Haiku is a mode of Japanese poetry, the late 19th century revision by Masaoka Shiki of the older hokku. The traditional haiku consisted of a pattern of 5, 7, 5 on. The Japanese word on, meaning „sound“. Haiku usually combine three different lines, with a distinct grammatical break, called kireji, usually placed at the end of either the first five or second seven morae. In Japanese, there are actual kireji words. In English, kireji is often replaced with commas, hyphens, elipses, or implied breaks in the haiku. These elements of the older haiku are considered by many to be essential to haiku as well, although they are not always included by modern writers of Japanese „free-form haiku“ and of non-Japanese haiku. Japanese haiku are typically written as a single line, while English language haiku are traditionally separated into three lines. In Japanese, nouns do not have different singular and plural forms, so ‘haiku’ is usually used as both a singular and plural noun in English as well.
An ode is a form of stately and elaborate lyrical verse. A classic ode is structured in three parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. Different forms such as the homostrophic ode and the irregular ode also exist.
Sonnet derives from the Provençal word „sonet“ and the Italian word „sonetto,“ both meaning „little song.“ By the thirteenth century, it had come to signify a poem of fourteen lines that follows a strict rhyme scheme and logical structure. The conventions associated with the sonnet have evolved over its history. The writers of sonnets are known as „sonneteers.“ Traditionally, when writing sonnets, English poets usually employ iambic pentameter.
Science fiction is a broad genre of fiction that often involves speculations based on current or future science or technology. Science fiction is found in books, art, television, films, games, theater, and other media. Science fiction differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within established or postulated laws of nature. Science fiction is largely based on writing entertainingly and rationally about alternate possibilities in settings that are contrary to known reality. These include: a setting in the future, a setting in outer space, stories that contradict known or supposed laws of nature, stories that involve discovery or application of new scientific principles, such as time travel.
The Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States, but also in Western Canada and Mexico. Westerns often portray how primitive and obsolete ways of life confronted modern technological or social changes. This may be depicted by showing conflict between natives and settlers or US cavalry, or by showing ranchers being threatened by the onset of the Industrial Revolution.
Non-fiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. This presentation may be accurate or not; that is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question. However, it is generally assumed that the authors of such accounts believe them to be truthful at the time of their composition. Note that reporting the beliefs of others in a nonfiction format is not necessarily an endorsement of the ultimate veracity of those beliefs, it is simply saying that it is true that people believe that. Non-fiction can also be written about fiction, giving information about these other works. Non-fiction is one of the two main divisions in writing, particularly used in libraries, the other being fiction. However, non-fiction need not be written text necessarily, since pictures and film can also purport to present a factual account of a subject. Types: Essays, journals, documentaries, scientific papers, photographs, biographies, textbooks, blueprints, technical documentation, user manuals.
The epic is long, exalted narrative poetry, generally concerning a serious subject and details the heroic deeds and events important to a culture or nation. A work need not be written to qualify as an epic, although even the works of such great poets as Homer, Dante Alighieri, and John Milton would be unlikely to have survived without being written down. The first epics are known as primary, or original, epics.
An autobiography is a biography written by the subject or composed conjointly with a collaborative writer (styled „as told to“ or „with“). The term was first used by the poet Robert Southey in 1809 in the English periodical, but the form is much older. Traditionally, an autobiography focuses on the „life and times“ of the character, while a memoir has a narrower, more intimate focus on his or her own memories, feelings and emotions. Memoirs have often been written by politicians or military leaders as a way to record and publish an account of their public exploits.
Biography is a genre of literature and other forms of media such as film, based on the written accounts of individual lives. While a biography may focus on a subject of fiction or non-fiction, the term is usually in reference to non-fiction. As opposed to a profile or curriculum vitae, a biography develops a complex analysis of personality, highlighting different aspects of it and including intimate details of experiences. A biography is more than a list of
impersonal facts like birth, education, work, relationships and death. It also delves into the emotions of experiencing such events.