Standing in front of a shelf of books and unsure where to begin? This literature guide gives you the short answer: literature has a few major forms, and each rewards a different way of reading.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Major forms of literature (Maricopa textbook count) | 4 forms |
| Genres of literature (Storyboard That count) | 3 genres |
| Wordsworth’s “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, year given in the textbook | 1807 |
| Year of an early definition of poetry quoted in the textbook | 1658 |
| Period when poetry was commonly understood as metrical lines | Before the nineteenth century |
These figures come from Maricopa Open Educational Resources’ Introduction to Literature and Storyboard That’s article on literary genres. Counts and definitions differ between sources and can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
What counts as literature?
Textbooks usually open with the question rather than a verdict. The open textbook from Maricopa begins with chapters on defining “literature”, on the “canon” and its discontents, and on why read literature at all, as its contents list shows.
For a reader, a workable definition is writing that rewards attention to how it is made as well as to what it says. A shopping list says something. A poem built from a shopping list makes you notice the way it is said, and that shift of attention is the doorway into everything below.
You do not need a degree to walk through it. You need a few labels, a handful of habits for reading slowly, and some curiosity about why a text is shaped the way it is.
The rest of this page follows the order in which most readers meet the subject:
- How the words “form” and “genre” differ, and why the difference helps.
- The major forms and what marks each of them.
- Practical ways to read poetry, drama and fiction.
- Themes, movements and good places to start reading.
- Annotation, criticism and the wider world around a book.
Form and genre: how the words differ
Many readers treat form and genre as synonyms, and the Maricopa textbook agrees that the terms are sometimes used interchangeably but can be distinct. It quotes The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, which says the form of a work refers to “its shape and structure and to the manner in which it is made”, as opposed to what it is about (Maricopa).
The same dictionary gives a secondary meaning of form: the kind of work, with the examples sonnet, short story and essay. The textbook then suggests that “genre” is more helpful when reserved for what a work is about, such as “romance” or “mystery”.
Its own example is playful. If a poem is about a struggling colony on a moon of Jupiter, you could argue that its form is poetry and its genre is science fiction.
Storyboard That uses the vocabulary a little differently. It describes genres as categories of literature generally determined by technique, length, tone and content, and it counts three genres: poetry, drama and prose, with all other genre types fitting inside them (Storyboard That).
The gap between that three-part view and the Maricopa count of four reads as a difference in where the line is drawn. The three-part view folds narrative into prose, while the Maricopa list names creative nonfiction on its own.
A quick way to keep the terms straight is to ask three questions about any text:
- What shape does it have: lines, scenes, paragraphs? That points to form.
- What is it about, and which familiar type of story or subject does it belong to? That points to genre.
- Where does it bend or break the usual pattern? That is often where the interesting reading begins.
On that last point, the textbook notes that it can be interesting to analyze how certain texts break formal conventions. Knowing the pattern is what lets you notice the break.
The major forms of literature at a glance
In its chapter on the literary landscape, the textbook sorts writing into poetry, drama, fiction and creative nonfiction, and calls these the major forms (Maricopa). It stresses that the features of each are “not so much rules as they are tools, or conventions, the author uses”. It even pictures forms as regions with open borders, which writers can cross freely.
| Form | Typical marks |
|---|---|
| Poetry | Lines and stanzas; sound matters; a plot is not required |
| Drama | Written for performance; heavy dialogue; acts and scenes |
| Fiction | Imaginary people, events or places; traditionally written in prose; includes the novel |
| Creative nonfiction | Named as the fourth major form in the Maricopa count |
The marks in this table are summarised from the Maricopa textbook, and sources can revise their wording, so check the original before you rely on them.
The textbook pairs its overview with a Venn diagram showing some of the differences and overlap between forms. Treat the table above the same way: a starting map, not a set of walls.
Poetry
According to the textbook, poetry uses the aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning in addition to, or in place of, ordinary meaning. In plainer terms, sound and rhythm do part of the work that plot does elsewhere (Maricopa).
The textbook lists these core attributes:
- It is organized through stanzas and lines.
- It sometimes rhymes, but not always.
- It does not require a plot or characters, although it may include them.
- It often focuses on a single moment, feeling or image.
- It is meant to be heard as well as read, so sound carries weight.
One simple contrast is that prose is cast in sentences and poetry in lines. Before the nineteenth century, poetry was commonly understood as something set in metrical lines, and the textbook quotes a definition from 1658 describing it as any subject made of rhythm or verses.
The textbook adds that poetry may pre-date literacy, with the earliest works composed within and sustained by an oral tradition. That helps explain why reading a poem aloud so often unlocks it. The range of verse is wide, and the guide to types of poetry sorts the main kinds.
Drama
The textbook’s definition is short: drama is literature intended for performance (Maricopa). That one fact explains most of its habits on the page.
Its listed attributes include:
- It is meant to be performed to an audience.
- It often has a character list, and character names almost always show who is speaking.
- It leans heavily on dialogue and usually has little scene description compared with other forms.
- It is organized by acts and scenes, and may include stage directions.
- It is plot based, usually involving a conflict, and may be written in verse.
Its types include comedy, tragedy, history and romance, among others. The textbook’s sample, an excerpt from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, opens with a list of the persons in the play before moving into an act and scene.
Fiction
The textbook defines fiction as any creative work, chiefly narrative, portraying individuals, events or places that are imaginary or shown in imaginary ways. In the traditional narrow sense, it means written narratives in prose, and prose has ordinary syntax and natural speech rather than rhythmic structure (Maricopa).
Its first named kind is the novel, a long fictional prose narrative. A closer look at the elements of a novel shows how plot, character, setting and point of view work together.
Readers who want to know where the label “serious” fiction comes from can find the question of what is literary fiction treated in its own guide.
Creative nonfiction
Creative nonfiction is the fourth form on the Maricopa list. The chapter excerpt behind this guide does not define it, so the detail is left to the full source.
What the list does show is range: the Penguin quotation above names the essay among the kinds of work, a reminder that literary reading is not limited to invented stories.
How to read poetry, drama and fiction
Knowing the labels helps only if it changes how you read. Each form asks for a slightly different reading habit, and the habits are easy to try on a single page.
Reading a poem
Wordsworth’s “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, dated 1807 in the textbook, makes a good practice text, and the textbook reproduces it in full. In it Wordsworth personified the daffodils as dancing (Maricopa).
Try these steps on any poem:
- Read it aloud, because poetry is meant to be heard as well as read.
- Notice where the lines and stanzas break, and what each break does to the pace.
- Name the moment, feeling or image the poem keeps returning to.
- Mark any figure of speech, such as a thing behaving like a person.
- Ask what has changed by the last line.
A fuller routine, with devices and structure explained, is laid out in the guide on how to analyze a poem.
Reading a play
Because drama is intended for performance, read it as a script and picture a stage. Follow the character names to track who speaks, and treat the dialogue as the main carrier of plot and conflict.
When scene description is thin, as the textbook says it usually is, you do the staging. Ask where people stand, who is listening, and what is left unsaid. Reading a scene aloud with a friend, each taking parts, makes the rhythm of the exchange obvious.
Reading a story or novel
With fiction, slow down enough to notice who is telling the story and how much that narrator knows. Track what the main character wants, what stands in the way, and how the setting presses on events.
A reading journal helps. After each sitting, write a sentence on what changed, a sentence on what puzzled you, and a line you would defend as the best in the section.
Themes, movements and where to start
Once you can tell forms apart, the next layer is theme: the ideas a work keeps circling, such as loss, power, belonging or growing up. A set of literary themes examples shows how a single idea can appear in a poem, a play and a novel in quite different ways.
Movements and styles add another layer. Two of the most requested are covered separately: the guide to what is magical realism explains how the ordinary and the impossible share a page, and the notes on gothic literature characteristics cover the mood and settings associated with that tradition.
For a first reading list, work in this order:
- Pick a form you already enjoy, and read a short work in it all the way through.
- Choose a work from a different form, so you notice how the reading habits change.
- Return to something older and widely discussed, then compare how it handles theme.
A good source of older titles is the list of classic novels to read, which suggests places to begin without assuming you have read widely.
If you would rather start with short pieces you can read in a sitting, the Maricopa textbook’s bookshelf of public-domain works includes Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and James Joyce’s “Araby” (Maricopa).
Reading with a purpose: annotation, criticism and context
Good readers leave marks. The Maricopa textbook gives annotation and close reading a chapter of its own, followed by one on literary criticism (Maricopa).
A light annotation habit works for any form:
- Underline repeated words, images or sounds.
- Write a question in the margin wherever you hesitate.
- Circle anything that surprises you, then ask why it does.
- Mark places where the text seems to break its own pattern.
Criticism is what happens when those notes become an argument. A critic asks not only what a text means but why it makes that meaning the way it does, and which readers and traditions have shaped the answer.
The textbook also raises the idea of the canon, the set of works most often taught, and asks about exclusion and inclusion in it. Treat any list of “great books”, including the ones in this guide, as a conversation rather than a final ruling.
When your reading turns into your own essays, stories or poems, the hub on writing and language basics is the natural next stop. And for the question of how books reflect and shape the world they come from, see literature and society.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between form and genre?
Show answer
Form usually means a work’s shape and structure and how it is made, while genre is more helpful when reserved for what a work is about, according to the Maricopa textbook. A poem about a colony on a moon of Jupiter would be poetry in form and science fiction in genre.
How many forms of literature are there?
Show answer
It depends on the source. The Maricopa textbook names four major forms: poetry, drama, fiction and creative nonfiction. Storyboard That says there are three genres: poetry, drama and prose.
Does a poem need to rhyme or tell a story?
Show answer
No. The Maricopa textbook says poetry sometimes rhymes but not always, and that it does not require a plot or characters, although it may include them. Many poems focus on a single moment, feeling or image (Maricopa).
Is drama meant to be read or watched?
Show answer
Drama is literature intended for performance, so it is written for an audience first. You can still read it well on the page by following the character names, listening to the dialogue and imagining the staging (Maricopa).
Where should a beginner start?
Show answer
Start with a form you already enjoy, read something short all the way through, then try another form. Reading poems aloud and annotating as you go are the quickest habits to build.
