The variety of types of folklore can be overwhelming to distinguish between. A discussion on ISLMANET recently showed the confusion it can cause. Many websites and books document different versions of traditional stories from Appleseed to Zeus, but few give any reasoning behind what makes one story a folk tale and one a myth.
There are uncountable elements of folk tales and legends and myths and many are shared between tales. Many have lessons or truths underlying the stories. They often contain exaggerations of reality.
But what is it that makes a fable different from a fairy tale?
What makes a legend different from a myth?
Folklore encompasses the group of stories a culture creates for itself. Folklore includes stories which reflect the values of a culture, stories meant for the amusement of children, stories meant to teach life lessons, exaggerated stories about historical people or events, and religious or spiritual stories about the origins of the world and how things came to be.
Types of Folklore include:
There are uncountable elements of folk tales and legends and myths and many are shared between tales. Many have lessons or truths underlying the stories. They often contain exaggerations of reality.
But what is it that makes a fable different from a fairy tale?
What makes a legend different from a myth?
Folklore encompasses the group of stories a culture creates for itself. Folklore includes stories which reflect the values of a culture, stories meant for the amusement of children, stories meant to teach life lessons, exaggerated stories about historical people or events, and religious or spiritual stories about the origins of the world and how things came to be.
Types of Folklore include: