Subgenres

Subgenre refers to a more specific subdivision within a broader genre, defined by shared conventions, themes, settings, or moods that distinguish it from other variants. Subgenres arise as creators respond to audience expectations, cultural shifts, or technological changes, and they assist readers, viewers, and listeners in selecting works that match their tastes.

Subgenres develop through cumulative tropes and motifs that become recognizable to fans. They often preserve core aspects of the parent genre while introducing new elements, such as a different setting, time period, tone, or point of view. Boundaries between subgenres are fluid; many works blend characteristics from multiple subgenres, creating hybrids.

Classification criteria include recurring plot devices, character types, motifs, setting, tone, and implied audience. These markers are not absolute, and editors may reclassify a work as it gains popularity. Subgenres can be culturally specific or cross-cultural; what counts as a subgenre in one market may be treated as the main genre in another.

Examples include literature: fantasy subgenres such as high fantasy and urban fantasy; crime fiction subgenres like cozy mysteries and hard-boiled detective stories; romance subgenres such as contemporary, historical, and paranormal. In film and television, horror subgenres include slasher and found-footage; science fiction subgenres include space opera and cyberpunk. In music, subgenres include punk variants such as hardcore and pop punk, and metal subgenres such as death metal and black metal.