Folklore, Legends, Fables, and Myths.

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Folklore, Legends, Fables, and Myths.
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Traditional Literature

• Traditional Literature contains something that
  appeals to all interests humorous stories,
  magical stories and adventure stories.
• Traditional tales have been handed down from
  generation to generation by word of mouth.

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Types of Traditional Lit.

• Types of Traditional Literature
• Folktales
• Fables
• Myths
• Legends

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Plot in Folktales

• Contains lots of conflict and action
• Conflict between characters representing good and
  evil is typical of folktales
• Reoccurring actions account for the uniformity
  and repetitiveness of folktales
• Most folktales end with some version of and they
  lived happily ever after

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Folktales Characterizations

• Folktale characters are less completely developed
  than are characters in other types of stories
• Characters are easily typed as bad and are
  accompanied by those who are always good
• Folktales usually establish the main characters
  natures early on

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Theme in Folktales

• Folktales contain universal truths and reflect
  the values of the times and societies in which
  they originated, many of which are still honored
  today

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Fables

• Brief tales in which animal characters that talk
  and act like humans indicate a moral lesson or
  satirize human conduct
• Legend credits the origin of the fable in Western
  culture to a Greek slave named Aesop, who lived
  in the sixth century B.C. Aesops nimble wit
  supposedly got Aesops master out of numerous
  difficulties
• In contemporary editions, fables are popular
  subjects for modern storytellers and illustrators

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Characteristics of Fables

• They are fiction in the sense that they did not
  really happen
• They are meant to entertain
• They are poetic, with double or allegorical
  significance
• They are moral tales, usually with animal
  characters
• Fables are short, and they usually have no more
  than two or three characters

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Myths

• A myth is a story that explains why things
  happen. These stories are roughly based on truth.
  

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Legends

• Early legends usually enlarged upon the lives of
  religious figures, such as martyrs and saints. In
  more recent times, legends developed around royal
  figures and folk heroes and heroines

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Which is a myth, which is a fable, which is a
legend?

• A traditional story based on truth but which has
  had bits added.
• A traditional story of gods or heroes which tries
  to explain why people or things are like they are
• A short story which has been written to give a
  message

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Answers

• A myth
• A legend
• A fable