Over the years, the definition of ‘form’ in literary criticism has become rather vaguely confused with ‘structure’.  The safest route is, in the first instance, to consider form to be genre e.g. fiction, prose, autobiography, Science Fiction.   That is perhaps only too obvious.  Next, it is wise to decide on the particular aspect of the form: ask whether the poem is an ode, a sonnet, an elegy, ballad (etc.), or whether a play is a tragedy, comedy, melodrama, etc..   You may not be able to answer such a question until you have considered the specific features of a text – and for this, you should consider Structure and Language.

See other literary terms

—oOo—

You are free:

• to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work
• to Remix — to adapt the work

Under the following conditions:

• Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified, as above, by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
• Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

With the understanding that:

• Waiver — Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.
• Public Domain — Where the work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
• Other Rights — In no way are any of the following rights affected by the license:
  • Your fair dealing or fair use rights, or other applicable copyright exceptions and limitations;
  • The author’s moral rights;
  • Rights other persons may have either in the work itself or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights.
• Notice — For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web page.