Folklore

=Folklore = Folklore consist of four main subgroups and is one of the oldest genres to date because of it reliance on oral history and traditional story telling. Cultures use these methods to preserve their history, teach children lessons about life and provide entertainment long before there was television or radio. Most folktales include elements that are unique to the genre such as the fact that similar versions of fairy tales exist in every county such as Cinderella, where good wins over evil and different of kinds of magic are often involved.


Fairly tales are more sophisticated than folktales where the story has the standard hero and villains but the hero must struggle for his heart's desire. These stories are intended to please children and represent the way they view the world as fill of hero's doing legendary deeds to romance his lady or in some cases a heroine overcoming great challenges to live with her love.


Tall tales evolved in the early United States with fictional heroes that are based on real people but retold larger than life and often with hyperbole. These stories reflect the early frontier realism of the American west and often have characters with delusions of power.


Fables always have a moral or parable that is intended to teach a lesson regarding logic, wit, or good behavior with consequences for not heeding them. These stories are very short with few characters often animals acting like humans (personification). Some examples of the intended moral lesson or parable would be discretion, caution, and self-control.

Myths
Myths are used by cultures around the world to explain the origin of the world and man or to explain naturally occurring phenomena such as the Aurora Borealis. They are often based on the beliefs of the ancient people some include gods and goddesses and good is rewarded and evil punished.


Legends are closely tied to mythology and Epics are often legends told as long narrative poems such as Homer's Odyssey. These human heroes become legendary characters such as Hercules and accomplish impossible and amazing feats. These feats often involve actions that symbolize the ideals of the culture in which the story is unfolding.

Examples The Way Meat Loves Salt: A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Tradition by Nina Jaffe Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg The Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables by Don Dail y The Iliad (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Homer