Genres and text types
In the last posts, we defined what is literature and what its 5 functions are. Now we will address literary genres, textual genres and textual types. It is very important not to confuse these three terms. So let us clarify each of them.
Literary genre – classified according to its form, which can be of the epic or narrative, lyrical and dramatic genres. The concept covers only literary texts.
Textual genre – covers all types of text, except literary ones.
Text type – is the way a text is presented. It can be classified as narrative, descriptive, dissertation, injunctive, explanatory and predictive. All these classifications can be present in both literary and textual genres.
Text – is any sentence and/or expression that constitutes communication. Therefore, it does not need to be written. When I tell someone I really liked the candy you bought, that is a text, even if it is not written.
The beginning is in Aristotle's Poetics
Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) was one of the leading Greek philosophers. He wrote a number of works on philosophy, politics, ethics, metaphysics and logic. He systematized the knowledge that influences the entire Western culture, created new concepts and opened a new philosophical school. His work is so important that it was used in the following centuries (and until today) to elaborate argumentation, the study of language and philosophical writing.
Aristotle proposed the classification of literary genres in classical antiquity, in his work Poetics. He as defined the literary genres: epic, lyrical and dramatic.
Epic or narrative genre – meant the “narrated word”, as it portrayed the grandiose events of a hero in extensive poems called epics.
Lyrical genre – represented the “sung word”, since, in the past, literary texts were recited and accompanied by musical instruments, especially the lyre.
Dramatic genre – symbolized the “represented word” and brought together texts written for a theatrical play.
Textual genres
They are texts that fulfill a social function in a given communicative situation. Unlike text types, text genres do not have a limited and defined structure. In addition, they may undergo some modifications over time, due to changes in communication in society. The most common are:
article, summary, recipe, letter, advertisement, novel, dictionary, review, poem and e-mail.
Text types or typologies
They are sequences of words and phrases that form the texts we use in our daily lives. They establish the structure of the texts, their aim and purpose. That is, they are responsible for the way a text is presented. They are:
Narrative, descriptive, dissertation, injunctive, explanatory and predictive.
Difference between genre and text type
Text types are sequences of words and phrases that make up the texts we read every day. Thus, it can be said that textual genres are formed by textual types. An example of a text type is the description. When, for example, we are going to write a chronicle (textual genre), we use the description (textual type) to show our reader what the objects, characters and spaces of a given scene are like.
A textual genre usually contains several textual types, although a certain type usually prevails within a genre. For example: the essay is a textual genre where the dissertation type prevails, but there may be explanatory and even narrative excerpts.
Classification of textual genres according to textual types
Each text had a language and structure. Note that there are numerous textual genres within the typological text categories. In other words, textual genres are peculiar textual structures that arise from the types of texts.
Textual types
Narrative – presents the actions of characters in time and space. The narration structure is divided into presentation, development, climax and ending.
Examples: novel, chronicle, tale, legend, biography, novel, etc.
Descriptive – reports and exposes a particular person, object, place, and event. They are texts full of adjectives, which describe or present images from the sensory perceptions of the speaker (sender).
Examples: diary, reports (travel, history, etc.), biography and autobiography, news, resume, shopping list, menu, classified ads, argumentative-essay text.
Dissertation – exposes a theme or subject through arguments. It is marked by defending a point of view while trying to persuade the reader. Its textual structure is divided into three parts: thesis (presentation), antithesis (development), new thesis (conclusion).
Examples: journalistic editorial, opinion letter, review, article, essay, monograph, master's dissertation, and doctoral thesis.
Injunctive – also called instructional text, the one indicates an order, so that the speaker (sender) aims to guide and persuade the interlocutor (receiver). Therefore, they present, in most cases, verbs in the imperative.
Examples: advertising, cooking recipe, medicine leaflet, instruction manual, regulation, prescriptive texts, anecdote, blog, report, cartoon, letter, e-mail, statement, memo, ticket, report, request, minutes, poster, cartoon, power of attorney, certificate, circular and contract.
Expository/explanatory – exposes a given idea, through resources such as definition, conceptualization, information, description, and comparison.
Examples: seminars, lectures, conferences, interviews, academic papers, encyclopedia, and dictionary entries.
Predictive – presents its verbs in the future tense and sometimes in the present tense. It is common to use expressions with future value, in addition to the existence of interlocution.
Examples: weather forecast, horoscope, prophecies and even some proverbs.
Types of Text Genres
Poem – text usually organized in verses and characterized using figures of speech, such as metaphor, assonance, and alliteration. A Rosa do Povo (The People's Rose), by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, and Romanceiro da Inconfidência (Romantic from the distrust), by Cecília Meireles, are examples of books of poems.
Essay – reflective genre, in which the author talks about a certain subject in a free, non-systematized and original way. Example: the book Essays, by Michel de Montaigne.
Biography – narrative text that, based on diverse documentation, seeks to reconstruct the life story of a person. Example: the biography Getúlio, by journalist Lira Neto, which tells the story of the Brazilian political leader Getúlio Vargas.
Diary – genre of a personal nature, used to periodically record your experiences, reflections, thoughts, etc. Examples: Anne Frank's Diary and Eviction Room, by Carolina Maria de Jesus.
News – journalistic genre whose function is to communicate some socially relevant fact, such as a political event or cultural event. The newspaper, whether printed or electronic, is full of news, which are characterized by impartiality and objectivity.
Opinion article – text of an argumentative nature, usually published in newspapers and magazines. It is characterized by exposing the opinion of whoever writes (the columnist) on the most diverse topics of today.
Review – commentary on a particular cultural object, be it a movie or a book. In addition to presenting this cultural object, the review has a critical character, that is, it expresses the opinion of its author.
E-mail – a new genre emerged with the advent of the internet. It largely replaces the letter, as it is a much faster and easier way of sending messages to people who are far away.
Dictionary entry – text that seeks, in the most synthetic and objective very possible, to define a word, considering its most varied meanings.
Manifesto – programmatic text, in which its author (or authors) expresses their position on a controversial subject. Manifests are usually intended to make an impact and persuade your readers. Examples: The Communist Party Manifesto, by Marx and Engels, and the Futurist Manifesto, by Marinetti.
Note – very useful text in everyday life. It does not have a fixed form and tends to be brief. Your goal is to communicate something quickly to another person. As it is a personal text, its author signs it.
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