belles-lettres
Writing as art
Belles-lettres is literature valued for its aesthetic qualities rather than its informative content—essays, poetry, drama, and fiction as opposed to technical or scholarly writing.
The term is French for "fine letters" and carries a slightly old-fashioned, elevated tone: He devoted himself to belles-lettres rather than journalism.
The adjective form is belletristic.
Short argumentative prose work
- proseUnversified language
- poetryMetrical literary composition
- novelNew and unusual
- memoirWritten personal recollection
biography · sketch · vignette · meditation · reflection · miscellany · anthology · volume
Refined, graceful quality
- refinementElegance of manner
- polishSmooth by rubbing
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
- witClever, inventive humor
urbanity · sophistication · cultivation · eloquence · felicity · lyricism · subtlety · nuance
Author of short prose
Grooming establishment or gathering
- EnlightenmentEra prioritizing reason over dogma
- humanismPhilosophy prioritizing earthly reason
- classicalOf ancient Greece/Rome
- AugustanOf Rome's founding emperor
Victorian · fin-de-siècle · learned · cultivated · genteel · aristocratic · leisure · dilettante
Concerning beauty or art
- tastefulAesthetically appropriate and pleasing
- polishedSmooth, refined, accomplished
- refinedPurified or cultured
- gracefulElegant in movement
discerning · appreciative · contemplative · meditative · reflective · conversational · intimate · personal
essay
Short argumentative prose work
memoir · biography · sketch · vignette · meditation · reflection · miscellany · anthology · volume · tome
elegance
Refined, graceful quality
- refinementElegance of manner
- polishSmooth by rubbing
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
wit · urbanity · sophistication · cultivation · eloquence · felicity · lyricism · subtlety · nuance · cadence
essayist
Author of short prose
salon
Grooming establishment or gathering
- EnlightenmentEra prioritizing reason over dogma
- humanismPhilosophy prioritizing earthly reason
- classicalOf ancient Greece/Rome
Augustan · Victorian · fin-de-siècle · learned · cultivated · genteel · aristocratic · leisure · dilettante · connoisseur
aesthetic
Concerning beauty or art
- tastefulAesthetically appropriate and pleasing
- polishedSmooth, refined, accomplished
- refinedPurified or cultured
graceful · discerning · appreciative · contemplative · meditative · reflective · conversational · intimate · personal · digressive
- essaysessay, personal essay, formal essay, Self-Reliance, critical essays
- French ClassicismRacine, La Fontaine, Pascal, classicism, Tartuffe
- culturemusic taste, beliefs, food preferences, custom, festivals
- French Loanwordsa la carte, ballet, a la mode, au revoir, bon appetit
- prosenovel, novels, short story, novellas, essay
- French EnlightenmentVoltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu
belles-lettrestechnical writing
Clear explanation of complexity
journalism · textbooks · reportage · trade publications · business writing
belles-lettrespulp fiction
Sensational cheap literature
potboilers · penny dreadfuls · dime novels · schlock · tabloid journalism