ELEMENTS OF THE ORAL TRADITION

1
ELEMENTS OF THE ORAL TRADITION

• Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, Parables, Fables,
  Legends, and Myths

2
FOLK TALES

• Stories passed by word of mouth from generation
  to generation
• Refers to stories that could have taken place
  anywhere and at anytime and that are considered
  to have an anonymous author
• Examples Little Red Riding Hood
• Hansel and Gretel

3
FAIRY TALES

• Folk tales that contain supernatural beings such
  as fairies, dragons, ogres, and animals with
  super-human qualities
• Examples Cinderella
• Snow White

4
TALL TALES

• Colorful stories that depict the exaggerated wild
  adventures on North American folk heroes.
• Many revolve around the American frontier and the
  Wild West.
• Some offer an explanation for how certain
  mountains, lakes and other geographical features
  came to exist.
• Examples of tall tale heroes
• Paul Bunyan
• Pecos Bill
• Annie Oakley

5
PARABLES

• Short stories that illustrate a moral or a
  spiritual truth.
• Found in spiritual writings such as the Christian
  Bible, the Hebrew Torah, and the Islamic Koran.

6
FABLES

• Very much like parables in that they contain a
  moral.
• Also like fairy tales because they have
  characters that are animals or inanimate objects
  that speak and act like humans.
• Example
• The Tortoise and the Hare

7
LEGENDS

• Stories that have been passed down through time
• These stories are popularly thought of as
  historical but without evidence to verify that
  the events occurred.
• Examples
• Robin Hood
• King Arthur

8
MYTHS

• Traditional stories that explain objects or
  events in the natural world.
• These explanations revolve around actions of
  supernatural forces, such as gods.
• Every early culture produced its own myths.
• We can learn about different cultures by reading
  myths.
• Compare and contrast cultural attitudes and
  beliefs
• Ideas, characters, and events from myths often
  appear in contemporary literature.
• Words from mythological characters and places
  also appear in modern English