Test Your Knowledge of Genre

1. Which of the following statements is the best genre definition?

A. A category of literature that follows certain conventions.
B. A way of classifying the appropriate age range of a work of literature.
C. A system of differentiating literature from film and music.
Answer: A is the correct answer.
2. Which of the following labels is an example of genre in literature?
A. Young adult novel
B. Graphic novel
C. True crime thriller
Answer: C is the correct answer.
3. Which of the following events usually concludes a Shakespearean comedy?
A. One or more deaths
B. One or more weddings
C. A humorous epilogue
Answer: B is the correct answer. The comedy genre in Shakespeare’s time almost always ended
with weddings, and were not necessarily humorous in their conclusions. Tragedies almost always
ended with deaths.
Gabriel García Márquez’s novel One Hundred Years of Solitude is an example of the genre of
magical realism. This is a genre that was created in the mid-20th century in Latin America, and
involves supernatural events and characters. García Márquez sets up the expectations of this
example of genre by showing that the fictive world in which the action takes place is different
from the normal world, and has magical elements to it. The above paragraph shows that the
village of Macondo is prelapsarian (e.g., before “Original Sin”) and thus there is a supernatural
quality to the setting.

Example #3
Now we walk along the same street, in red pairs, and no man shouts obscenities at us, speaks to
us, touches us. No one whistles. There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia.
Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being
given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.
(The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood)

Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale is an example of narrative that can be described
with more than one genre. It can be called a dystopian thriller, feminist science fiction, or post-
apocalyptic. There are obvious indications that things are quite different in this world than in the
modern United States, as the social norms have changed. However, there is a chilling dystopian
aspect to it, as the character of Aunt Lydia notes that women now are free from men (yet they are
enslaved in other ways).

Example #4
As someone who had spent his life exploring the hidden interconnectivity of disparate emblems
and ideologies, Langdon viewed the world as a web of profoundly intertwined histories and
events. The connections may be invisible, he often preached to his symbology classes at
Harvard, but they are always there, buried just beneath the surface.
(The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown)
Dan Brown’s popular novel The Da Vinci Code includes some aspects of mystery and thriller.
The protagonist of the novel, Robert Langdon, is supposed to be a “symbologist” at Harvard
University, and uses the study of ancient symbols, especially in religion, to solve a modern-day
mystery. Many thrillers, such as The Da Vinci Code, put an emphasis on plot over character
development and using twists in the narrative to keep the readers excited.

Example #5
“But this is touching, Severus,” said Dumbledore seriously. “Have you grown to care for the
boy, after all?”
“For him?” shouted Snape. “Expecto Patronum!”
From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe: She landed on the office floor, bounded once
across the office, and soared out of the window.
(Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling)

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is an example of the fantasy genre. It is categorized as young
adult fiction, but again, this is not the genre of the novel. Indeed, while it is suggested as a good
series for young adults and children, people of all ages enjoy these novels. The fantasy genre is
represented by many different aspects of the series. In the above excerpt we can see fantastical
and magical elements such as the use of spells and wands. J.K. Rowling also uses other
conventions of the fantasy genre, such as the fight between good and evil, epic quests, and an
alternate world in which different rules are possible.