Outline of literature
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to literature:
Literature - prose, written or oral, including fiction and non-fiction, drama, and poetry. See also: outline of poetry.
What ''type'' of thing is literature?
Literature can be described as all of the following:- Communication - activity of conveying information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast distances in time and space.
- * Written communication - representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols.
- Subdivision of culture - shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization, or group.
- * One of the arts - imaginative, creative, or nonscientific branch of knowledge, especially as studied academically.
Essence of literature
- Composition -
- World literature -
Forms of literature
Oral literary genres
- Oral poetry -
- * Epic poetry -
- ** Legend -
- ** Mythology -
- ** Ballad -
- Folktale -
- Oral Narrative -
- * Oral History -
- * Urban legend -
Written literary genres
- Children's literature -
- Constrained writing -
- Erotic literature -
- Poetry
- * Aubade -
- * Clerihew -
- * Epic -
- * Grook - form of short aphoristic poem invented by the Danish poet and scientist Piet Hein, who wrote over 7,000 of them.
- * Haiku - form of short Japanese poetry consisting of three lines.
- * Tanka - classical Japanese poetry of five lines.
- * Lied -
- * Limerick - a kind of a witty, humorous, or nonsense poem, especially one in five-line Anapaest| or amphibrach| meter with a strict rhyme scheme, which is sometimes obscene with humorous intent.
- * Lyric -
- * Ode -
- * Rhapsody -
- * Song -
- * Sonnet -
- * Speculative poetry -
- Prison literature -
- Rhymed prose -
- * Saj'
- ** Maqama
- * Fu
- * Rayok
Non-fiction
- Autobiography -
- Biography -
- Diaries and Journals -
- Essay -
- Literary criticism -
- Memoir -
- Outdoor literature -
- Self-Help -
- Spiritual autobiography -
- Travel literature -
Fiction genres
- Adventure novel -
- Airport novels -
- Comedy -
- Parody -
- Satire -
- Crime fiction -
- * Detective fiction -
- ** Hardboiled -
- ** Whodunit -
- * Newgate novel -
- Erotica -
- Fable -
- Fairy tale -
- Family saga -
- Frame story -
- Gothic -
- * Southern Gothic -
- Historical fiction -
- Inspirational fiction -
- Invasion literature -
- Mystery -
- Philosophical literature -
- Psychological fiction -
- Psychological thriller -
- Romance -
- Romance -
- * Historical romance -
- ** Regency romance -
- * Inspirational romance -
- * Paranormal romance -
- Saga -
- Speculative fiction -
- * Alternate history -
- * Fantasy -
- ** Epic fantasy -
- ** Science fantasy -
- ** Steampunk -
- ** Urban fantasy -
- ** Weird fantasy -
- * Horror -
- ** Lovecraftian horror -
- ** Weird menace -
- * Science fiction - (for more details see Science fiction genres and related topics
- ** Cyberpunk -
- ** Hard science fiction -
- ** Space opera -
- * Supernatural fiction -
- Sensation novel -
- Slave narrative -
- Thriller -
- * Conspiracy fiction -
- * Legal thriller -
- * Spy fiction/Political thriller -
- * Techno-thriller -
- Western fiction -
Literature by region
- African literature
- Asian literature
- European literature
- Latin American literature
- :Category:North American literature|North American literature
- Oceanic literature
History of literature
- History of the book
- History of theater
- History of modern literature
- History of science fiction
- History of ideas
- Intellectual history
Literature by period
Literature by era
- Ancient literature
- * Bronze Age literature
- ** Sumerian
- ** Ancient Egyptian
- ** Akkadian
- * Classical era literature
- ** Avestan
- ** Chinese
- ** Greek
- ** Hebrew
- ** Latin
- ** Pali
- ** Prakrit
- ** Sanskrit
- ** Syriac
- ** Tamil
- ** Japanese
- Early medieval literature
- * Matter of Rome
- * Matter of France
- * Matter of Britain
- * Armenian literature
- * Byzantine literature
- * Georgian literature
- * Kannada literature
- * Middle Persian literature
- * Old Turkic
- Medieval literature
- * Medieval Bulgarian literature
- * Old English literature
- * Middle English literature
- * Arabic literature
- * Persian literature
- * Armenian literature
- * Byzantine literature
- * Medieval Catalan literature
- * Medieval Dutch literature
- * Medieval French literature
- * Georgian literature
- * Medieval German literature
- * Bengali literature
- * Indian literature
- * Old Irish literature
- * High medieval literature
- * Korean literature
- * Kamakura-Muromachi literature
- * Nepal Bhasa literature
- * Old Norse literature
- * Bylina
- * Telugu literature
- * Turkish literature
- * Medieval Welsh literature
- Renaissance literature
- Early Modern literature
- * Renaissance
- * Baroque
- Modern literature
Literature by century
- 10th century in literature
- 11th century in literature
- 12th century in literature
- 13th century in literature
- 14th century in literature
- 15th century in literature
- 16th century in literature
- 17th century in literature
- 18th century in literature
- 19th century in literature
- 20th century in literature
- 21st century in literature
Literature by year
- List of years in literature
- Table of years in literature
General literature concepts
- Book
- Western canon -
- Teaching of writing:
- * Composition -
- * Rhetoric -
- Poetry -
- * Prosody -
- * Meter -
- * Scansion -
- * Constrained writing -
- Poetics -
- *Villanelle -
- *Sonnet -
- *Sestina -
- *Ghazal -
- *Ballad -
- *Blank verse -
- *Free verse -
- *Epic poetry -
- Prose -
- * Fiction -
- * Non-fiction -
- * Biography -
- Prose genres -
- * Essay -
- * Flash prose -
- * Journalism -
- * Novel -
- * Novella -
- * Short story -
- Theater -
- * History of theater -
- Rhetoric -
- * Metaphor -
- * Metonymy -
- * Symbol -
- * Allegory -
- Basic procedural knowledge
- * Poetry analysis -
- * effective reasoning in argument writing
- Narratology
- * False document -
- * Frame tale -
- * Anecdote -
- * In Medias Res -
- * Point of view -
- Literary criticism - an application of literary theory
- * Marxist literary criticism -
- * Semiotic literary interpretation -
- * Psychoanalytic literary interpretation -
- * Feminist literary interpretation -
- * New historicism -
- * Queer literary interpretation -
Literary awards
- List of literary awards
- List of poetry awards
Persons influential in the field of literature
- List of authors
- :Category:Literary critics
- List of writers
- * List of women writers
Literature creation
- Author
- Publisher
- Editor
- Copy editor
Literature distribution
- Publishing
- Library
- Bookselling
- Magazine