pageQuotes about folklore:
Children cannot be surprised by the extraordinary who have not been made aware of the ordinary. - Iona and Peter Opie
Children are innocent and love justice while most of us are wicked and naturally prefer mercy. - G.K. Chesterton
FOLK DEFINITIONS by George Pilling
FOLKLORE Traditional beliefs, customs, dances, songs, tales, or sayings preserved orally and unreflectively among a group of people.
FOLKTALE (Folk Tale) A tale circulated by word of mouth among common people, especially a tale traditional among a people and characteristically anonymous, timeless, and placeless.
FAIRY TALE (or fairy story) A simple narrative dealing with supernatural beings (such as fairies, magicians, dragons, ogres, goblins, etc.) that is typically of folk origins and written or told for amusement of people, often children. Often used interchangeably with folktale.
FABLE A narration intended to enforce some useful truth or precept (a moral), especially a story in which animals and even inanimate objects speak and act like humans.
PARABLE A religious fable, intended to illustrate a moral attitude or a principle of a certain religion.
MYTH A story that is usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional that ostensibly relates to historic events usually to explains some practice, belief, institution, or phenomenon and is especially associated with religious beliefs and practices.
LEGEND A story usually about a particular person or group of persons which is traditionally and popularly regarded as historical, although not entirely verifiable and often containing fanciful elements.
TALL TALE A story in which a heroic figure overcomes great adversity, often including ridiculously impossible situations.
EPIC A long narrative, often poetic, recounting heroic deeds by a legendary or heroic figure.
SAGA A series of legends or a long story about heroic figures that contains historic and fictional events and often recounts the oral history of a people.
Other oral traditions that may be forms of folklore: jokes, nursery rhymes, sayings, proverbs, ballads.
home page