Traditional

Literature
 Types of traditional
Literature

Folktale Fable Myths Epic and Legendary Heroes Bible

 Definition
• All forms of narrative, written or oral, which have
come to be handed down through the years.
• Seen to come from the people of culture rather
than a specific person
o Exceptions: Aesop, Homer, and other ancient tellers or writers of tales
 Origin
• Traditional Literature forms the foundation of
understandings of life as expressed in modern
literature
• Monogenesis
o Grimm Brothers theory

• Polygenesis
 Value
• Teachers find it a valuable way to introducing world
cultures and geographical regions
• Appeals to the children’s sense of justice and their
moral judgment
• Kindle their imagination
• Helps them cope with their dreams and inner
turmoil
• Our speech and language reflect many
contributions
• Groundwork
 Folktales
• Defined as “all forms of narrative, written or oral,
which have come to be handed down through the
years.”
o Epics, Ballads, Legends, and Folk Songs as well as Myths and Fables
 Types of Folktales
• Cumulative Tales
o There is an increasing repetition of the details building up to a quick climax
o Children loves these tales
• Pourquoi Tales
o Stories that explain
• Beast Tales
o Animals act and talk like human beings
o Talking animals appear in folktales in all cultures
• Wonder Tales or “Fairy Tales”
o Magic and the supernatural
o Creatures
o Involves Romance and Adventure
o Long Quest Tales
o Ends with …
o Part of the appeal
o Represents Glorious Fulfillment of human desires
• Realistic Tales
o Few
o Some Basis in Fact
Folktales Pictures
 Characteristics of
Folktales
• Plot Structures
• Characterization
• Style
• Themes
• Motifs
 Characteristics of Folk
Literature Cont.
• Examples of Motifs
o Magical Powers
o Transformations
o Magical Object
o Wishes
o Trickery
o Power of Naming
o Enchanted Sleep
 Evaluating Folktales
• Is there some mention or citation of the original source
for this tale?
• Is the plot simple and direct?
• Is the language lively and engaging and in keeping with
the oral tradition?
• Does a theme emerge?
• What is the story’s message or moral?
• Do illustrations add to and extend the story?
• Are illustrations and details true to the culture
represented?
• Does the story represent cultural norms, or is written to
conform to Western mores?
 Folktales of the World
• Every Culture has produced folklore
• Provide Insight
• Help Children discover the universal qualities of
humankind
• Pay Attention to the Following Slides will come in
handy
 British Folktales
• First Folktales there most children hear in the United
States
• Joseph Jacobs
• Examples
o “The Old Woman and Her Pig”
o “The Three Bears”
o “The Three Little Pigs”

• Some Of the British Folktales has a realism element

• Wonderfully Exotic Characters
• Region has developed fewer complicated wonder
tales that abound in French and Russian folklore
 German Folktales
• Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
o Household Stories
o Grimm Fairy Tales
• Enlivened by elves, dwarfs, and devils rather than
fairies of other cultures
• Villain in the few beast stories is a wolf
• Some can be grim, dark, and forbidding
o “Hansel and Gretel”
• Plots are exciting, fast-moving, and a little
frightening
• Evil beings hold the good beings until the magical
enchantments is broken by love and kindness
 Scandinavian
Folktales
• Most are from one single Norwegian collection titled
East o’the Sun and West o’the Moon
o “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”
• Reflect the harsh elements of the northern climate
• Animal helpmates assist heroes in overcoming
giants or wicked trolls
• Heroes
• Evil Spell
• Characterized by many trolls, magical objects, and
enchantments
• Often humorous, exciting, fast-moving
 French Folktales
• Earliest to be recorded and most sophisticated and
adult
• Charles Perrault
o Little book with no name
• Was it written by Perrault or son Pierre
• Has an elegant style of the “literary tale”

• “Sleeping Beauty”
• Best Known French wonder tale
o “Beauty and the Beast”

• Usually tales of the rich not poor

• Most have all the trappings of traditional fairy tale
 Russian Folktales
• Feature universal patterns of tasks and trials, tricks,
and transformations
• Often longer and complicated than other countries
• Same characters appear in different guises and
one story will often braid into another
• “The Tale of the Firebird”
 Jewish Folktales
• Has poignancy, wit, and ironic humor unmatched in
any other folklore
• Many been persevered by the writing of Isaac
Bashevis Singer
• “Zlateh the Goat” based on his own childhood
memories and tradition
Folktales from the Middle
East
• Birthplace of many of our Western stories, but these
tales are not as well know in the United States.
• Arabian Nights
• “Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp”
• Hodja Stories
• Indicative of a rich source on which children’s
literature has yet to draw fully from.
 Folktales from Asia
• Examples:
o “Yen-Shen” – China
o “Momotaro or the Story of a Peach” - Japan
o “The Brave Little Parrot” – India
• Familiar Theme: Caring for others above oneself
• Japanese Folktales contain:
o Miniature people
o Oni (monster)
o Theme of gentleness toward animals and other people
o Value of hard work
o Respect for elderly

• Familiar Character: Rabbit

• Jataka (birth) stories found in India
• Later Beast Tales were drawn to form the Panchatantra
 Folktales from Africa
• Storytelling is a highly developed art
• Aural cadence not found in other stories of the
world
• Come oral tradition and frequently written in the
storyteller’s voice
• Style
o Short sentences
o Frequent use of parallel constructions
o Repetition
o Dialogue

• Example of Africa Literature

o “Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears”
 Africa Continued
• Many may be described as
o Being about personified animals
o Pourquoi stories

• Play on words is a favored form of humor

• Will present a dilemma and then the storyteller will
invite the audience will try to guess the conclusion
• Oral tradition has ben maintained
• Children will learn something new
 Folktales of Canada and
the United States
• Examples of Folktales:
• “Johnny Appleseed”
• Folktales that came over with the immigrants that
took on an unmistakable flavor
• Indigenous to the place are Native American
Folktales
• Also tall tales that developed from the pioneer spirit
 America Folktales
Continued
• It can be sorted into four categories:
o 1. Native American, Eskimo, and Inuit tales that were originally there.
o 2. Tales that came from other countries, primarily from West Africa, and were
changed in the process to form the basis of African American folktales
o 3. Tales that came primarily from Europe and were modified into new variants
o 4. Tall tales, legends, and other Americana that developed here
• Authors continue to Americanize European folktales
• African American Folktales:
o Slaves who came over here who added layers to beast tales to add a new
meaning about the relationship between the slaves and their masters (Uncle
Remus)
• Tall Tales
o Contain a glorious mixture of the humor, bravado, and pioneer spirit needed
to tame the wilderness
o Exaggerated Tales
o Heroes: Johnny Appleseed and John Henry
 Native American
Folktales
• Example:
o “They Dance in the Sky”
• Many Native Americans tales can be categorized as
myths as they include creation myths and sacred
legends
• When originally told there were loosely planned not
highly structured as European fairy tales
• Storytelling is ceremonial importance in various tribal
groups
• Nature myths or pourquoi stories
• Contain a trickster
• Heroes can be found in many stories
• Survival themes are constant
 Folktales from Mexico, the Caribbean, and
Central and South America
• Example of Mexico Folktale
o “The Legend of the Poinsettia”
• Example of Caribbean Folktale
o “Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella”
• Have roots in many cultures that has inhabited this vast
region
• African Caribbean tradition has contributed many stories
to the Mainland African Americans
• There is a couple Mexican folktales has a connection to
Catholicism
• Pourquoi stories are common in Central and South
America
• Water is a common motif in
South American folktales.
 Fables
• Usually associated with Aesop
• The first written fables appeared in Greek Literature
two centuries before Aesop’s birth and in India and
Egypt before Greece
• Other sources were the Jataka tales
• Panchatantra
• These two have moralistic verses intersperse
throughout
• Jean De La Fontaine who is a third source
 Characteristics of Fables
• Brief, didactic tales in which animals, or occasionally the
elements, speak as human beings
o Example is the well-known race between the hare and the tortoise
• Humans do appear in a few fables like “The Boy who
cried Wolf”
• Impersonal characters with no lively personalities
• Animals represent aspects of human nature
• Seldom have more than three characters
• Plot based on a single incident
• Meant to instruct
• Either contain an implicit or an explicit moral
• Appear to be simple but they are complex as they
convey an abstract idea in relatively few words
 Editions
• Younger children might appreciate some fables but
can not be able to extract a moral until about 2nd
or 3rd grade
• Older children would like it as they can compare
treatments of several of these fables.