As part of the GCSE exams, a knowledge of the different types of fiction texts is required. In this guide, we’re walking you through the differences between the three main types of fiction texts and some of the best-known authors from these fields.
You will be expected to analyse texts to a good standard and to be able to tell the difference between these types of texts.
A Simple Guide
Let’s dive into some simple definitions of prose, poetry, and drama. It may come in handy to note these down and keep them for future reference.
Prose
Prose fiction refers to traditional novels and novellas, as well as short stories. Prose writing is made up of normal sentences and paragraphs and does not necessarily have any rhyming or rhythmic structure, like a poem. There are many examples of prose fiction, and you may well be studying some of them in your GCSE already. For instance, most of the work of Charles Dickens is written in prose. If you are reading A Christmas Carol as part of your GCSE, this is a great example of a novel written in prose.
Poetry
Poetry usually comes in the form of lines, a little like song lyrics. Poems can come in so many different sizes and structures but they tend to have a rhyming structure of some sort. Though it may not be the most respected art form, the limerick is a handy way of remembering what a poem is. In this case, it has clear rules and a rhyming structure. Sonnets and haikus are other forms of poems.
Below is an example that you may have to study as part of your GCSE English examination.
A Portable Paradise by Roger Robinson
And if I speak of Paradise,
then I’m speaking of my grandmother
who told me to carry it always
on my person, concealed, so
no one else would know but me.
That way they can’t steal it, she’d say.
And if life puts you under pressure,
trace its ridges in your pocket,
smell its piney scent on your handkerchief,
hum its anthem under your breath.
And if your stresses are sustained and daily,
get yourself to an empty room – be it hotel,
hostel or hovel – find a lamp
and empty your paradise onto a desk:
your white sands, green hills and fresh fish.
Shine the lamp on it like the fresh hope
of morning, and keep staring at it till you sleep.
Drama
Drama refers to writing that is usually intended to be performed. This could be in the form of a script that has the character names in front of each line of text. Drama texts may also have stage directions which can help you to identify a drama text when you see one.
Types of Prose Fiction
While it is crucial that you can understand the differences between these three different forms of writing, it is also important that you delve a little deeper into prose fiction. A huge number of texts studied tend to be in the form of prose fiction, and these are split into the following categories:
Short Stories
Short stories are often a few thousand words long, and are narrative-based. Of course, they may not fit as much detail into them as other types of prose fiction but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t important.
Historically, there used to be a lot of literature magazines where short stories were published. There are still some today, but they are not as popular. Very famous authors such as Stephen King got their first taste of success in short stories.
Example: Philip K. Dick’s “The Minority Report” (1956)
Philip K. Dick is known as a huge figure in the world of literature as well as popular culture. One of his dystopian works that is classed as a short story is “The Minority Report” set in 2054. Thanks to “Precogs” who can see the future, the US has formed a Pre-Crime division. Pre-Crime uses these visions of the future to arrest and punish criminals before they have even committed the crime.
This is one of many works by Philip K. Dick that has been turned into a film.
Novels
Novels are among the best-known formats for most writers to work within. Anything longer than a Novella (explained below) can be seen as a novel. In truth, the vast majority of influential works of fiction out there are novels.
J.D. Salinger, the American author, wrote only one novel in his career, but this was his best-known work. The Catcher in the Rye is still studied to this day.
Novels can sometimes run to many hundreds of thousands of words, and some have even hit the million-word mark. They are often divided into parts, and almost always use chapters to divide the writing.
Novellas
There is no official length for a novella, but they often run about 100 pages or 30-40,000 words in length.
A novella is often described as “a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories”.
It is effectively a middle ground between the other two types of prose fiction. One book that is on the GCSE syllabus is described as a novella due to its shorter length. George Orwell’s Animal Farm is probably one of the most famous novellas of all time and is part of GCSE studies to this day.
Conclusion
Understanding the differences between all of the different types of prose fiction can help you greatly in your GCSEs, when you will need to show an understanding of things like the purpose of the text, and even identify the differences between types of texts such as poems, prose, and even some drama texts.
Within prose fiction, we also see subcategories including novellas, short stories, and novels. Though there are blurred lines between what constitutes each definition, some understanding of the general differences is required, too.
Did you like this article? Rate it!
Loading...
Great site with a lot of resources. Thank You so much.
Hi Anneme! Thanks for your lovely comment, glad to hear that you found these resources useful! Best of luck with your revision! :)
thank you for helping me with my work
Wow. I can’t imagine what sources were used for this, but they clearly weren’t reliable. “During the first half of the twentieth century, America was open to immigrants from all parts of Europe”—nope. Look up the Immigration Act of 1924, and keep in mind it didn’t come out of nowhere. It wasn’t significantly revised until 1952 and was only replaced in 1965. It’s not exactly a secret Americans overall were distinctly unwelcoming toward Italian immigrants for quite some time. I’m not sure how many were victims of hate crimes in total, but not everyone murdered in the lynching epidemic was Black.
“However, Italian immigrants, especially from southern Italy or Sicily, held on to their ancient values”—don’t most of us do that? This smacks of xenophobia, and it gets worse from there. “Italy has a violent past due to criminal organizations like the Mafia…” I don’t even know where to start with this, but I see this is a UK site. Do you not realize how violent your own history is? Do you think Italians are monolithic? Even if your portrayal of the mafia’s significance were accurate, what makes a mafia don so different from one of the many capricious, overly entitled English monarchs throughout your history?
To be clear, I don’t want your answers to any of these questions. I want you to properly research your subjects before attempting to teach others about them.