Portuguese Year 5: Telling, expressing, performing: the three literary genres
Portuguese, Year 5 (Portugal): Narrative, lyric and dramatic texts: what makes each one different and which question to ask when you read it.
Three families of literary texts
Literary texts fall into three genres. In the narrative genre (tale, legend, children's book) a narrator tells a story with characters. In the lyric genre (the poem) a voice expresses feelings and images, in verses and stanzas. In the dramatic genre (a play) the characters speak to one another, with stage directions called didascálias, because the text is written to be performed.
Each genre asks a different question
Interpreting a text means reading it with the right question. In a narrative: who tells it, what happens, where and when? In a poem: what feeling is here, which images appear, what do the sounds and rhythm add? In a play: who speaks, what do the characters do, what do the stage directions ask for? A poem read only for “what happens next” loses its point, and a play read like a tale loses its voices and gestures.
The same rain, in three genres
Three short texts about rain. A: «A Rita saiu sem guarda-chuva e a tempestade apanhou-a a meio do caminho.» B: «Chove miudinho na vidraça, / o dia canta baixinho.» C: «RITA (a sacudir o casaco): — Estou toda molhada! / (Entra o Tomás com um guarda-chuva.)» Step 1: A tells an event in time, with a narrator: narrative. Step 2: B tells nothing, it offers an image and a mood, in verses: lyric. Step 3: C puts the character's name before her line and has stage directions in brackets: dramatic.
Rhyming does not make a poem
Many people think a text is a poem only if it rhymes. It is not so: there are poems without rhyme, and there are rhyming texts that tell a whole story. What decides the genre is what the text does: it tells (narrative), it expresses feelings and images in verses (lyric), or it is written to be performed (dramatic). To avoid mistakes, ask first: does this tell, express or perform?
Choosing and reading whole works
A song lyric is close to a poem: it expresses feelings and images. A film or series script has lines and stage directions, like a play. An audiobook tells a story, like a tale or a legend. In Year 5 the Aprendizagens Essenciais ask you to read whole works of each genre: a children's or youth book, four poems, two legends, three tales by an author and one dramatic text. A good reader changes questions according to the genre.
Test what you learned
A text was written to be performed by actors, with the characters' lines and stage directions. Which genre is it?
- a) Narrative
- b) Dramatic
- c) Lyric
Correct answer: b) Dramatic — Yes: lines for the characters and stage directions show a text made to be performed.
Read: «O Tomás fechou a mochila, correu para a paragem e chegou a tempo de ver o autocarro a arrancar.» Which genre is it, and why?
- a) Lyric: it expresses a feeling in verses
- b) Dramatic: the characters speak to each other
- c) Narrative: a narrator tells events in sequence
Correct answer: c) Narrative: a narrator tells events in sequence — Yes: a narrator tells what a character does, one event after another.
A classmate says: «Only a text that rhymes is a poem.» What is the right correction?
- a) There are poems without rhyme: a poem is written in verses and expresses feelings and images
- b) He is right: without rhyme, a text is never a poem
- c) A poem is any short text, with or without verses
Correct answer: a) There are poems without rhyme: a poem is written in verses and expresses feelings and images — Yes: rhyme is common in poems, but it is not required. Verses and expressing feeling and images matter more.
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