The Genres of Literature: The Short Story
Table of Contents
Definition: Genre
Types of Short Stories
The Elements of Short Stories
Reading Short Stories
Writing About Short Stories
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.
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 de 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 Checkhovian 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 "raciocination,"
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.
The Elements of the Short Story
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 that, 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.
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."
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."
This page was last modified on February 10, 2006,
and is maintained by Dr. Geoffrey Grimes.
