STANDARD 3.1   Literary Response and Analysis w Level 4





THE LITERARY GENRES

FANTASY
A fantasy is a completely unbelievable imaginary story in which people, animals, or objects may do things that they can't do in real life. Also, things may happen that could never happen in the real world. The setting may not be a real place or the story may have creatures that do not really exist. And finally, the problem in the story may be one that nobody ever has in the real world. A fantasy having a magical quality and written especially for children is called a FAIRY TALE.

REALISTIC FICTION
Realistic fiction is a made-up story that describes things as they really are. In realistic fiction, things happen that actually could happen in real life. The story has real-life problems, and the setting may include real places.

HISTORICAL FICTION
Like realistic fiction, historical fiction is a believable imaginary story. The difference between the two is that historical fiction takes place in a different time period from the present (i.e., the past). The characters in historical fiction may include real people, and the plot may include actual historical events.

BIOGRAPHY
A biography is a story about a real person's life, but written by someone else.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY
An autobiography is a story that someone wrote about his or her own life.

MYTH
A myth is a traditional story from long, long ago, usually with supernatural characters, such as gods and goddesses. A myth may give an imaginative explanation for some mystery in life, such as why something occurs in nature, why something looks the way it does, or why people behave in certain ways.

LEGEND
A legend is a myth that is believed to have some historical basis.

FOLK TALE
A folktale is a traditional story from long ago, passed down among common people by word-of-mouth, from generation to generation.
Copyright © 2006 by Fred Duckworth
Focus: Students will describe the structural differences of various imaginative forms of literature, including fantasies, fables, myths, legends, and fairy tales.
FEATURES OF LITERATURE