Traditional Literature

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Traditional Literature
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Traditional Literature

• Grew out of the human quest to understand the
  natural and spiritual worlds

• Preserved through time by the oral tradition of
  storytelling before eventually being written down

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Traditional Literature

• No known or identifiable author
• Attributed to entire cultures or groups of people

• In ancient times some traditional stories may
  have been told as truths or containing truth
• Today are considered mostly or wholly fantasy

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Characteristics

• Plots are shorter due to deletions as part of
  retellings
• Action is concentrated to keep the audience
  interested
• Characters have one outstanding quality
• We know who is good and who is bad

• Settings are unimportant and are described in
  vague terms such as In the beginning or Long
  ago or In a land faraway
• Style-once upon a time, they lived happily ever
  after
• Motifs or recurring features-such as use of 3
• Repetitions, refrains, chants

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Characteristics
Good
Evil
Explanations for the ways of the world
Power of perseverance
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Selection
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Criticisms of Traditional Literature

• Violence
• Scaring Children
• Male chauvinism
• Poor female role models

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Values of Fantasy Stories
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Monogenesis
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Polygenesis
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Folktale
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Retold Tale
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Variant
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Myths
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Creation Stories
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Epics
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Legends
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Tall Tales
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Folk Tales
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Castle or Cottage Tales
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Fairytale
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Magic Tales
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Cumulative Tale
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Humorous Tale
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Beast Tale
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Wonder Tale
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Pourquoi
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Realistic Tales
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Fables
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Religious Stories
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Parables
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Every child deserves access to this wonderful
literary heritage.
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Modern Fantasy

• Roots
• Definition
• Example
• Evaluation and selection
• Historical overview
• Types of modern fantasy