Traditional Literature

What makes this genre unique?

Where do these stories originate?

• When a writer publishes a version of a folktale we tend to say it is "retold by" rather than written by that author.

• This is because traditional literature originated orally and has no identifiable author.

• Much of traditional literature was told and retold with details varying depending on audience and context.

• Tales were carried by storytellers from place to place, and the details of the narrative were changed to suit the context.

• Folktales vary from culture to culture but they often have the same basic literary elements, known as motifs.

• Characters in traditional tales tend to be archetypes rather than well-developed characters. They tell stories of the human experience and convey a rich sense of culture.

• Many of these stories are now written down in multiple versions, some paying strict attention to particular oral traditions, others creating new, alternate versions, which are sometimes referred to as fractured fairy tales.

• There are also new stories with an identifiable author that are written in the folkloric tradition. ,

Some of the Many Reasons for Using

Folklore With Children

Traditional literature is a significant part of the building blocks for

contemporary literature and is often considered the “mother of all

literature”.

Traditional Fantasy…

• Provides entertainment

• Contains the rich heritage of story

• Tells stories of the human experience

• Kindles the imagination

• Serves as the building blocks/framework for contemporary literature

• Provides a window on diverse cultures

Characteristics

• CHARACTERIZATION- generally archetypes…

• Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin—what do they feel and think?

• Traditional stories from around the world are basically alike because fundamental human characteristics and motivations are universal.

• Plot- simple and direct

• Theme- rewards of mercy, kindness, perseverance…

• Setting – quickly established and always in the distant past. (…once upon a time….)

• Repeated Elements – 3 evenings spinning straw into gold, 3 visits to the ball, 3 trips up the beanstalk…(“fee, fi, fo, fum…”)

Types of Traditional Fantasy

• Make a web of traditional fantasy

• Folktales -Trickster Tales -Noodlehead or Fool tales - Realistic tales

• FAIRY or Wonder Tales -TALL tales• FABLES • Myths * Epics and Legends• Religious Stories

Evaluating Traditional LiteratureCharacterization:

• Are the characters believable and well rounded?

Plot: • Is the plot believable, and does it move forward?

Theme: • Is there any discernable theme or message the author seems to be

imparting?

Setting: • Is the setting consistent with the genre in that it occurs in the distant

past?

Evaluating Traditional Literature continued…

Categorization: • Does the tale basically fit into one of the

categories of the genre? (Folktale, Tall tale, Fable, Myth, Epic or Legend, or Religious story?)

Type of Folktale: • If it is a Folktale, does it fall into a discerniblecategory such as a Pourquoi tale, Noodlehead

tale, or fairy tale?

So…what makes this genre unique?