1.<\/span>\u00a0 Folklore Stories and the Oral Tradition Human beings have told stories since the beginning. By the time writing was invented, certain types of stories were common. Let\u2019s call the types of stories that originated in word-of-mouth form Folklore Stories<\/em><\/strong>. This entire page is devoted to understanding and defining various types of folklore stories. But first, let\u2019s build a foundation for understanding these important stories by understanding a few terms that help define this category of stories:<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 Oral Tradition:<\/span> \u201cOral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved and transmitted orally from one generation to another.\u201d \u2013 Wikipedia<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Folklore:<\/span> 1) \u201cthe traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth\u201d; 2) \u201ca body of popular myth and beliefs relating to a particular place, activity, or group of people.\u201d \u2013 Google<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 Lore:<\/span> \u201ca body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth.\u201d \u2013 Google<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 Mythology<\/span>: \u201ca collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition.\u201d \u2013 Google<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Although the spoken word plays a large part in most of these folklore stories, some folklore stories originate in literature and most become famous through literature. Here’s why folklore stories are so important and relevant even today:<\/p>\n 8<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong> Most of these stories are important and relevant because they relate to one or more of these topics: 1) History, 2) Culture, 3) Religion<\/p>\n 8<\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 The purpose of the stories is often twofold: 1) Entertain, 2) Teach<\/p>\n You may also be interested in:<\/span><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 Checklist and Cheat Sheet for Narrative Tales, Folklore, Myths, Legends, and Fables<\/a><\/strong><\/span> Have you ever heard the story about George Washington and the cherry tree? Well, apparently, a young George Washington received a hatchet as a present and went outside and cut down his father\u2019s cherry tree. Later, when his father angrily confronted the future president, George replied, \u201cFather, I cannot tell a lie. I cut down the cherry tree.\u201d George\u2019s father did not respond with anger, but instead with joy, \u201cMy, what an honest young man you are!\u201d<\/p>\n How would you classify that story? MountVernon.org<\/a><\/strong> (an authoritative George Washington website) classifies the story this way: \u201cThe cherry tree myth<\/span> is the most well-known and longest enduring legend<\/span> about George Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n So, which is it? A myth<\/span> or a legend<\/span>? When MountVernon says that the cherry tree story is a myth, they simply mean that the story is not true. Unfortunately, over time, the term myth<\/em> has come to represent two types of stories:<\/p>\n 1)\u00a0<\/span> A story with sacred, religious, or spiritual implications, overtones, or explanations.<\/p>\n 2)<\/span>\u00a0 A story that is presented as true and that some people believe is true, but that is not true. In short, the story is a lie.<\/p>\n Since the story of George Washington is not true, it is a myth according to the second definition. Now, is it a legend? Here is how Google dictionary defines legend: \u201ca traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated.\u201d Yes, the story of George Washington and the cherry tree is a legend. Having said that, it\u2019s not what I would typically think of as being a legend. In fact, I would probably call it a historical fable, a morality tale, or simply a story that is not true.<\/p>\n If the legend of George Washington and the cherry tree were created by rumor and word of mouth, then I would be more tempted to call it a legend. But it wasn\u2019t. The story was written by Mason Locke Weems and published in a book in 1806. Unlike George Washington, Weems told a lie. After that, the story caught on and became so-called legend.<\/p>\n Genre<\/em> means shares similar qualities and characteristics<\/em>. NARRATIVE is a genre, and STORY is a genre of narrative. All narrative stories share the characteristic of \u201ctelling what happened.\u201d Of course, we also have many different genres of narrative story. We have mystery, drama, comedy, western\u2014and many more. Each genre of story shares similar characteristics with other stories in the same genre.<\/p>\n Sometimes genre is a simple thing. When we read one of Aesop\u2019s Fables, it\u2019s easy for most people to classify it as a fable. It\u2019s easy because Aesop\u2019s Fables contain the defining qualities and characteristics of fables. Likewise, when we read The Brothers Grimm original Little Snow White<\/em> (1812), it\u2019s easy to see that it\u2019s a fairy tale.<\/p>\n George Washington and the cherry tree story is a bit more difficult. Although the story meets the dictionary definition of a legend, it doesn\u2019t meet many of the commonly accepted characteristics and qualities that we associate with the genre of legend. It\u2019s not a legend like King Arthur, Robin Hood, or the Trojan War. It\u2019s not a legend like many of the stories that came out the Wild West. It\u2019s nothing like these legends. As I mentioned before, I would probably call it a historical fable. What\u2019s a historical fable? Well, it historical and it\u2019s a fable.<\/p>\n Many definitions of fables state that fables by definition have animal characters. In other words, if the story doesn\u2019t have animal characters, then it can\u2019t be a fable. However, Google\u2019s dictionary definition of a fable is this: \u201cFable: a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral.\u201d So the truth is that although fables typically have animals<\/em>, they don\u2019t have them by definition<\/em>. And this is even truer with \u201cmodern fables.\u201d People classify stories as fables because it helps other people see the structure and characteristics of the story more clearly. But this does not mean that the story has every single characteristic and quality of a fable. Genre is a heuristic\u2014that is, it\u2019s a shortcut for understanding.<\/p>\n Genre is a neglected topic. And it\u2019s also one of the most interesting, revealing, and informative topics. When you squeeze an orange, what comes out? Orange juice. Why? Because that\u2019s what\u2019s inside. That\u2019s how genre is. To understand a genre is to understand what\u2019s inside the genre\u2014the qualities and the characteristics of the genre, along with the skills, strategies, and techniques required to create the genre. Many famous writers today specialize in one genre because specialized knowledge of a genre is extremely important for creating successful stories.<\/p>\n Whether one is writing a history report, an argument on global warming, a newspaper article, or a young-adult novel, the genre is an outline in advance. The genre mandates many of the choices, techniques, and strategies that the writer will choose and use. Students ask, \u201cWhy do I have to do that?\u201d Answer: \u201cBecause it\u2019s the genre. Forget that colloquial story you just read. This is an important writing assessment.\u201d By the way, genre includes audience and purpose, but that\u2019s beyond what we will discuss here.<\/p>\n What makes a thriller a thriller instead of an action story or suspense story? It\u2019s all explained by genre. Genre explains the necessary qualities and characteristics that mandate the choices, techniques, and strategies that the writer must use to create the effect.<\/p>\n Here are four genre checklists and cheat sheets to get you thinking about the characteristics and qualities of genre:<\/span><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 Checklist and Cheat Sheet for Narrative Tales, Folklore, Myths, Legends, and Fables<\/a><\/strong> I like to place things in context for my students, and these Genre Paths or Genre Breadcrumb Trails do just that\u2014quickly and easily. I also use Genre Trees and Levels, but that\u2019s for another day. As you can see, I don\u2019t classify myths and legends as folktales or tales. For me, the term tales<\/em> is more appropriate for shorter, lighter fare. I\u2019m flexible on this depending on the story and the situation, and my goal here is not to convince anyone that this is the correct way to view things. My point here is that this is how we discuss and analyze stories and come to understand genre classification systems.<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 Narrative\u00a0Q<\/span> Story\u00a0Q<\/span>\u00a0Folklore\u00a0Q<\/span> Folktale\u00a0Q<\/span> Fairy Tale<\/span><\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Narrative\u00a0Q<\/span> Story\u00a0Q<\/span> Folklore\u00a0Q<\/span> Folktale\u00a0Q<\/span> Tall Tale<\/span><\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 Narrative\u00a0Q<\/span> Story\u00a0Q<\/span> Folklore\u00a0Q<\/span> Folktale\u00a0Q<\/span>\u00a0Basic Folktale<\/span><\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 Narrative\u00a0Q<\/span> Story\u00a0Q<\/span> Folklore\u00a0Q<\/span> Folktale\u00a0Q<\/span> Fable<\/span><\/p>\n 5.\u00a0 Narrative\u00a0Q<\/span> Story\u00a0Q<\/span> Folklore\u00a0Q<\/span> Myth<\/span><\/p>\n 6.\u00a0 Narrative\u00a0Q<\/span> Story\u00a0Q<\/span> Folklore\u00a0Q<\/span> Legend<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n In a sense, genres and genre classification systems provide a blueprint or outline for a piece of writing in advance. Of course, it\u2019s easy to create a perfect classification system. The difficult part is making all those square pegs fit into perfectly round holes, which is why theorists start making exceptions and giving long-winded explanations. With almost everything in language, there is no perfect classification system. Language is created by people trying to communicate in effective, innovative, and interesting ways. It takes just one innovator who creates a masterpiece to ruin all those perfect classification systems. And we have had many of those throughout history.<\/p>\n In the real world, people combine genres, reinvent genres, build on genres, and transcend genres. Genre is not static.<\/p>\n Later, we will define 16 different genres of folklore stories. But here, I put forth five types of folklore story. Each is based on a specific purpose. As you can see, I also list all of the similar types of folklore stories that have a similar purpose. So in a sense, the purpose is the genre. By the way, we don\u2019t need to learn anything about #5 False Stories, but it\u2019s a helpful term.<\/p>\n
\n2.<\/span>\u00a0 How to Classify the Story of George Washington and the Cherry Tree
\n3.<\/span>\u00a0 Folklore Stories: Qualities and Characteristics of the Genre
\n4.<\/span>\u00a0 Checklists and Cheat Sheets: Qualities and Characteristics of Genre
\n5.<\/span>\u00a0 Genre Paths or Genre Breadcrumb Trails
\n6.<\/span>\u00a0 Five Genres of Folklore Stories
\n7.<\/span>\u00a0 Sixteen Types of Folklore Stories Defined
\n8.<\/span>\u00a0 Building on Folklore Stories: Modern Fables, Fairy Tales, Legends, and Myths<\/p><\/blockquote>\nFolklore Stories and the Oral Tradition<\/h3>\n
\n2.\u00a0 Giant Lists of Myths, Legends, Tales, and Folklore for Scholars and Kids<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nHow to Classify the Story of George Washington and the Cherry Tree<\/h3>\n
![\"pencil](\"https:\/\/patternbasedwriting.com\/teaching_writing\/wp-content\/uploads\/pencil-and-paper.jpg\")
It\u2019s a foundation, a framework, and a methodology for teaching writing! Please check out Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay on the homepage to learn more!<\/span><\/a>\nFolklore Stories: Qualities and Characteristics of the Genre<\/h3>\n
Checklists and Cheat Sheets: Qualities and Characteristics of Genre<\/h3>\n
\n2.\u00a0 Narrative Story, Narrative Essay, and Narrative Non-Fiction Checklist and Cheat Sheet<\/a><\/strong><\/span>
\n3.\u00a0 Descriptive Writing Checklist and Cheat Sheet<\/a><\/strong><\/span>
\n4.\u00a0 Persuasive Writing, Opinion Writing, and Argument Writing Checklist and Cheat Sheet<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\nDo you teach beginning writers or struggling writers? Be sure to check out Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay on the homepage!<\/span><\/a>\nGenre Paths or Genre Breadcrumb Trails<\/h3>\n
Five Genres of Folklore Stories<\/h3>\n
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\n Folklore Genre<\/span><\/td>\n Genres of the Genre \/ Similar Purpose<\/span><\/td>\n Purpose<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1. Tales<\/span><\/td>\n 1) Folktales, 2) Tall Tales, 3) Fairy Tales, 4) Hero Tales, 5) Animal Tales, 6) Ballads<\/td>\n Entertain then Teach.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2. Fables<\/span><\/td>\n 1) Parables, 2) Allegories<\/td>\n Teach then Entertain.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3. Myths<\/span><\/td>\n 1) Epics, 2) Sagas<\/td>\n Deals with beliefs, values, and explanations of existence.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 4. Legends<\/span><\/td>\n 1) Epics, 2) Sagas<\/td>\n Deals with history, geologic, or natural phenomena, e.g., what lives in the cave on the side of the mountain; people who lived or could have lived.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 5. False Stories<\/span><\/td>\n 1) Rumors, 2) Urban Legends, 3) Old Wives\u2019 Tales, 4) Conspiracy Theories, 5) Myths \u2013 popular informal term.<\/td>\n People do their best to explain things or simply lie, and others believe them because they are excellent stories that seem to make sense. Sometimes people take a story literally when the teller was just telling a good story.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Sixteen Types of Folklore Stories Defined<\/h3>\n