Literary Genres and Their Theoretical and Terminological Challenges in Kurdish Literature

The present research is an analytical-theoretical and practical attempt to address and examine different literary genres practically in written Kurdish Literature.  The exploration of literary genres in world literature has an old history, and with the emergence of new literary trends, valuable research was conducted in this area; however, there are only a few attempts in this field concerning Kurdish Literature. In the first part of this paper, the prehistory of the studies – from Aristotle to new approaches like that introduced by Gerard Genette – is investigated. In the second part, the challenges regarding the different genres in Kurdish literature are elaborated. The views of contemporary Kurdish scholars are also evaluated and criticized. Furthermore, the challenges of term-formation and their categorization in literary genres are critically analyzed while focusing on the challenges related to the expression and identification of them in Kurdish literature. To do so, the author has examined the Kurdish sources related to literary genres. Kurdish researchers initially divided poetry into two types: Lyric and Epic. Dramatic poetry, as the typical western genre, was later added to this categorization, while it did not have much representation in Kurdish classical literature and mostly emerged in the twentieth century. This classification was later reviewed by contemporary Kurdish scholars and changes were made, since poetry has always occupied a vast area in the realm of literary productions. In Kurdish literature, two subtypes of poetry have flourished more than any other type: lyrical and didactic poetry. Narrative poems in classical Kurdish literature have also significant narrative features. The main factor in the development of literary genres in Kurdish literature is related to the intrinsic characteristics of the Kurdish literature addresses in this study.