Literary forms (Gathering term; do not assign)

. Acrostics
. SN: Use for a series of lines or verses in which a set or sets
. of letters, such as the initial or final letters of the
. lines, form a word, phrase, sentence, or regular alphabetic
. sequence when read in order.
. Allegories
. HN: SN and added BT and Hierarchy of illustrated works added
. 1/08
. SN: Use for literary or visual representations of abstract
. ideas or principles through characters, figures, or events.
. Ballads
. SN: Use for traditional popular poems of Europe and North
. America, often set to music, combining narrative, dramatic
. dialogue, and lyrical passages, and having a meter, rhyming
. pattern, and recurring refrain.
. Dance of death
. HN: 6/99 Term added.
. SN: Use for literary or visual representations of a dance or
. procession in which death as a skeleton leads its victim to
. the grave.
. Emblem books
. SN: Use for collections of emblems, i.e., mottoes or epigrams
. accompanied by a verse and sometimes a symbolic
. illustration, based upon a poetic conceit or moral
. statement, particularly popular in the 16th and 17th
. centuries.
. Erotica
. HN: SN added 12/2011.
. SN: Use for literary or artistic works focused on sexual love
. or desire.
. Essays
. Fiction
.. Big little books
.. HN: 1/98 Term added.
.. SN: Use for small, thick, heavily illustrated books, usually
.. containing texts abridged from popular fiction.
.. Biographical fiction
.. Comic histories
.. Fables
.. SN: Use for short didactic tales that feature animals, humans,
.. gods, and even inanimate objects as characters to teach a
.. lesson.
.. Fairy tales
.. SN: Use for tales, typically told to children, containing
.. elements of folklore that often have fantastic or
.. supernatural aspects.
.. Fantasy literature
.. SN: Use for highly imaginative fiction, often featuring
.. imaginary worlds, extraordinary creatures or magic, in
.. which the action occurs in an unreal time and/or place, or
.. is not constrained by the limitations of conventional
.. reality.
... Imaginary conversations
... Imaginary voyages
... Utopian literature
.. Feuilletons
.. SN: Use for serialized fiction in the form of novels or
.. periodical literature.
.. Folk tales
.. SN: Use for short narratives rooted in traditional oral culture.
... Fables
... SN: Use for short didactic tales that feature animals, humans,
... gods, and even inanimate objects as characters to teach a
... lesson.
... Fairy tales
... SN: Use for tales, typically told to children, containing
... elements of folklore that often have fantastic or
... supernatural aspects.
... Myths and legends
.. Historical fiction
.. Mystery and detective fiction
.. Myths and legends
.. Novellas
.. HN: SN added 5/27
.. SN: Use for a fictional prose narrative shorter than a novel
.. but longer than a short story.
.. Novels
... Bildungsromans
... HN: Form of term changed from Bildungsromane; SN and UFs added,
... changes approved 20100115
... SN: Use for novels in which the theme is the development of a
... character from youth to adulthood.
... Dime novels
... SN: Use for melodramatic fiction featuring romance and
... adventure published as cheap paperbacks in the United
... States from the late 19th century into the early 20th
... century. For the British equivalent, use Penny dreadfuls.
... Epistolary novels
... HN: Changed 1/91. Formerly, "Epistolary novels" may have been
... indexed as "Epistolary fiction.
... SN: Use for novels written as a series of documents, usually
... letters, diary entries, and newspaper clippings, or other
... written communication, such as telegrams or e-mails.
... Gothic novels
... HN: Changed 1/91. Formerly, "Gothic novels" may have been
... indexed as "Gothic fiction.
... Penny dreadfuls
... SN: Use for melodramatic fiction featuring romance and
... adventure published as cheap paperbacks in Great Britain
... from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. For
... the American equivalent, use Dime novels.
... Plot-your-own stories
... SN: Use for novels which have the reader choose from a number
... of options to develop the story.
... Romans à clef
... HN: SN added 09/2015.
... SN: Use for novels in which actual people, places, or events
... are presented under fictitious names.
... Yellowbacks
... SN: Use for inexpensive novels issued in paper boards covered
... with glazed yellow paper and having a woodcut printed in
... three colors on the front, usually dating from the late
... 19th and early 20th centuries.
.. Occult fiction
... Ghost stories
.. Picaresque literature
.. CM: Change made to reconcile form with LCSH and GSAFD.
.. HN: 6/99 Changed form of term from "Picaresque fiction" to
.. "Picaresque literature." Formerly, "Picaresque literature"
.. may have been indexed as "Picaresque fiction.
.. SN: Use for episodic accounts of the adventures of an
.. engagingly roguish hero.
.. Pulp fiction
.. HN: Proposed by Arvid Nelson, 11/2011; added 6/23/2012.
.. SN: Use for popular fiction dealing with lurid or sensational
.. topics and originally printed on inexpensive paper made
.. from wood pulp.
... Dime novels
... SN: Use for melodramatic fiction featuring romance and
... adventure published as cheap paperbacks in the United
... States from the late 19th century into the early 20th
... century. For the British equivalent, use Penny dreadfuls.
.. Robinsonades
.. SN: Use for imitations of Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.
.. Sea stories
.. Short stories
.. Survivalist literature
.. War fiction
.. Western fiction
.. SN: Use for works of fiction treating themes of the American
.. West, usually set in the 19th century.
. Juvenile literature
. SN: Use for works written for children.
.. Bible stories
.. SN: Use for paraphrases in story form of Biblical texts.
.. Nursery rhymes
... Accumulative rhymes
... SN: Use for nursery rhymes in which the phrases repeat and
... build up as the verse progresses.
.. Nursery stories
.. Thumb bibles
.. HN:
.. SN: Use for miniature volumes containing summaries or
.. abridgments of biblical texts in verse or prose; typically
.. illustrated and produced chiefly for use by children.
.. Toy books
.. HN: Term accepted term, 20100116; Candidate term, 20100115 and
.. 200907.
.. SN: Use for 19th-century illustrated children's books intended to entertain or
amuse, rather than instruct.
. Narratives
. SN: Use for works containing an account of events, experiences,
. etc., whether true or fictitious.
.. Captivity narratives
.. SN: Use for first person accounts of the experiences of people
.. captured and held against their will.
.. Conversion narratives
.. SN: Use for accounts, often autobiographical, of individuals
.. adopting a new faith following a revelatory experience.
.. Epics
.. HN: SN added 12/2011.
.. SN: Use for long narrative poems on the adventures and deeds of
.. one or more heroic characters.
.. Maritime journals
.. HN: 1/99 Term added.
.. SN: Use for personal narrative accounts of journeys over bodies
.. of water.
.. Miracle narratives
.. Overland journals
.. SN: Use for narrative accounts of journeys on overland routes,
.. especially to the American West.
.. Slave narratives
.. Survivors' narratives
.. HN: Changed 1/91. Formerly, "Survivors' narratives" may have
.. been indexed as "Survivors’ literature.
. Parables
. SN: Use for short, fictitious stories making comparisons from
. which moral or spiritual truths are drawn.
. Pataphysical literature
. CM: Apostrophe not included in term or cross-reference,
. according to ANSI/NISO z39.19-2005 6.7.2.3.
. HN: Approved 6/2007.
. SN: Use for works based on the principles or pataphysics
. (intricate and whimsical nonsense intended as a parody of
. science).
. Plays
.. Acting editions
.. SN: Use for plays with extensive printed production information.
.. Ballad operas
.. SN: Use for 18th-century English comic or farcical plays in
.. which traditional or popular melodies, refitted with new
.. lyrics, are integrated into the dramatic structure of the
.. play and alternate with dialogue.
.. Christmas pantomimes
.. SN: Use for the style of British theater, often performed at
.. Christmas, which dramatizes a fairy tale or nursery story
.. and features songs, dance, topical jokes, buffoonery, etc.,
.. with leading characters played by members of the opposite
.. sex.
.. Comedies
.. SN: Use for dramatic works that are light, often humorous or
.. satirical, usually having a happy ending.
... Farces
... HN: SN added 12/2011.
... SN: Use for comic plays featuring contrived and ludicrous
... situations, exaggerated characterizations, and physical
... humor.
... Harlequinades (Plays)
... HN: SN added 6/2012.
... SN: Use for the section of pantomimes typically featuring a
... combination of the stock characters Harlequin, Clown,
... Pantaloon, and Columbine.
.. Film scripts
.. Folk plays
.. HN: SN added 5/27
.. SN: Use for traditional plays, usually performed in rural
.. communities at certain festive times of the year by local
.. residents.
.. Heroic dramas
.. HN: SN added 6/2012.
.. SN: Use for tragic or tragicomedic plays of a style originating
.. in the English Restoration period, written in rhymed
.. couplets, observing strictly the unities of time, place,
.. and action, and typically focusing on themes of love and
.. honor.
.. History plays
.. SN: Use for plays based on historic events or well-known
.. historical figures often from the medieval or early modern
.. past.
.. Masques
.. SN: Use for dramatic compositions intended for performance as
.. masques, that is, spectacularly lavish and often
.. allegorical entertainments popular in England during the
.. 16th and 17th centuries in predominately aristocratic
.. settings, in which dialogue, song, music, and dance are
.. staged by elaborately costumed performers.
.. Morality plays
.. SN: Use for allegorical plays of the type which offer
.. discourses in praise of morality between actors
.. representing characters such as Charity, Faith, Death, etc.
.. Pastoral plays
.. SN: Use for plays portraying rural life, especially in an
.. idealized or romantic form, often with shepherds as main
.. characters.
.. Promptbooks
.. SN: Use for plays with manuscript production annotations.
.. Puppet plays
.. Radio plays
.. Religious plays
... Miracle plays
... SN: Use for medieval religious plays based on legends of saints
... or martyrs, or on miracles performed by saints or sacred
... objects.
... Mystery plays
... SN: Use for medieval religious plays based on scriptural
... incidents.
.... Passion plays
.... SN: Use for plays representing the Passion of Jesus Christ.
... Rappresentazioni
... SN: Use for religious dramas of popular origin which were most
... commonly performed in the churches and public squares of
... central Italian cities, most common in the 15th century.
.. Romance plays
.. SN: Use for Renaissance and early modern plays incorporating
.. elements of tragedy and comedy, as well as spectacle, magic
.. and exotic locales, and typically embracing themes of
.. separation and reunion, forgiveness and redemption, and
.. extraordinary adventures set in motion by the complications
.. of love.
.. Scenarios
.. SN: Use for plot outlines of dramatic works.
.. Television plays
.. Tragedies
.. Tragicomedies
.. HN: 6/99 Term added.
.. SN: Use for plays that combine the qualities of tragedy and
.. comedy, often those which employ a plot suitable for
.. tragedy but end happily.
. Poems
.. Alphabet rhymes
.. SN: Use for works consisting of short rhymes for teaching the
.. alphabet.
.. Begging poems
.. SN: Use for poems which directly or indirectly ask for
.. remuneration.
.. Broadside poems
.. SN: Use for poems printed on one side only of a sheet of paper
.. intended to be read unfolded.
... Calaveras
... HN: 1/98 Term added.
... SN: Use for satirical broadside poems, usually in the form of
... mock epitaphs, illustrated with skeleton caricatures and
... issued around the Day of the Dead.
.. Commendatory poems
.. HN: Proposed by Richard Noble; term approved 1/2006
.. SN: Use for poems, generally appearing in the preliminaries of
.. books, written in praise of the author and the work
.. Concrete poems
.. SN: Use for poems which embody the concepts of the concrete
.. poetry movement of the 1950s and 1960s, in which
.. orthographic elements are arranged freely, not necessarily
.. in linear syntax, and meaning is derived from spatial,
.. pictorial, or typographic characteristics of the work, as
.. well as from the sense of the words.
.. Dramatic monologues
.. SN: Use for poems in the form of monologues.
.. Eclogues
.. HN: SN added 12/2011.
.. SN: Use for short poems on rural or pastoral themes,
.. traditionally in the form of a dialogue between shepherds.
.. Epics
.. HN: SN added 12/2011.
.. SN: Use for long narrative poems on the adventures and deeds of
.. one or more heroic characters.
.. Epigrams
.. SN: Use for short satiric poems or any similar pointed sayings.
.. Fabliaux
.. HN: SN added 12/2011.
.. SN: Use for bawdily humorous metrical tales of a type found
.. chiefly in 12th and 13th century French poetry.
.. Lyric poems
.. SN: Use for short poems expressing the emotions or state of
.. mind of the poet or another speaker, originally intended
.. for musical accompaniment.
... Elegies
... Odes
.. Neo-Latin poems
.. HN: Approved 6/2008.
.. SN: Use for poems written in Latin since ca. 1300.
.. New Year addresses
.. SN: Use for verses in broadside or pamphlet form presented to
.. patrons by trades- and service-people such as watchmen,
.. lamplighters, bakers' boys, etc., around the start of the New Year, often to request
a gratuity.
... Carriers' addresses
... SN: Use for verses in broadside or pamphlet form presented to
... patrons by newspaper carriers, around the start of the New
... Year, often to request a gratuity.
.. Nonsense verse
... Limericks
.. Nursery rhymes
... Accumulative rhymes
... SN: Use for nursery rhymes in which the phrases repeat and
... build up as the verse progresses.
.. Occasional poems
.. SN: Use for poems written on or intended for a special occasion.
.. Pastoral poems
.. Performance poems
.. SN: Use for poems featuring a strong performance element.
.. Poetical miscellanies
.. SN: Use for collections of contemporary poems by different
.. authors, usually dealing with various topics and primarily
.. published from the 16th through the 18th centuries.
.. Poetry of places
.. Prize poems
.. SN: Use for poems that have been awarded a prize.
. Romances
. SN: Use for medieval and Renaissance tales in prose or verse
. celebrating the adventures, in love and war, of some hero
. of chivalry. Do not use for modern romance novels.
.. Gesta
.. SN: Use for works popular in the 11th-14th centuries, often
.. metrical, chronicling the deeds and adventures of an
.. individual or of important historic events.