Outline of literature

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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to literature:

: See also the Outline of poetry.

What <em>type</em> of thing is literature?

Literature can be described as all of the following:

Communication – activity of conveying information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast distances in time and space.
Written communication (writing) – representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing system).
Subdivision of culture – shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization, or group.
One of the arts – imaginative, creative, or nonscientific branch of knowledge, especially as studied academically.

Essence of literature

Composition –
World literature –
Creative writing –

Forms of literature

Oral literary genres

Oral literature

Oral poetry –
Epic poetry –
Legend –
Mythology –
Ballad –
Folktale –
Oral Narrative –
Oral History –
Urban legend –
Christian literature –

Written literary genres

Cordel Literature
Children's literature –
Constrained writing –
Erotic literature –
Electronic literature – Literary fiction and poetry that uses the capabilities of computers and networks
Digital poetry –
Audiobook –
Interactive fiction –
Hypertext fiction – literary fiction written with hypertextual links
Fan fiction
Cell phone novel
Chatbot –
e-reader –
e-books –
Podcast – although not a form of literature in the traditional sense. It is often attributed by many as the neo-"Digital Oratory" form of literature.
Poetry (see that article for an extensive list of subgenres and types)
Aubade –
Clerihew –
Epic –
Grook – form of short aphoristic poem invented by the Danish poet and scientist Piet Hein, who wrote more than 7,000 of them.
Haiku – form of short Japanese poetry consisting of three lines.
Instapoetry
Tanka – classical Japanese poetry of five lines.
Lied –
Limerick – a kind of a witty, humorous, or nonsense poem, especially one in five-line Anapaest| or amphibrach| meter with a strict rhyme scheme (aabba), which is sometimes obscene with humorous intent.
Lyric –
Ode –
Rhapsody –
Song –
Sonnet –
Speculative poetry –
Prison literature –
Rhymed prose –
Saj'
Maqama
Fu (literature)
Rayok

Non-fiction

Autobiography –
Biography –
History –
Diaries and Journals –
Magazine –
Literary criticism –
Memoir –
Outdoor literature –
Self-Help –
Spiritual autobiography –
Travel literature –
Dictionary –

Fiction genres

Fiction

Manga –
Adventure novel –
Airport novels –
Comedy –
Parody –
Satire –
Crime fiction –
Detective fiction –
Hardboiled –
Whodunit –
Newgate novel –
Erotica –
Fable –
Fairy tale –
Family saga –
Gothic –
Southern Gothic –
Historical fiction –
Inspirational fiction –
Invasion literature –
Mystery –
Philosophical literature –

:Inspirational fiction (religious literature) –

Psychological fiction –
Psychological thriller –
Romance (heroic literature) –
Romance –
Historical romance –
Regency romance –
Inspirational romance –
Paranormal romance –
Saga –
Speculative fiction –
Alternate history –
Fantasy – (for more details see Fantasy subgenres, fantasy literature)
Epic fantasy –
Science fantasy –
Steampunk –
Urban fantasy –
Weird fantasy –
Horror –
Lovecraftian horror –
Weird menace –
Science fiction – (for more details see Science fiction genres and related topics
Cyberpunk –
Hard science fiction –
Space opera –
Supernatural fiction –
Sensation novel –
Slave narrative –
Thriller –
Conspiracy fiction –
Legal thriller –
Spy fiction/Political thriller –
Techno-thriller –
Western fiction –

Literature by region and country

Asia

East Asian literature
Chinese literature
Japanese literature
Korean literature
Mongolian literature
Taiwanese literature
South Asian literature
Bangladeshi literature
Bhutanese literature
Indian literature
Assamese literature
Bengali literature
Bhojpuri language#Bhojpuri literature
Indian English literature
Gujarati literature
Hindi literature
Kannada literature
Kashmiri literature
Konkani literature
Malayalam literature
Maithili literature
Meitei literature
Marathi literature
Mizo literature
Nepali literature
Odia literature
Punjabi literature
Rajasthani literature
Sanskrit literature
Sindhi literature
Tamil literature
Telugu literature
Urdu literature
Maldivian literature
Nepalese literature
Pakistani literature
Sri Lankan literature
Southeast Asian literature
Brunei literature
Burmese literature
Cambodian literature
Indonesian literature
Laotian literature
Malaysian literature
Philippine literature
Singaporean literature
Thai literature
Timoran literature
Vietnamese literature
Central Asian literature
Kazakh literature
Kyrgyz literature
Tajik literature
Turkmen literature
Uzbek literature

Europe

Albanian literature
Andorran literature
Armenian literature
Aromanian literature
Austrian literature
Azerbaijani literature
Basque literature
Belarusian literature
Belgian literature
Flemish literature
Bosnian literature
Bulgarian literature
British literature
Cornish literature
English literature
Manx literature
Jèrriais literature
Scottish literature
Scots-language literature
Scottish Gaelic literature
Ulster literature
Welsh literature in English
Welsh-language literature
Croatian literature
Cypriot literature
Turkish Cypriot literature
Czech literature
Danish literature
Faroese literature
Greenlandic literature
Dutch literature
Frisian literature
Esperanto literature
Estonian literature
Finnish literature
Åland literature
French literature - also Francophone literature
Breton literature
Occitan literature
Georgian literature
Abkhaz literature
Chechen literature
Ossetian literature
German literature
Greek literature
Hungarian literature
Icelandic literature
Irish literature
Gaelic literature
Literature of Northern Ireland
Italian literature
Friulian literature
Sardinian literature
Venetian literature
Western Lombard literature
Kazakh literature
Kosovar literature
Latvian literature
Liechtensteiner literature
Lithuanian literature
Luxembourg literature
Macedonian literature
Maltese literature
Moldovan literature
Monégasque literature
Montenegrin literature
Norwegian literature
Polish literature
Portuguese literature
Romanian literature
Russian literature
Sammarinese literature
Serbian literature
Slovak literature
Slovene literature
Spanish literature
Aragonese literature
Asturian literature
Catalan literature
Galician-language literature
Swedish literature
Swiss literature
Turkish literature
Ukrainian literature
Yiddish literature

Middle East and North Africa

Afghan literature
Algerian literature
Arabic literature
Bahraini literature
Egyptian literature
Ethiopian literature
Emirati literature
Iranian literature
Iraqi literature
Israeli literature
Jordanian literature
Kuwaiti literature
Kurdish literature
Lebanese literature
Libyan literature
Moroccan literature
Oman literature
Pakistani literature
Palestinian literature
Persian literature
Qatari literature
Saudi literature
Syrian literature
Tunisian literature
Turkish literature
Yemeni literature

North and South America

North American literature
American literature
African American literature
Native American literature
Southern literature
Deaf American literature
Canadian literature
Quebec literature
Mexican literature
Caribbean literature
Cuban literature
Dominican Republic literature
Guadeloupean Literature
Haitian literature
Jamaican literature
Martinican Literature
Puerto Rican literature
Barthélemois literature
Trinidad and Tobago literature
Central American literature
Costa Rican literature
Salvadoran literature
Guatemalan literature
Honduran literature
Nicaraguan literature
Panamanian literature
South American literature
Argentine literature
Bolivian literature
Brazilian literature
Chilean literature
Colombian literature
Ecuadorean literature
Guyanese literature
Paraguayan literature
Peruvian literature
Uruguayan literature
Venezuelan literature

Oceania

Oceanian literature
Australian literature
Fijian literature
Kiribati literature
Marshall Islands literature
Micronesian literature
Nauran literature
New Zealand literature
Papua New Guinean literature
Palau literature
Samoan literature
Solomon Islands literature
Tongan literature
Tuvalan literature
Vanuatu literature

Sub-Saharan Africa

East African literature
Burundian literature
Comorian literature
Djibouti literature
Eritrean literature
Kenyan literature
Madagascar literature
Malawian literature
Mauritian literature
Mozambique literature
Réunion literature
Rwandan literature
Seychelles literature
Somalian literature
Somaliland literature
South Sudanese literature
Sudanese literature
Tanzanian literature
Ugandan literature
Zambian literature
Zimbabwean literature
Central African literature
Angolan literature
Cameroonian literature
Literature of Central African Republic
Chadian literature
Congolese literature
Equatorial Guinea literature
Gabonese literature
São Tomé and Príncipe literature
Southern African literature
Botswanan literature
Swazi literature
Lesotho literature
Namibian literature
South African literature
Afrikaans literature
West African literature
Beninese literature
Burkina Faso literature
Literature of Cape Verde
Gambian literature
Ghanaian literature
Guinean literature
Guinea-Bissau literature
Ivory Coast literature
Liberian literature
Malian literature
Mauritanian literature
Literature of Niger
Nigerian literature
Yoruba literature
Senegalese literature
Sierra Leonean literature
Togo literature

History of literature

History of the book
History of theater
History of science fiction
History of ideas
Intellectual history

Literature by written language

Bronze Age literature
Sumerian
Ancient Egyptian
Akkadian
Classical literature
Avestan
Chinese
Greek
Hebrew
Latin
Pali
Prakrit
Sanskrit
Syriac
Sangam literature
Middle Persian literature
Medieval literature
Medieval Dutch literature
Medieval French literature
Byzantine literature
Medieval Bulgarian literature
Old English literature
Middle English literature
Medieval German literature
Old Irish literature
Old Norse literature
Georgian literature
Catalan literature
Medieval Welsh literature
Renaissance literature
Early Modern literature
Baroque
English literature
French literature
German literature
Italian literature
Spanish literature
Bengali literature
Hindi literature
Kannada literature
Newari literature
Telugu literature
Chinese literature
Japanese literature
Korean literature
Arabic literature
Persian literature
Armenian literature
Turkish literature

Literature by century

Ancient literature - until the 6th century CE
Early medieval literature - 6th through 9th centuries
10th century in literature
11th century in literature
12th century in literature
13th century in literature
14th century in literature
15th century in literature
16th century in literature
17th century in literature
18th century in literature
19th century in literature
20th century in literature
21st century in literature

Literature by year

List of years in literature
Table of years in literature

General literature concepts

Book
Western canon –
Teaching of writing:
Composition –
Rhetoric –
Poetry –
Prosody –
Meter –
Scansion –
Constrained writing –
Poetics –
Villanelle –
Sonnet –
Sestina –
Ghazal –
Ballad –
Blank verse –
Free verse –
Epic poetry –
Prose –
Fiction –
Non-fiction –
Biography –
Prose genres –
Essay –
Flash prose –
Hypertext fiction –
Journalism –
Novel –
Novella –
Short story –
Theater –
History of theater –
Rhetoric –
Metaphor –
Metonymy –
Symbol –
Allegory –
Basic procedural knowledge
Poetry analysis –
effective reasoning in argument writing
Narratology
Frame tale –
Anecdote –
In Medias Res –
Point of view –
Literary criticism – an application of literary theory
Marxist literary criticism –
Semiotic literary interpretation –
Psychoanalytic literary interpretation –
Feminist literary interpretation –
New historicism –
Queer literary interpretation –

Literary awards

List of literary awards
List of poetry awards

Persons influential in the field of literature

List of authors
:Category:Literary critics
List of writers
List of women writers

Literature creation

Author
Publisher
Editor
Copy editor
Writer