Introduction
The various forms of literature can best be defined by their format of presentation. In fact, every type of literary work employs a unique mechanism in its method of delivery and this attribute differentiates all literature pieces. For starters, poems have a rhythmic tone in their presentation that is achieved through the skillful composition of the stanzas and rhyme. On the other hand, short stories utilize multiple literary devices and narration in the presentation of the plot. Additionally, the characters in this type of literature have unique attributes intended to communicate a hidden message to the reader. Plays, on the other hand, are composed artistically to create an impression of the events experienced in the real life. The plot in this form of literary work is presented through the continuous dialogue of the characters, the nature of the language used and literary devices (Hamblin 124). This paper evaluates the similarities and the differences between the abovementioned forms of literature. It appraises how characters, plot, themes, literary devices, language and method of presentation are delivered and the overall format of presentation between poems, short stories and plays. For a fact, the different types of literature have unique and common features utilized in their overall presentation.
Characters
Characters and character development are presented differently among poems, short stories and plays. However, there is a wide similarity between the mechanisms of presentation in short stories and plays. Daley (138) argues that the latter and the former use a protagonist to advance the plot. For instance, the popular William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, uses this imaginary person as the main character in the advancement of the plot. Similarly, Franz Kafka’s the Metamorphosis utilizes Gregor Samsa as the main character in the development of the story. As such, one is justified to claim that plays and short stories have main characters in their presentation. However, it is worth mentioning that the number of characters utilized in short stories is relatively smaller than those in a play. This attribute is largely accredited to the fact that short stories have a limited length as opposed to plays. Short stories and plays utilize the moral principles of the characters to convey hidden messages to the readers. According to Daley (140), this feature augments the level of detail in the presentation of these literary works. On the contrary, poems lack a steady foundation of their characters. In fact, the voice of the poem, persona, replaces the characters commonly utilized in other pieces of literature. Moreover, due to the length of this piece, the attributes of the persona or other characters are not revealed in detail.
Plot
Plot development is quite significant in plays and short stories while it lacks in poems. According to Hambley (140), this term can best be defined as a sequence of related events in a work of literature. Precisely, it has to be comprised of a beginning, climax, rising to falling action and a conclusion. Since characters are fully developed in plays and short stories, utilizing them in the advancement of the main message is lesser challenging for the authors of these forms of literature than poets. The plots in short stories and plays have a common element of conflict. This feature mainly occurs when the characters do not share similar opinions at particular events. Additionally, when the author presents conflicting opinions as opposed to what the reader might have anticipated, conflict emerges in the presentation of the plot. Daley (146) argues that plays and short stories have a mature plot that is often well established as the narration progresses. Since the authors have the freedom to utilize literary devices such as imagery and allegory, delivering an effective message is possible. However, the same cannot be said for poems. Due to the mechanisms of presentation defined by rhythm in presentation, poems lack influential plots. Instead, the reader is left to decipher the message conveyed through this literature form. In fact, the message communicated by the plot in a poem is largely dependent on the reader.
Literary devices
The utilization of literary devices is comprehensive among the three types of literature in this discussion. However, the types of devices used are different and unique to the nature of the literary work. For instance, poems utilize poetic devices to achieve the rhythm of the poem. For instance, rhyme, repetition, consonance and assonance are common devices used to facilitate the musicality of the poem. It is worth mentioning that the usage of these devices is largely dependent on the poet’s intention of the nature of the presentation. On the other hand, plays utilize some literary devices such as apostrophes, flashback, metaphors and euphemism among other stylistic devices (Hamblin 269). Utilizing these devices enables the playwright to convey the message in a clear and concise manner and to avoid long narrations. Additionally, the devices help communicate the message of the plot in a more influential way. Finally, short stories employ a similar mechanism to augment the effectiveness of their narration. Some of the most common devices utilized in this genre of literature include irony, personification, metaphors and foreshadowing. These aspects enable the reader to form an imagery of the narration and to understand the text with ease. Therefore, poems, short stories and plays utilize literary devices to heighten the ease of the message delivery and to enhance the development of the plot.
Themes
Any form of literature presentation revolves around the presentation of themes. In fact, lack thereof compromises the overall effectiveness of the message delivery. With this in mind, it is worth appreciating the fact that poems, short stories and plays utilize themes in delivering the general message. In poetry, the interpretation of the themes is somewhat complex since the reader has to decipher the hidden message of the poem before deducing an accurate theme. To make this achievement, the persona and the general message of the poem have to be internalized by the reader. According to Salas (156), the title of the poem, repletion of specific terms and the nature of the tone can aid one in determining poetic themes. On the other hand, appreciating themes in short stores is lesser challenging than poems. This situation is largely accredited to the fact that short stories utilize direct narration in advancing the plot. Since hidden messages are occasionally rare, picking out a theme is not as challenging. Finally, the presentation of themes in plays is very unique. In fact, a keen understanding of the playwright’s message greatly aids one to determine the theme being communicated. Additionally, the values of the characters in the play heightens one’s overall understanding of a play’s themes. Generally, poems, short stories and plays utilize themes in their overall presentation.
Presentation
Poems, short stories and plays have unique formats of presentation. In fact, how the content of these pieces of literature is presented defines the type of genre it belongs to. For starters, poems are organized in stanzas and in a rhythmic way. This format of content delivery is quite exceptional and useful in delivering the message of the poem. Through the enhancement of musicality and rhyme achieved by the multiple forms of literary devices, poems are enjoyable and very presentable. On the other hand, short stories have a rather direct method of presentation. In fact, most of the content in a short narration is presented in prose form and occasional dialogue among the characters in the tale. This format of content delivery is quite similar to that utilized in novels and explanatory passages. However, the utilization of figurative language and other forms of literary devices separates the nature of the presentation utilized in short stories from other forms of literature. Finally, plays are presented as a dialogue between the main characters. In some occasions, the playwright breaks the monotony of dialogue with the utilization of songs or stage narrations. This approach is mainly done to make the dramatization more interesting and to avert chances of boredom while reading. Consequently, poems, short stories, and plays utilize different forms of presentation in communication and plot development.
Language
The language of presentation utilized in the delivery of poems, short stories and plays is somewhat similar. This situation is largely accredited to the fact that figurative language is used in conveying the message of any literature piece. However, the mechanisms used in each of these literature pieces is unique to the type of genres. Poems utilize rhythmic language to enhance musicality in the overall presentation. As such, the poets lay a lot of emphasis on rhyme while composing poems by keenly selecting words with similar pronunciation or meaning. On the other hand, plays substitute long phrases with meaningful words to reduce the length of the phrases that were to be used in the piece. Hamblin (23) argues that keeping reasonable lengths of the statements prevents the reader from being dissatisfied with the contents of the play. Finally, short stories use a narration language for maximum effectiveness in the delivery of their message. The language used in such cases is simple and concise. This provision is made to enhance the levels of understanding among the readers and to make the text more engaging. Therefore, different types of literature employ specific figurative languages in their presentation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the different forms of literature have varying methods of presentation. Specifically, the mechanisms utilized in the composition of these pieces defines the genre one can classify them. Poems have unique features making them stand out from short stories and plays. On the other hand, the dialogue mechanism used in the delivery of plays makes this genre distinct from other forms of literature. However, common aspects can be observed in nearly all forms of literature such as literary devices, methods of presentation, language, characters and plot. In spite of the differences visible among the three literature pieces in this discussion. It is essential to note that the utilization of themes, characters and figurative language are common in these three forms of literature. For a fact, the different types of literature have unique and common features utilized in their overall presentation.
References
Salas, Laura Purdie. Write Your Own Poetry. Minneapolis, Minn.: Compass Point Books, 2008. Print.
Daley, James. The World's Greatest Short Stories. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2006. Print.
Hamblin, V. L. Saints at Play. Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University, 2012. Print.
