Britannica provides a useful description of apocalyptic literature:
Dominant in apocalyptic literature is the theme of God’s sovereignty
and ultimate rule over all the universe. The message of the
apocalyptic writers is one of both warning, of the doom to come at the
end of history, and hope in the new age beyond history under the rule
of God, when the righteous will be vindicated.
Apocalypses often contain prophecies and some prophetic works such as Ezekiel and Isaiah contain "mini-apocalypses" so it is not always easy to categorize clearly. In Jewish scripture there is only one example of a book that is largely apocalyptic: the Book of Daniel. It may or may not be part of the "silent years" referred to in the OP, depending on its date of authorship.
From the Britannica description, we can see that Book of Revelation basically belongs to the genre of apocalyptic literature. It does contain other literary forms such as prophecy, poetry and channeled writing (the letters to the churches). However these all serve the author's apocalyptic purpose to reveal what will happen as history ends and the reign of God is ushered in.
Prophecy, on the other hand, usually deals with the here and now. The prophet speaks "truth to power," urging kings, priests and the people to repent and warning of the consequences for violating God's covenant. Predictions are not the same as prophecy, but prophecy often contains predictions.
Regarding hermeneutical methods, this is a mixed bag. A literal approach to the Book of Revelation will tend to understand some of its events as playing out in reality, while an allegorical approach understand it symbolically. Few commentators stick to a purely literal interpretation. For example, basically no one sees a literal woman and a real dragon in chapter 12. Often these are seen as representing the Church and the power of the anti-Christ. But some take them as two nations such as Japan (the woman) and Red China (the dragon). The method of historical criticism, meanwhile, is useful as the reader seeks to understand the historical milieu of the author. Does '666' refer to Nero, to Diocletian or to any number of more recent candidates? Taking the Book of Daniel as an example, did the author write during the Babylonian exile or the Maccabean Revolt? If the latter, then he was pointing to second century b.c.e. as the the time of fulfillment; if the former then than a Christian-based hermeneutic will yield a different result from a Jewish one.
Summary: The Book of Revelation belongs to the genre of apocalyptic literature. Various hermeneutical methods may be used to analyze it.
