is a frequent term that is used to define certain elements that repeat themselves in movies and literature form. This word is pronounced (zhan-rah), which makes sense of its French origin completely.

What are the Different Types of Genre?

Usually, when someone talks about Genre, then he means Genre in literature, and this term raises a question once again. What is Genre in Literature? Genre in literature means, “the category of content functionlized in the written piece.” Further, people consider types of genre as types of genre in literature.

So, here is the breakdown:

1. Poetry

Poetry is a form of literature in which a poet describes ideas and expresses emotions in distinctive style and rhythms. It is artistic writing, which requires the arrangement of words in a specific pattern to rhythm and make sounds. Here are its types:

1. Ballad: A slow, sentimental poem in short stanzas, which is transferred to another generation orally.
2. Elegy: A poem of serious expression of sad emotions, like grief, suffering, and sadness.
3. Epic: A long poem that narrates the heroic activities and characteristics of a hero in ancient times.
4. Ode: A poem that is meant to be sung, or an irregularly written poem.
5. Sonnet: Fourteen lines poem that is written by using formal rhyme schemes.

2. Drama

Drama is a written play in literature, whether for radio, TV, or theater. This is a written piece that is meant to be played and performed on a single platform. Here is a list of its types:

1. Tragedy: A written piece of drama on suffering, sorrow, and destruction event.
2. Comedy: Drama which is intended to laugh audience through jokes and sketches.
3. Frace: A type of drama, which is written by including misunderstandings, humorous events, and mistaken identities.
4. Heroic: Drama which has a heroic character who is brave enough to win against darkness.
5. Melodrama: Melodrama is a sensational written piece to excite the audience’s emotions through characters’ exaggeration.
6. Tragicomedy: A drama format that includes tragedy and comedy in one blend.

3. Fiction

Fiction in literature is a written format of imagery characters and events, whether in ancient times or modern. Writers write pieces with fictional characters to create fictional events that may impact the entire human history if they exist. Here are its types:

1. Novel: A long and extended work of prose on a story, like characters and their stories.
   • Picaresque: A novel that covers the story of a rogue character.
   • Epistolary: A novel that is written in the form of letters between two or more persons.
   • Allegorical: A long, extended fictional work that depicts characters as symbols to convey a deeper message.
   • Gothic: A work of fiction that blends the horror and romance genres to create a story.
   • Dystopian: A novel that takes place in a society of unfair and dehumanizing events.
   • Utopian: A novel that takes place in an ideal society and depicts the perfect world.
2. Novella: Novella is a short length novel that also deals with fictional things.
3. Short Story: A short story is a piece of prose that involves only a single character, theme, or event.
4. Fantasy: Fantasy involves unreal elements and characters that are not found in the real world.
5. Mystery: The story revolves around a single unknown event that is exposed at the end.
6. Romantic: Typically, a story that deals with different events of the beginning of “LOVE” between two individuals.
7. Thriller: A storytelling technique that is used to create excitement, suspense, and detective fiction.
8. Science: Sci-fi is a genre that uses science concepts and beliefs as the main plot to deal with the story.

4. Non-fiction

Non-fiction is a written piece that composes facts and figures instead of involving fiction. The prose originally happened in the main timeline that may or may not be hidden from other characters. Here are its types to understand it deeply:

1. Biography: True events of the life of a person that are written by someone else.
2. Autobiography: True events of the life of the writer himself.
3. Essays: A written piece that covers a real-world problem with persuasive writing techniques.
4. Bibliography: All non-fiction articles, books, and webpages are bibliographies.
5. Narrative: Stating true life events in a story like format to enhance engagement.

5. Folklore

Folklore is a traditional belief or a story of a community that covers miles of generations by word to mouth. This can be a certain belief of a community against a person, place, or thing, including emotional attachments. Here are some of its types:

1. Myths: Prose that includes the existence of supernatural characters, events, and powers.
2. Mythology: A collection of “Myths” that covers the traditional stories of a region or community.
3. Tales: Tales are not in written form, but people tell each other out loud about mythical things.
4. Legends: Legends are stories that are believed to be true events and happen in fact.
5. Songs: Folk songs are the traditional songs of a specific region transferred to a generation through ancestors.
6. Proverbs: Proverbs are short prose that express the wisdom and thoughts of virtue in a culture.

6. Media

Media is a newly added genre to the literature that deals with entertaining people, sharing news, and sharing communication information. This can be in any form, like writing, broadcasting, and digital media format, although it has become famous in recent years. Here are some of its types:

1. Movies: Moving images or “Frame Per Second (FPS)” to tell a story.
2. Songs: Musical composition and lyrics to tell a story or express emotions.
3. Images: A visual representation of something, whether through illustration or drawing.

Different Examples of Genre

Here, I have some examples of genres in different aspects:

1. Media: The miniseries Love and Death is a crime, thriller, and biography. Love and Death cast, include Elizbeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons.
2. Literature: The dystopian novel written by George Orwell “Animal Farm” is the perfect example of genre in literature.
3. Music: Jazz, Rock, and other musical forms are genres of music. Like Animal City by Shakira is a Rock music.

The Closing Note

Well, that’s all about what is genre and its types, including the origin of the word and its definition. No matter if you are a newbie, this article will properly guide you about the type of film, movie, song, or any other perspective of pieces.

French origin defines what’s happening with the English language and how you can differentiate between two similar things. Now, if anyone asks the same question you do, then there is nothing to worry about because after going through the guide, you can easily answer them!