The word "genre" is French for "type." Applied to literature, "genres" is a general term used to reference the types of imaginative literature. While there are many types of literature, the basic genres include short stories, poetry, drama, and novels.

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The short story is the most recent genre to appear in Western Literature. It's basic forms, in fact, come from writers in the 19th century and bear their names: "Maupassant," "Chekhov," and "Poe."

The Maupassantian Short Story
Guy du Maupassant, a French writer, wrote short stories with ironic or "trick" endings. You may remember his story, "The Necklace," in which, after working for almost thirty years, a neighbor learns from her wealthy counterpart that the necklace she had borrowed, lost, and now replaced with a string of diamonds, had been composed of only fake gems.

The Chekhovian Short Story
Anton Chekhov, a Russian writer, is noted for crafting the "psychological" short story. So often in his tales, the setting resides in the minds of the characters; dialogue is often a stream of interior monologues between only snippets of conversation. Action is minimal and conflict limited to cross purposes of characters registered in their feelings and suspicions.

The Poe Short Story
An American writer, Edgar Allan Poe is the author of two popular forms of the short story: 1) his tales of "ratiocination," his name for the detective story which he invented, and 2) the "ideal short story." His Major Dupin series is the forerunner of Arthur Conan Doyle's more familiar "Sherlock Holmes" series. The "ideal story" identifies a predetermined "effect" (or emotion), the stimulation of which in the reader determines the orchestration of every other element of literature--characterization, setting, use of time, events, conflict--in the story.

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As with the novel and drama, the resolution of a central conflict is the essential element of the literary piece. In the short story, the conflict is clearly defined and can often be defined between a central character or event which the author has chosen to develop. 

Every motif (literary element) is directly related to the character/event and the central conflict. Major characters control the action, events, and decisions while minor or supporting characters respond to or receive the effects of the major characters.

Time and place (the setting) may vary widely both in definition and development. In some cases, one or both elements is essential to the conflict--its resolution and interpretation--as in the case of historical fiction based upon real people or events. In other cases, the influence of setting is minimal.

As in the other genres, image patterns evoke a sense of the "reality" of the literature, connecting richly and distinctively to the store of our own experiences and perceptions. Images which, through the evolution of their associations in a story, take on significance or meanings other than their denotation (their standard definitions) become symbols. These symbols with their wider meanings can help a story expand its value for readers.

Point of view refers to who tells the story. In any genre, an author may record events as would a reporter or tell the story through the voice of a character. The first is called "third-person point of view" since the story is told in the "third person"--he, she, it, they. When "I" tells the story, the writer limits the relation of the events and conflict through the perceptions and interpretations of a single character. In some stories, the point of view is maintained consistently throughout the work; in others, the point of view changes.

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As with any imaginative work of literature, short stories can be read passively or actively--passively for entertainment, actively for reflection. Reading short stories actively involves an organized, structured approach, involving several steps. The result is a greater appreciation and understanding of the intricacies of the work and, beyond the work itself, of the author and his/her craft. For a suggested outline of steps in active reading, see "How to Read a Short Story Critically."

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The study of short stories usually is developed as an analysis, interpretation, or an evaluation. An analysis examines and discusses the relationships between motifs (elements) in the work. An interpretation, usually based upon a close analysis, discusses the meaning or meanings of a work. An evaluation, completed usually after a full analysis and an interpretation, is a judgment of the work--based upon a selected set of criteria ("successful/unsuccessful," "realistic/unrealistic," "relevant/irrelevant," etc.) For a fuller discussion about composing academic essays about literature, see "How to Write an Analytical Essay about Short Fiction."

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This page was last modified on March 18, 2004,
and is maintained by Dr. Geoffrey Grimes.