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Home , Climax (narrative), Conflict (narrative), Fable, Fiction, Legend, Moral

Name Class ( )

Short Story

The major genres are listed in the table below.

Short story genres Features Well-known examples

Fables and animal tales are stories that feature ‘The Fox and the Crow’ is one of animals, plants or forces of ’s Fables. as characters. ‘The Frog in the Shallow Well’ is a There is a lesson explicitly Chinese . expressed at the end of the story. ‘Rikki Tikki Tavi’ is a modern fable written by .

Folktales and fairy tales Folktales include a wide range of ‘The Fisherman and His Wife’ by traditional including The , , fables, fairy tales and tales about ordinary people. ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ by Fairy tales are folktales that feature imaginary characters such ‘The Happy Prince’ by Oscar Wilde as fairies, giants or talking animals. The stories tend to be about royalty and the events are magical.

Ghost stories Ghost stories feature ghosts or ‘The of Sleepy Hollow’ by other beings. They on people’s superstitious fears and beliefs. ‘Number 13’ by M. R. James

‘The Judge’s House’ by Bram Stoker

Horror stories Horror stories explore the dark ‘’ by side of nature. They play Nathaniel on people’s psychological fears. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ by

‘The Landlady’ by

Crime and mystery Crime stories or mystery stories ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’ stories often feature a clever detective by Edgar Allan Poe who must solve a mysterious crime. These stories are also ‘The Red-headed League’ by Sir called detective stories.

‘The Heroine’ by

NET Section, CDI, EDB, HKSAR Handout 1.9: Short Story Genres Name Class ( )

Short story genres Features Well-known examples

Adventure stories Adventure stories feature strong ‘Typhoon’ by characters engaged in a , usually against the forces of ‘To Build a Fire’ by London nature. ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ by Richard Connell

Love stories A love story features a romantic ‘Bliss’ by Katherine Mansfield relationship between a man and a woman. Often, the romantic lovers ‘A Lesson in Love’ by O. Henry must overcome obstacles before they can find their . ‘The Jilting of Jane’ by H. G. Wells

Science stories usually ‘The Man Who Could Work explore how science and ’ by H. G. Wells technology impact the . ‘Travel by Wire!’ by Arthur C. Characters can include aliens, Clarke or other forms of artificial intelligence. ‘The Fun They Had’ by

Modern stories with a Some modern stories have a clear ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek ‘twist’ structure (rising , , Bridge’ by falling action), and end with a ‘twist’ or a surprise. ‘The Necklace’ by Guy du Maupassant

‘The Gift of the Magi’ by O. Henry

Modern ‘slice-of-life’ Other modern stories have little ‘The Horse Dealer’s Daughter’ by stories plot structure, but focus on D. H. Lawrence characterisation, offering a ‘slice- of-life’ snapshot of a in ‘The Garden Party’ by Katherine conflict. Mansfield

‘Old Man at the Bridge’ by

NET Section, CDI, EDB, HKSAR Handout 1.9: Short Story Genres