Today, I am going to explain the differences between, well, fairy tales, folktales, myths, fables and legends.
This topic is hard to find information on on the internet, so this is kind of iffy. These sound about right to me, but don't base any in-depth essays based on factual evidence on them. :)
Fairy Tales (Google): a children's story about magical and imaginary beings and lands.Fairy tales are much more than this, though. They weren't all children's tales, as Grimms' Household Tales prove. In order to really know what fairy tales are, you have to read a lot of them. They are full of an indescribable something-something unable to be found in folktales, myths, legends, fables, anything else. Go read them.
Folktales (Google): a story originating in popular culture, typically passed on by word of mouthFolktales and tall tales are really hard to tell apart. Folktales were originally only spoken, so this is the main difference between folktales and tall tales. Also, they do not have to be overly exaggerated.
Tall Tale (Merriam-Webster): a story that is very difficult to believe, a greatly exaggerated story
An example of this would be Paul Bunyan, or Johnny Appleseed. Paul Bunyan is exaggerated because he wasn't
actually as enormous as he's made out to be.
Fable (Google): a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral
This definition, at least, makes sense. An example would be Aesop's Fables (obviously).
Myth (Google): a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history
of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and
typically involving supernatural beings or events. A myth is usually a story that is religious, or explains something. For example, Greek mythology was actually considered to be true a long, long, time ago (religious). Also, for example, a story that explains something would be like the story of Persephone (look it up), which explains why we have winter as a season.
Legend (Google): a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated.
This is like the legend of King Arthur. King Arthur could have been real, but no one knows for sure. Also, there are aspects of Arthurian legend that aren't true; for example, Merlin is a wizard, but wizards aren't real.
Now, you may be confused no more over various types of stories!
Spruce Nogard
Attributions: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691173222/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=17KFX9CXY00DQRBRS5ZR
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1450502954/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6AQBS8032QX3FKBHPFSS
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157912867X/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RFKDVCSCCR88Y6MPEPCD
https://www.amazon.com/Knights-Leatherbound-Classic-Collection-Leather/dp/1435133463/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475704728&sr=1-4&keywords=king+arthur+howard+pyle
https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Osborne-American-Tales-Paperback/dp/B00RWQ48EY/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475704837&sr=1-6&keywords=american+tall+tales
Thanks for a clear and thoughtful article! Very helpful!
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