Literary Texts: Characteristics and Genres
Characteristics of Literary Texts
Literary communication involves distinct elements. The issuer is the author of an original, unpublished work. The receiver is the reader, who interprets the work. The message is the work itself. The context differs for the author and the reader. Finally, the code is the common language, modified for aesthetic and expressive purposes.
Creative Language in Literary Works
Writers manipulate language to create a unique and innovative result. Key features include:
- Connotative Language: Words carry emotional meaning, resulting in lexical richness.
- Polysemy: The connotative nature leads to multiple interpretations of the message.
- Dominant Poetic Function: The content is expressed through elaborate form, alongside expressive and conative functions.
- Literary Figures: Rhetorical devices embellish the message.
- Genre Structures: Texts are organized according to recurring structures of literary genres.
The three main forms of literary expression are narrative, lyrical, and dramatic.
Linguistic Resources and Ambiguity
Literary language is characterized by unique forms of expression, often employing a refined and careful register, especially in poetry. Ambiguity, arising from connotative language, enhances the ability to suggest emotions and feelings.
Linguistic resources are diverse, affecting all levels of language:
- Use of verse or prose
- Expressiveness of syntax and punctuation
- Use of direct and indirect speech
- Richness of lexical choice and tone
Figures of speech represent deviations from normal, everyday language use. Examples include alliteration and paronomasia at the phonic level, and antithesis and paronomasia at the lexical-semantic level.
Understanding Literary Genres
A literary genre serves as a model for the author and sets expectations for the reader. Major literary genres include poetry, fiction, and drama.
Lyric Poetry
Lyric poetry imitates moods and is characterized by:
- Highly subjective speech
- Predominance of emotional function
- Absence of a developed story
- Focus on a single aspect
- Short length
- Presentation in verse or poetic prose
Narrative Texts
Narratives tell stories through a narrator. They are characterized by:
- Development of a story
- Predominance of referential function
- Narration by a narrator
- Prose as the predominant mode of discourse
Dramatic Works
Drama encompasses texts intended for performance. It is characterized by:
- Development of a story through characters’ words and actions
- Absence of a narrator
- Predominance of appellative function
- Dialogue as the form of verbal communication
- Can be read, but transmission and reception are primarily collective