In literature, a mode is an employed method or approach, identifiable within a written work. As descriptive terms, 'form' and/or 'genre' are often used inaccurately instead of 'mode' (for example; the pastoral mode is often mistakenly referred to as a 'genre'). The term 'mode' refers more to the attitude or intention of a writer when producing a work, than to the categorisation of a finished product. Old book bindings at the Merton College library. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Look up genre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Titians The Pastoral Concert Pastoral refers to the lifestyle of shepherds and pastoralists, moving livestock around larger areas of land according to seasons and availability of water and feed. ...

According to The Writers Web, A List of Important Literary Terms, the term 'mode' can be described in the following way:

"An unspecific critical term usually identifying a broad but identifiable literary method, mood, or manner that is not tied exclusively to a particular form or genre. [Some] examples are the satiric mode, the ironic, the comic, the pastoral, and the didactic." (CB)

To expand on the above definition; several genre's or forms may be covered in a written work that is nevertheless attributable to a single mode. For example, literature written in the comic mode may include elements of both the comedy and drama genre's. Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke[[ laughter in general). ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

References

• The Writers Web, A List of Important Literary Terms
• A Glossary of Literary Criticism