TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF TRADITIONAL LITERATURE



Types and Characteristics of Traditional Literature

o Folktales

▪ Based in oral tradition with no known author.

▪ Anytime and anyplace (once upon a time in a place far away).

▪ Common ending (they lived happily ever after).

▪ Often magical.

▪ Typically evil is defeated and hero/heroine triumphs.

▪ Contain universal truths and values of time.

▪ Were sometimes used to instruct children in values.

▪ Contain common narrative motifs and common themes.

▪ Examples are: Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Red Riding Hood, Snow White. Sleeping Beauty, Rumplestiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, Bremen Town Musicians, Three Little Pigs, East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

o Fables

▪ Have a moral.

▪ Were meant to entertain.

▪ Brief tale.

▪ Poetic tales with double or allegorical significance.

▪ Animal characters.

▪ Satirize human conduct.

▪ Examples are: Ant and the Grasshopper, Fox and Grapes, Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, Dog in the Manger, Tortoise and the Hare, Lion and the Mouse, Town Mouse and the Country Mouse.

o Myths

▪ Found in almost all cultures.

▪ Used to explain natural phenomena of the world.

▪ Used to explain creation.

▪ Used to explain origins of people.

▪ Sacred or based upon religious belief.

▪ Main characters are animals, deities or humans.

▪ Greek myths (Zeus and Mt. Olympus); Roman myths (Jupiter), Norse myths (Odin and Citadel of Asgard).

o Legends

▪ May be based upon person or event of historical significance.

▪ Typically secular rather than religious.

▪ Principal characters are human.

▪ Examples are: Beowulf, Robin Hood, King Arthur.

o Nursery rhymes

▪ Rhyme, rhythm, repetition, alliteration, humor, exaggeration.

▪ Humorous stories that rhyme.

▪ Told to young children.

▪ Nonsense verse.

▪ Examples are: Jack and Jill, Hey Diddle, Diddle, Peter Piper, Three Blind Mice, Ring Around the Rosie, Old Mother Hubbard.

o Tall Tales

▪ American tales.

▪ Exaggerated claims reflecting hardships of settlers.

▪ Reflect frontier idealism.

▪ Fictional heroes and heroines based upon real people.

▪ Examples are: Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, Davy Crockett, Pecos Bill, John Henry, Mike Fink, Daniel Boone.

Norton, Donna E. and Saundra E. Norton. Through the Eyes of a Child: An Introduction to Children’s Literature. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall, 2003.

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