Genre / Form Searches of the ASU Library Catalog
Macaronic verse -- Nursery rhymes
Macaronic verse
Poetry that mixes two or more languages.
Madrigal comedies
Music of the late Italian Renaissance that consists of a series of secular vocal pieces with a well-defined plot.
Magazine format television programs
Magic realist fiction
Modern fiction in which fantastic or mythical elements are included in a narrative that is otherwise realistic.
Manifestos
Written statements that describe the goals, opinions, and policies of a person or group. For concise authorized statements of religious doctrine within religions or denominations, see Creeds.
Martyrologies
Calendars or lists of martyrs that may contain some biographical information. For biographies of saints, religious figures, and deities that focus on their lives as exemplars of the faith see Hagiographies.
Masques
The texts of 16th-17th century courtly entertainments that combined poetic drama, music, dance, song, lavish costume, and costly stage effects with a simple mythological or allegorical plot.
Masques (Music)
The music of 16th-17th century courtly entertainments that combined poetic drama, music, dance, song, lavish costume, and costly stage effects with a simple mythological or allegorical plot.
Masses
Musical settings of the Mass in its entirety or for the Mass ordinary. For chants of the Mass propers see Propers (Music). For collections of versets for the organ that replace parts of the Ordinary and Proper of the Mass and are played in alternations with the other portions see Organ masses.
Mathematical fiction
Fiction that features mathematics and mathematicians.
Medical drama
Plays that feature medical personnel and the practice of medicine.
Medical fiction
Fiction that features medical personnel and the practice of medicine.
Medical films (Motion pictures)
Fiction or nonfiction films that feature medical personnel and the practice of medicine.
Medical television programs
Fiction or nonfiction television programs that feature medical personnel and the practice of medicine.
Meditations
Thoughts on spiritual truths intended for use in meditation.
Melodramas (Drama)
Plays that emphasize plot, action, and exaggerated emotion at the expense of characterization.
Melodramas (Music)
Dramas in which the main character speaks during the pauses of, or during, musical accompaniment.
Menus
Lists of foods and/or beverages served at a meal or available for purchase in a restaurant.
Messages (Official communications)
Official governmental communications from a chief executive to a legislative body.
Microtonal music
Compositions in the Western musical tradition that employ intervals smaller than a semitone in the chromatic scale.
Military fiction
Fiction that features the military lifestyle and loyalty to the armed forces and its codes and is generally set during peacetime. For fiction that features military conflicts see War fiction.
Military films
Films that feature the military lifestyle and loyalty to the armed forces and its codes and are generally set during peacetime. For films that feature military conflicts see War films.
Mock-heroic drama
Drama that satirically treats a trivial subject in a grand style.
Model acts
Draft acts that are rarely uniformly adopted in their entirety by state legislatures but are proposed as guideline legislation for the states.
Modern dance music
Musical compositions composed for theatrical dances that display the characteristics of modern dance.
Monologues (Drama)
Extended speeches uttered by one speaker, either alone or to others.
Monologues (Music)
Musical compositions in which spoken language is an integral part.
Monophonic chansons
French monophonic songs from the 13th-15th centuries.
Morality plays
Late medieval allegorical plays that teach moral lessons by depicting the battle between good and evil in the human soul.
Motion picture music
Musical works composed for sound films or performed on soundtracks. For musical works composed or adapted to accompany silent films see Silent film music.
Motor vehicle sounds
Recordings of the sounds of all types of motor vehicles, including automobiles, buses, scooters, motorcycles, etc.
Multilingual dictionaries
Dictionaries that give the terms of one language in terms of one or more other languages.
Music
Musical compositions that may include words that are sung, spoken, etc. For the words sung, spoken, etc., as part of a musical composition when they appear separately from a musical setting see Musical texts. Music from any tradition that is not of a more specific genre/form.
Musical games
Games that use instrumental, vocal, and/or prerecorded music as accompaniment to the game activities or for teaching musical concepts.
Musical parodies
Compositions that distort or exaggerate features of another composition or a composer's works in general for humorous or satirical ends. For vocal works in which a new text has been substituted for the original without a significant change to the music see Contrafacta.
Musical settings
Vocal or choral musical compositions that consist of pre-existing literary texts that have been set to music.
Musical sketches
Tentative drafts or preliminary studies, in either manuscript, facsimile or transcription, for musical compositions.
Musical texts
The words sung, spoken, etc., as part of a musical composition when they appear separately from a musical setting. For musical compositions that may include words that are sung, spoken, etc., see Music.
Musical theater
Musical compositions that are often small-scale, date primarily from the 20th century, and combine elements of music, drama, and sometimes dance, in unconventional ways.
Musicals
Music for theatrical productions consisting of musical numbers integrated into a dramatic framework. For music for theatrical productions from around the end of the 18th century that feature a series of songs, dances, and other entertainments without any unifying dramatic element see Revues.
Musique concrète
Electronic musical compositions in which the sounds produced were originally recorded from natural sounds and subsequently rearranged or altered.
Mystery and miracle plays
Medieval religious plays that present biblical stories or stories of miracles performed by saints.
Myths
Traditional stories that ostensibly explain natural phenomena, beliefs, or practices, and are frequently associated with religious rites and beliefs.
Narrative poetry
Poems that tell a story.
National anthems
Musical compositions, with or without text, that are recognized as national anthems by a government or by convention.
Nature fiction
Fiction that depicts the natural world and its phenomena. For fiction that depicts the interconnectedness of the human and natural worlds, and especially the impact of human activities on nature, see Ecofiction.
Nature films
Nonfiction films that depict or explain the natural world and its phenomena.
Nature poetry
Poetry that romanticizes the natural world and emphasizes nature for its own sake.
Nature sounds
Recordings of the sounds of nature, including animal and plant sounds and the sounds of the wind, rain, oceans, streams, etc.
Nature television programs
Nonfiction television programs that depict or explain the natural world and its phenomena.
Noir comics
Comics about crime and detection that feature violence and treachery and a lack of distinction between criminals and heroes.
Noir fiction
Fiction that features violence and treachery and a lack of distinction between criminals and heroes.
Noir poetry
Plays about crime and detection that feature violence, treachery, and a lack of distinction between criminals and heroes.
Nonfiction comics
Comics that are intended to be educational or informational or that present facts or true accounts.
Nonfiction novels
Fiction of any length that intentionally blends verifiably factual journalistic research with fictional elements.
Nonfiction television programs
Notated music
Music expressed through musical notation.
Notebooks
Books produced with blank pages that are used for taking notes. For books with blank pages on which artists draw informal or rough preliminary studies see Sketchbooks.
Novelle
Short fictional narratives popular during the Renaissance that generally featured ordinary townspeople in realistic settings and were often gathered together in collections unified by a frame tale.
Novels in verse
Novel-length fictional narratives expressed in poetry. For short fictional works written in rhymed text see Stories in rhyme.
Novels of manners
Realistic fiction that describes in detail the customs, habits, values, and expectations of a particular society.
Novelty films
Whimsical or humorous short films designed to catch one's attention momentarily with something with a novel twist.
- Last updated: Jul 9, 2025 2:09 PM
- URL: https://libguides.asu.edu/genre-form
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