Oral Traditions
What is an Oral Tradition?
An story that is told by mouth passed down from generation to generation?
This genre always has talking animals and has a clearly stated lesson or moral.
Fable
This genre is also called a Fairy Tale.
Folk Tale
What is the purpose of a fable?
Teach a lesson or moral
What is the purpose of a tall tale?
To entertain
Name the 6 genres in Oral Traditions.
FT, TT, Fable, Myth, Legend, Epic
Describe the characteristics of a folk tale.
- repetition
- good over evil
- sometimes talking animals w/ people
- narrative
What's your favorite genre in Oral Traditions and why?
Answers will vary.
What is the purpose of a folk tale.
Teaches us about a cultures values and beliefs
What two genres have the purpose of teaching a lesson?
Fable and Myth
Why do we study Oral Traditions today?
We can learn about another culture, and they teach us lessons.
This genre has a central hero who conquers great feats! The story is often exaggerated and not believable.
Tall Tale
Describe the characteristics of a legend.
Tell about a real event or person but cannot be proven and is exaggerated.
What is the purpose of a myth? Must name at least 2 purposes.
- Teach a lesson
- Explain how things came to be
- Teach about a culture
- Explain the supernatural and the natural
The first team with everyone's hand raised gets the points.
You're welcome.
Name a title of an Oral Tradition we have looked at so far.
Several examples (from homework)
What is the difference between a legend and a myth?
Legend - real characters/events that cannot be proven or are exaggerated.
Myths - gods and goddesses
Name two genres that are incredibly similar to one another. Attempt to explain their differences.
Tall Tale & Legend
Tall Tale - very exaggerated, light hearted, humorous.
Legend - could be true or not but can't be proven.
What is the purpose of a legend?
- Explain how something came to be
- Teach us about the culture that it came from.
What two genres have the purpose of explaining why things came to be?
Myth and a Legend
Folk literature is the written down versions of Oral Traditions.
This genre is about a central hero who goes on a difficult and dangerous quest/journey.
Epic
Describe the characteristics of a Myth.
gods/goddesses
relates the supernatural to the natural world
contains other humans
What is the purpose of an epic?
Teach of a historical person or culture.
Name all four genres that have the purpose to teach about the culture from which they came.