As a set of traditional knowledge and beliefs, folklore has inspired many works in literature, from poetry to novels. What exactly is folklore and why is it important? Keep reading to find out!
This article explains what folklore is and its role in literature. The importance of folklore is discussed and you will be taken through the main types of folklore and the elements that make a piece of literature folklore. You will encounter common characteristics of folklore literature in this article and there are some examples that highlight some of these common characteristics.
Folklore in literature and meaning
Folklore refers to traditional knowledge and beliefs which have usually been passed down by word of mouth. Folklore can consist of dramas, rituals, fairy tales, riddles, poems and songs. Although it has been used as a tool to pass down a civilisation’s history, these civilisations may or may not have had a written language. This means that some folklore is only available via word of mouth.
The stories shared through folklore tell a vivid story about the culture of a people. These stories are often fictional stories involving animals and people. The origins of some of these tales are unknown and remain unknown. It can be difficult to trace the origins of some folklore tales because they have been passed down by word of mouth – some communities’ languages have no written record. It is also likely that they have been altered during this process.
How to remember what folklore means: ‘Folk’ means a community of people. ‘Lore’ is derived from the Old English word ‘lar’ which means knowledge or learning. Therefore, folklore is the knowledge of a community of people.
Importance of folklore
Folklore acts as a record of the history of a community’s culture. There is familiarity in the stories that are shared from generation to generation, and this connects people from a community across generations. There is often wisdom you can glean from folklore and you can learn about the successes and failures of a specific community. Folklore can have a moral lesson at the end and can show different perspectives within a story in order to teach this moral lesson.
Elements of folklore in literature
The anthropological element to folklore means you can see how an author has used folkloristic elements. There is a borrowing of tales from different cultures, and the context of the folklore materials used. For example, which community do they come from? Which era was this folklore most likely to have come from and what can that teach us about the morals and values of the time? How do these influence how we interpret folklore?
Analysing folklore consists of two paths: identification and interpretation. Identification consists of identifying similarities in folklore and between folklore. Interpretation consists of identifying differences in folklore and between folklore. Identification is where you consider the similarities your chosen subject material has with folklore from the past. Interpretation is where you consider the differences your chosen subject material has with folklore from the past.
Examples of folk literature
Let's look at some popular examples of folk literature.
Brothers Grimm The Sleeping Beauty (1812, 1815)
The German Brothers Grimm were credited with being the first people to collect German fairy tales with an emphasis on preserving the plot, characters and style in which the original stories were told as they were passed down through generations.
The Sleeping Beauty is an example of one such tale. In this fairy tale, a princess is cursed by an evil fairy to sleep for a hundred years. The only way to end the curse is for a prince to awaken her. A good fairy places all the living beings in the palace to sleep as well so that the princess does not wake up from her curse alone. This tale has the element of good and evil which is common in fairy tale folklore.
The main lesson in The Sleeping Beauty is considered to be that you should be patient in waiting for love.
The Sleeping Beauty, pixabay
Pandora’s Box
Pandora’s Box is a well-known Greek myth. Pandora comes across a box which she is told to look after by her husband. Out of curiosity, Pandora opens the box and unleashes pain and suffering upon mankind. This was supposedly the first instance where pain and suffering were inflicted on mankind. In some retellings of the myth, Pandora was the first human woman on Earth. The box she opened came to be known as Pandora’s box.
The myth of Pandora’s Box tells of human weakness, the pitfalls of curiosity and how pain and suffering were first inflicted on mankind.
Pandora's Box, pixabay.com
The Arthurian legends
The Arthurian legends are tales about King Arthur and the adventures he had in his life. These legends are well-known in British mythology. As is often the case with legends, the existence of King Arthur and the veracity of these tales cannot be determined by historians. It is believed that the character of King Arthur was based on a warrior from the sixth century (known as the ‘Dark Ages’) who spearheaded British armies against Saxon invaders.
The main lesson of the Arthurian legends is moral integrity, defending the weak, and loyalty.
King Arthur, pixabay.com
The Tortoise and the Hare
The fable of The Tortoise and the Hare involves a tortoise who challenges a hare to a race after the hare makes fun of his speed. The tortoise progresses slowly along the racetrack, whilst the hare speeds away and, as he is certain he will win, he takes a nap along the racetrack. The tortoise continues steadily along the racetrack, passing the hare. Once the hare wakes up, he notices the tortoise crawling steadily across the finish line.
The main lesson in The Tortoise and the Hare is that the best course of action for success is to take things steadily and slowly instead of in a haste.
Tortoise, freepik.com
Hare, freepik.com
Characteristics of folk literature
To determine if a story draws on folklore, consider whether it shows these characteristics of folk literature.
Folklore is typically passed down orally through generations. So, there are often variations in their telling.
A community’s culture is shared through folklore. Folklore could tell of an important event that affected the people of that community in a prominent way.
Folklore could tell of the values and morals of a community. If there is a moral lesson at the end, it could reflect teaching that the community believed in.
Folklore involving heroic tales often incorporates singing with the accompaniment of musical instruments. This helped the formation of poetic forms with meters that developed and were passed on over time. An example of this is the Greek epics.
Tales in folklore often involve animals or characters or a combination of both and explore how they manage everyday life events and crises.
Characters in folklore may have to solve a problem or prove they have a certain moral value.
Good and evil are explored through characters who embody these values. The idea of punishment and reward is also explored.
The four types of folk literature
The four types of folk literature are the most common folklore genres. These are:
Cinderella is an example of a fairy tale. Cinderella grows up with her evil stepmother and stepsisters who try to prevent her from going to a ball where the Prince of the kingdom will be picking his wife from the guests in attendance. A fairy godmother helps Cinderella get to the ball where she is able to meet the Prince.
The fable about the fox and the grapes is a tale about a fox who sees some grapes high up on a branch he wants to eat. He jumps multiple times to reach them but fails each time. He eventually walks away scornfully. The moral teaching is that people pretend to hate what they cannot reach.
An example of this is Little Red Riding Hood acting as a symbol of innocence, not just a young girl who wandered into the woods. So the story itself is a symbolic narrative.
Legends: a legend tells the tale of a figure in history either through a story or through a series of stories. Legends usually consist of stories that are not accurately recorded, if at all, so they may or may not be true. Legends can change over time as those who retell the story may alter parts of it.
One famous legend is the story of Icarus, son of a craftsman in ancient Greece. In an attempt to escape from an island, Icarus and his father craft wings out of feathers and wax. Whilst flying away, Icarus flies too close to the sun, his wings melt and he plummets into the sea.
These genres of folklore sometimes overlap and it may be difficult to determine which category a tale belongs to.
Folklore - Key takeaways
Folklore refers to traditional knowledge and beliefs which have usually been passed down by word of mouth.
Folklore can consist of dramas, rituals, fairy tales, riddles, poems and songs.
The stories shared through folklore tell a vivid story about the culture of a people. These stories are often fictional stories involving animals and people.
Folklore can have a moral lesson at the end and can show different perspectives in a story in order to teach this moral lesson.
Folklore involving heroic tales often incorporates singing with the accompaniment of musical instruments.
The four types of folk literature which are most common are fairy tales, fables, myths and legends.
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