FOLKLORE ORAL NARRATIVE A story that is told

FOLKLORE

ORAL NARRATIVE A story that is told, sung, or performed…Oral Narratives can be written down

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING… • Help to explain the natural world • Help to articulate fears/dreams • Provide order to a society • Provide understanding of a culture’s values, beliefs, mores, etc. • Entertainment

MOTIF Smallest meaningful unit of a story

VARIANT A deviation from standard text

CULTURAL VARIANTS Monogenesis Polygenesis One story created in one location and eventually spread to other cultures orally Cultures develop similar stories because these stories address needs/desires/etc. that are common to all people

PORQUOI TALES Etiological tales…how things come about/to be

FABLE A simple folktale that illustrates an ethical point. Often features animals but not animal tales Moral is stated

ANIMAL TALE A simple story in which animals play a major role Subgenre: Trickster Tale=animals that play tricks and behave mischievously

A sacred narrative set in the primordial past

MYTH Tower of Babel

TALL TALE A deliberate, exaggerated lie told with a straight face for humorous effect.

LEGENDS Stories that people tell about events/people that are purportedly real/true. Told to inform, warn, advise, enlighten Distinctive beginning Real World, supernatural, realistic/well rounded characters

FAIRYTALES Stories that are fictional, created to entertain and sometimes instruct. 1 st collection of tales were collected and published by the Grimm Brothers in 1812 Distinctive and recognizable beginning and end

LITERARY TALES Modern adaptations of traditional folk literature

SUB-GENRES OF LITERARY TALES Traditional Style Fractures • Authors write in the traditional style of folktales or fairytales. • Authors create new tales by altering traditional tales • Hans Christian Anderson • Diane Stanley, John Scieszka, Donna Jo Napoli, Shannon Hale