Comparing and Contrasting Literary Forms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comparing and Contrasting Literary Forms - Essay Example Drama is driven by action and plot, just as short stories are, which can be seen in many fairytales or children’s fables, like Cinderella (Perrault); poetry, on the other hand, is more driven by expression. Poetry and short stories rely on imagery and point of view to display their messages, but drama depends more on the story itself. Yet another greatest difference between these three literary forms is their length: drama is often the longest, followed by the short story. Poetry, though, compresses its ideas and tends to follow specific rhythmic patterns to convey the message or the detail in fewer lines, like She dwelt among the untrodden ways (Wordsworth 71) by William Wordsworth; many poems, with some exceptions, such as Beowulf, do not exceed a page. Due to the length of poems, the poet has to reveal as much as they can while they are able to. Drama and short stories leave room for other elements to be displayed, such as theme and setting. Two other vast differences betwe en these literary elements can be seen in their settings and in their genres. Drama is capable of taking place where the author decides, even in a location that does not exist or is based off of a real place. A short story has a real setting that allows people to be able to picture the location.