genresliterature
genresliterature denotes the approach to studying and organizing literature by genre rather than by author, movement, or national origin. It encompasses texts that are categorized into familiar genres such as mystery, science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, thriller, historical fiction, realism, and literary fiction, among others. The term covers both the marketing practice of labeling works for audiences and the scholarly analysis of how genre conventions shape form, content, and reception.
In practice, genresliterature focuses on conventions—typical plots, settings, characters, and motifs—that readers expect within a genre.
Historically, genre distinctions arose in classical rhetoric and later developed with the expansion of print markets
See also: genre theory, genre fiction, literary genres, tropes, hybridity.