What Is Genre in Literature? (Definition)
In literature, a genre is a category of creative work that follows a shared set of conventions, themes, or styles. When readers know what genre a book or play falls into, they can assess it against the usual conventions to see how it satisfies – or subverts – expectations. Naming a book’s genre is a way of asking, “What can I expect from this book? And if I like this set of books, will I like this one?” Genre is a manner of grouping works of literature primarily by their content, rather than their form, although genre often influences form. The larger groupings are Fiction, Nonfiction, Drama, and Poetry.
Here are some of the many genres readers might encounter, at home or in English/ELA classes:
- Action/adventure
- Dystopian
- Fantasy
- Gothic literature
- Literary fiction
- Memoir
- Nature writing
- Romance
- Romantasy
- Satire
- Science fiction (sci-fi)
- True crime
- Young adult
Examples of Genre
Example 1: Macbeth: Tragedy
Macbeth represents a classic tragedy in that its protagonist travels down a dark path of treachery and violence that inevitably leads to his own downfall and death. Like the protagonists in other classic tragedies, Macbeth is a well-known and admired political figure. He is a man of virtue at the beginning of the play, when his faithful service to Scotland in battle wins him the respect of the king and the honor of a new title, the Thane of Cawdor.
Although in many respects the play follows the classic definition of tragedy, Macbeth is notable for being the only tragedy Shakespeare wrote where the hero and the villain are the same. Macbeth may start out as a good person, but once his ambition gets the better of him and he commits his first act of treachery, he becomes the play's primary source of evil. After he murders Duncan, Macbeth feels compelled to keep killing to cover up his first crime and maintain his grip on power. Each new act of violence results in Macbeth's growing detachment from reality as well as increased chaos in the kingdom of Scotland.
Example 2: A Tale of Two Cities: Historical novel
A Tale of Two Cities is a historical novel. While Dickens published the novel in 1859, the action of the plot begins in 1775. The novel’s opening purposefully evokes the past, giving a reader a sense of what this moment in time was like: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.” This retrospective voice indicates the story to come will encompass a time period and will be directly concerned with the events of that period. Historical novels use plots set during an earlier time period and refer to documented historical events or characters. However, authors most often use the genre to help the reader think more critically about the present moment. Dickens writes about the French Revolution as a way of showing how injustice and abuse of power led to violence and chaos, and warning readers that these same problems continue to exist in Victorian England.
Example 3: Animal Farm: Animal fable
Animal Farm is an animal fable—or beast fable—because it uses animal characters to make a concise, forceful argument about human morality and politics. Throughout European history, writers from Aesop to Jean de la Fontaine have used animal fables as a way of criticizing their own societies under the cover of a “harmless” story about animals. For example, Aesop’s Fables are simple stories about creatures such as mice, geese, and frogs. The stories end with clear moral lessons that are applicable to daily life.
By drawing on the animal fable’s tradition of social criticism, Animal Farm critiques Orwell’s own English society as well as Soviet totalitarianism. Traditionally, fables rarely include more than one human character, but Orwell subverts this convention. By including several human farmers in his fable, Orwell reminds his readers that the exploitation and oppression of animals is not just a literary metaphor for the exploitation and oppression of human beings. The exploitation of animals really happens... and it relies on the same process as the exploitation of humans.
Common Misunderstandings about Genre
Genre is a slippery word – depending on the context, it might mean a large category, like fiction, or a much more specific subgenre, like romantasy. Readers should use their best judgment to help them determine how broad a category of genre they’re being asked to identify.
It’s also important to distinguish genre from form, even though sometimes conventions of genre do include form. Form speaks exclusively to the structure of a work, or how it’s organized. Although two books could both be considered novels because of their length and structure, a gothic novel likely has the moody settings, tortured characters, and family curses that distinguish it from a YA novel about starting a new school. Dividing works by genre gives readers much more information about the content they can expect.
Why Does Genre Matter?
Genre matters because it helps the reader situate a text amongst the books that they've already read and set expectations based on that; for example, a reader can choose to avoid horror stories if they know they’re easily disturbed by violence or gore. It also provides a shortcut to understanding a larger body of literature, making an immense world of stories more categorizable and digestible. Finally, genre is a way for authors to connect with their audiences, building a relationship on a shared enjoyment of particular conventions, themes, and character journeys.