types:
acrostic
verse in which certain letters such as the first in each line form a word or message
dialog,
dialogue
a literary composition in the form of a conversation between two people
fiction
a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact
hagiology
literature narrating the lives (and legends) of the saints
lucubration
a solemn literary work that is the product of laborious cogitation
pastoral
a literary work idealizing the rural life (especially the life of shepherds)
poem,
verse form
a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
potboiler
a literary composition of poor quality that was written quickly to make money (to boil the pot)
tushery
writing of poor quality; characterized by affected choice of archaic words
romance
a medieval narrative about the adventures of a chivalric hero
dystopia
a work of fiction describing an imaginary place where life is extremely bad because of deprivation or oppression or terror
novel
an extended fictional work in prose; usually in the form of a story
story
a piece of fiction that narrates a chain of related events
utopia
a work of fiction describing a utopia
abecedarius
a poem having lines beginning with letters of the alphabet in regular order
Alcaic,
Alcaic verse
verse in the meter used in Greek and Latin poetry consisting of strophes of 4 tetrametric lines; reputedly invented by Alcaeus
ballad,
lay
a narrative poem of popular origin
ballade
a poem consisting of 3 stanzas and an envoy
blank verse
unrhymed verse (usually in iambic pentameter)
haiku
an epigrammatic Japanese verse form of three short lines
rondeau,
rondel
a French verse form of 10 or 13 lines running on two rhymes; the opening phrase is repeated as the refrain of the second and third stanzas
sonnet
a verse form consisting of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme
tanka
a form of Japanese poetry; the 1st and 3rd lines have five syllables and the 2nd, 4th, and 5th have seven syllables
terza rima
a verse form with a rhyme scheme: aba bcb cdc, etc.
versicle
a short verse said or sung by a priest or minister in public worship and followed by a response from the congregation
villanelle
a poem comprised of five tercets and a quatrain and in which the first and third lines of the first tercet repeat as alternating end lines in subsequent stanzas
sestina
a poem comprised of six sestets and a final tercet and in which the end words of each line recur in each stanza in rotating order
horror
a genre of fiction that evokes suspense and feelings of fear
epigram
a short, witty, and often satirical poem focusing on a single topic or observation