Genres

abstract art: an abstract genre of art; artistic content depends on internal form rather than pictorial representation
acid rock: a musical style that emerged in the 1960s; rock music inspired by or related to drug-induced experience
adventure story: a story of an adventure
Aesop's fables: a collection of fables believed to have been written by the Greek storyteller Aesop
African-American music: music created by African-American musicians; early forms were songs that had a melodic line and a strong rhythmic beat with repeated choruses
agony column: a newspaper column devoted to personal problems
allegory: a short moral story (often with animal characters)
animated cartoon: a film made by photographing a series of cartoon drawings to give the illusion of movement when projected in rapid sequence
anthem: a song of praise (to God or to a saint or to a nation)
antiphonal: bound collection of antiphons
art rock: a style of rock music that emerged in the 1970s; associated with attempts to combine rock with jazz and other forms; intended for listening and not dancing
Arthurian legend: the legend of King Arthur and his court at Camelot
article: nonfictional prose forming an independent part of a publication
ballroom music: a genre of popular music composed for ballroom dancing
bebop: an early form of modern jazz (originating around 1940)
black comedy: comedy that uses black humor
bluegrass: a type of country music played at a rapid tempo on banjos and guitars
blues: a type of folksong that originated among Black Americans at the beginning of the 20th century; has a melancholy sound from repeated use of blue notes
boogie: an instrumental version of the blues (especially for piano)
bouffe: opera with a happy ending and in which some of the text is spoken
C and W: a simple style of folk music heard mostly in the southern United States; usually played on stringed instruments
cantata: a musical composition for voices and orchestra based on a religious text
canticle: a hymn derived from the Bible
cantus firmus: a pre-existing melody used as the basis for a polyphonic composition; originally drawn from plainchant, but later drawn from other sources
chamber music: serious music performed by a small group of musicians
chant: a repetitive song in which as many syllables as necessary are assigned to a single tone
chinoiserie: a style in art reflecting Chinese influence; elaborately decorated and intricately patterned
choral: a stately Protestant (especially Lutheran) hymn tune
Christmas carol: joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ
church music: genre of music composed for performance as part of religious ceremonies
cinema verite: a movie that shows ordinary people in actual activities without being controlled by a director
classical: traditional genre of music conforming to an established form and appealing to critical interest and developed musical taste
closet drama: drama more suitable for reading that for performing
collage film: a movie that juxtaposes different kinds of footage
column: an article giving opinions or perspectives
comedy: light and humorous drama with a happy ending
coming attraction: a movie that is advertised to draw customers
commedia dell'arte: Italian comedy of the 16th to 18th centuries improvised from standardized situations and stock characters
concerto: a composition for orchestra and a soloist
concerto grosso: a baroque composition for orchestra and a group of solo instruments
cool jazz: jazz that is restrained and fluid and marked by intricate harmonic structures often lagging slightly behind the beat
dark comedy: a comedy characterized by grim or satiric humor; a comedy having gloomy or disturbing elements
dead march: a slow march to be played for funeral processions
detective story: a narrative about someone who investigates crimes and obtains evidence leading to their resolution
Dies Irae: the first words of a medieval Latin hymn describing the Last Judgment (literally `day of wrath')
disco: popular dance music (especially in the late 1970s); melodic with a regular bass beat; intended mainly for dancing at discotheques
dithyramb: (ancient Greece) a passionate hymn (usually in honor of Dionysus)
docudrama: a film or TV program presenting the facts about a person or event
doo-wop: a genre (usually a cappella) of Black vocal-harmony music of the 1950s that evolved in New York City from gospel singing; characterized by close four-part harmonies; the name derived from some of the nonsense syllables sung by the backup
doxology: a hymn or verse in Christian liturgy glorifying God
drama: the literary genre of works intended for the theater
epic poetry: poetry celebrating the deeds of some hero
epos: a body of poetry that conveys the traditions of a society by treating some epic theme
ethnic music: the traditional and typically anonymous music that is an expression of the life of people in a community
euphuism: an elegant style of prose of the Elizabethan period; characterized by balance and antithesis and alliteration and extended similes with and allusions to nature and mythology
fable: a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
fado: a sad Portuguese folksong
farce: a comedy characterized by broad satire and improbable situations
feature: a special or prominent article in a newspaper or magazine
feature: the principal (full-length) film in a program at a movie theater
film noir: a movie that is marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, menace, and cynical characters
final cut: the final edited version of a movie as approved by the director and producer
folk art: genre of art of unknown origin that reflects traditional values of a society
folk ballad: a song that is traditionally sung by the common people of a region and forms part of their culture
fugue: a musical form consisting of a theme repeated a fifth above or a fourth below its first statement
funk: an earthy type of jazz combining it with blues and soul; has a heavy bass line that accentuates the first beat in the bar
genre painting: a genre depicting everyday life
gospel: folk music consisting of a genre of a cappella music originating with Black slaves in the United States and featuring call and response; influential on the development of other genres of popular music (especially soul)
grand opera: opera in which all the text is sung
Gregorian chant: a variety of plainsong named after Pope Gregory I
Hallel: (Judaism) a chant of praise (Psalms 113 through 118) used at Passover and Shabuoth and Sukkoth and Hanukkah and Rosh Hodesh
Hare Krishna: a chant to the Hindu god Krishna
heavy metal: loud and harsh sounding rock music with a strong beat; lyrics usually involve violent or fantastic imagery
high comedy: a sophisticated comedy; often satirizing genteel society
hillbilly music: country music originating in mountainous regions of southern United States
hip-hop: genre of African-American music of the 1980s and 1990s in which rhyming lyrics are chanted to a musical accompaniment; several forms of rap have emerged
home movie: a film made at home by an amateur photographer
hot jazz: jazz that is emotionally charged and intense and marked by strong rhythms and improvisation
hymeneal: a wedding hymn
interior monologue: a literary genre that presents a fictional character's sequence of thoughts in the form of a monologue
Internationale: a revolutionary socialist anthem
jazz: a genre of popular music that originated in New Orleans around 1900 and developed through increasingly complex styles
jive: a style of jazz played by big bands popular in the 1930s; flowing rhythms but less complex than later styles of jazz
landscape: a genre of art dealing with the depiction of natural scenery
lead: a news story of major importance
light opera: a short amusing opera
love story: a story dealing with love
low comedy: a comedy characterized by slapstick and burlesque
macumba: popular dance music of Brazil; derived from the practices of the macumba religious cult
magazine article: an article published in a magazine
magic realism: a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative or meticulously realistic painting are combined with surreal elements of fantasy or dreams
Magnificat: (Luke) the canticle of the Virgin Mary (from Luke 1:46 beginning `Magnificat anima mea Dominum')
march: genre of music written for marching
martial music: brisk marching music suitable for troops marching in a military parade
Mass: a musical setting for a Mass
melodrama: an extravagant comedy in which action is more salient than characterization
Messiah: an oratorio composed by Handel in 1742
modern jazz: any of various styles of jazz that appeared after 1940
modernism: genre of art and literature that makes a self-conscious break with previous genres
murder mystery: a narrative about a murder and how the murderer is discovered
musical drama: opera in which the musical and dramatic elements are equally important; the music is appropriate to the action
musical: a play or film whose action and dialogue is interspersed with singing and dancing
mystery: a story about a crime (usually murder) presented as a novel or play or movie
myth: a traditional story accepted as history; serves to explain the world view of a people
naive art: a genre of art and outdoor constructions made by untrained artists who do not recognize themselves as artists
Negro spiritual: a kind of religious song originated by Blacks in the southern United States
news article: an article reporting news
newsreel: a short film and commentary about current events
nonfiction: prose writing that is not fictional
offprint: a separately printed article that originally appeared in a larger publication
op art: a style of abstractionism popular in the 1960s; produces dramatic visual effects with colors and contrasts that are difficult for the eye to resolve
opera: a drama set to music; consists of singing with orchestral accompaniment and an orchestral overture and interludes
paean: (ancient Greece) a hymn of praise (especially one sung in ancient Greece to invoke or thank a deity)
paper: a scholarly article describing the results of observations or stating hypotheses
parable: (New Testament) any of the stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message
peepshow: a short pornographic film shown in a small coin-operated booth
personal: a short newspaper article about a particular person or group
piano sonata: a sonata for piano
pibroch: martial music with variations; to be played by bagpipes
Pilgrim's Progress: an allegory written by John Bunyan in 1678
plainchant: (Roman Catholic Church) a liturgical chant consisting of a single, unaccompanied melodic line
poesy: literature in metrical form
pointillism: a genre of painting characterized by the application of paint in dots and small strokes; developed by Georges Seurat and his followers in late 19th century France
polyphonic prose: a rhythmical prose employing the poetic devices of alliteration and assonance
pop: music of general appeal to teenagers; a bland watered-down version of rock'n'roll with more rhythm and harmony and an emphasis on romantic love
popular music: any genre of music having wide appeal (but usually only for a short time)
postmodernism: genre of art and literature and especially architecture in reaction against principles and practices of established modernism
primitivism: a genre characteristic of (or imitative of) primitive artists or children
processional march: a march to be played for processions
processional: religious music used in a procession
prose: ordinary writing as distinguished from verse
prose poem: prose that resembles poetry
punk: rock music with deliberately offensive lyrics expressing anger and social alienation; in part a reaction against progressive rock
quickstep: military march accompanying quick time
R and B: a combination of blues and jazz that was developed in the United States by Black musicians; an important precursor of rock 'n' roll
recessional: a hymn that is sung at the end of a service as the clergy and choir withdraw
reggae: popular music originating in the West Indies; repetitive bass riffs and regular chords played on the off beat by a guitar
religious song: religious music for singing
Requiem: a musical setting for a Mass celebrating the dead
rock opera: an opera with rock music
rock: a genre of popular music originating in the 1950s; a blend of black rhythm-and-blues with white country-and-western
rockabilly: a fusion of black music and country music that was popular in the 1950s; sometimes described as blues with a country beat
rondeau: a musical form that is often the last movement of a sonata
rough cut: the first print of a movie after preliminary editing
saga: a narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family; originally (12th to 14th centuries) a story of the families that settled Iceland and their descendants but now any prose narrative that resembles such an account
scat: singing jazz; the singer substitutes nonsense syllables for the words of the song and tries to sound like a musical instrument
schottische: music performed for dancing the schottische
seriocomedy: a comedy with serious elements or overtones
shoot-'em-up: a movie featuring shooting and violence
short story: a prose narrative shorter than a novel
short subject: a brief film; often shown prior to showing the feature
sidebar: a short news story presenting sidelights on a major story
silent movie: a movie without a soundtrack
sitcom: a humorous drama based on situations that might arise in day-to-day life
skiffle: a style of popular music in the 1950s; based on American folk music and played on guitars and improvised percussion instruments
skin flick: a pornographic movie
slapstick: a boisterous comedy with chases and collisions and practical jokes
slow motion: a movie that apparently takes place at a slower than normal speed; achieved by taking the film at a faster rate
sonata: a musical composition of 3 or 4 movements of contrasting forms
sonatina: a short and simple sonata
soul: a secular form of gospel that was a major Black musical genre in the 1960s and 1970s
spaghetti Western: a low-budget Western movie produced by a European (especially an Italian) film company
square-dance music: music performed for square dancing
stream of consciousness: a literary genre that reveals a character's thoughts and feeling as they develop by means of a long soliloquy
symphonic music: a long and complex sonata for symphony orchestra
synthetism: a genre of French painting characterized by bright flat shapes and symbolic treatments of abstract ideas
talkie: a movie with synchronized speech and singing
Te Deum: an ancient liturgical hymn
telefilm: a movie that is made to be shown on television
think piece: an article in a newspaper or magazine or journal that represents opinions and ideas and discussion rather than bare facts
three-D: a movie with images having three dimensional form or appearance
thriller: a suspenseful adventure story or play or movie
trad: traditional jazz as revived in the 1950s
tragedy: drama in which the protagonist is overcome by some superior force or circumstance; excites terror or pity
tragicomedy: a dramatic composition involving elements of both tragedy and comedy usually with the tragic predominating
Twilight of the Gods: myth about the ultimate destruction of the gods in a battle with evil
wedding march: a march to be played for a wedding procession
Western: a film about life in the western United States during the period of exploration and development
zydeco: music of southern Louisiana that combines French dance melodies with Caribbean music and blues