Disentangling Genres Essay -- Literature Essays Literary Criticism

When asked to explain what distinguishes one literary musical literary genre from another, aficionados of a particular genre sometimes answer, I know it when I see it. It whitethorn be true that some devotees develop a sixth sense in identifying a literary work as belonging to a peculiar(prenominal) genre. However, uncommunicated intuitive knowledge does little to either define relatively new-sprung(prenominal) or fledgling genres, or distinguish break- away genres, such as exploration and science fiction from the similar or closely tie in parent genres of travel and adventure, and fantasy, respectively. The better defined a genre, the less believably a reader will be to mistake one genre for another and the more likely a selection will tally a persons expectations. However, the age old literary function of genre, to provide an instructive framework for readers, is sometimes secondary to the business imperative that a text edition be marketed in the most profitable manne r. Since some genres have a higher readership than other, publishers may have a financial motivation for trade a novel in a particular genre although readers may be mislead. To increase interest, authors also frequently write books which exploit universal interest or current trends. Edgar Allan Poes only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, capitalizes on the new expeditions to the South Pole. However, the novels journey and destination are largely superfluous to the accomplishment of the plot. The story is a suspenseful fantasy of dark visions, darker actions and ghostly visitations from the aliment dead. Although some readers and critics consider it a science fiction novel, Pym is primarily a compilation of the many gothic plot devices of Poes short... ...orks Cited Abrahams, M.H. A Glossary of literary Terms. Ft. Worth TX harcourt, Brace College Publishers, 1999. Aldiss, Brian and Wingrove, David. The Trillion Year Spree. Poughkeepsie, NY House of St ratus, 2001. Disch, Thomas M. The Dreams Our scarf out is Made Of.NY, NY Simon and Schuster, 2000. Freedman, Car. Critical Theory and Science Fiction. Hanover, NH UP of New England, 2000. Macpherson, James. E-Library. 1.2 (2002 ) Online. Internet. 14 April 2002 http//www.encyclopedia.com/html/M/MacphersJ.asp Mann, George. The Mammoth Encyclopedia. NY,NY Carrol and Graf, 2001. Nelson, Brain R. Western Political Thought. Inglewood Cliffs NJ Prentice-Hall,1982. White, Craig. Syllabus LITR5738Literature of Space and Exploration ts. University of Houston Clear Lake. Houston TX.