2: Fables, Folktales, Drama, Plays, Legends Myths and o Often begins with “Once upon a time”

Anecdotes o Conflicts are resolved through kindness, courage or

What is a Fable? intelligence
 Fables are stories intended to teach a lesson, and animals
often speak and act like human beings. Common Elements of Folktales:
 Rule of Three: Items happen in sets of 3 or 7s (things
Elements to Remember happen in 3s, lots of repetition or repeated phrases)
 ANIMALS are usually the main characters o 3 characters
 The plot and characters are SIMPLE o 3 events
 Stories teach a MORAL or LESSON o 3 tests the character must overcome
 SETTING is common and nonspecific  Magic is commonly used, to explain the unexplainable.
 Author uses PERSONIFICATION  You will see similar characteristics from stories across the
world
What is Personification?
 Themes
 In simple terms, its making animals or objects seem like o Characters go through tests to prove something (the
real people, with real human feelings and emotions.
good character must solve a problem)
o Good v. Evil (has characters that good, others are
Fables
bad)
 Animals
o Good is rewarded and evil is punished in the end
 Personification
(tales have a happy ending)
 Very Short Tales
 Characterization
 Moral or Lesson
o Characters change only after they have gone through
the lesson learned during the course of the story
Folktales
o The hero is usually young and fair, kind, brave,
 Common People or Animals
unselfish, and may possess some sort of special
 Exaggeration
power.
 Sets of 3 events
o Magic helpers, such as the Fairy Godmother in
 Happy Endings
Cinderella, allow for things to occur within a story
that would otherwise be impossible
What is a Folktale?
 Setting
 Folktales were passed down from generation to
o Place is usually described easily and briefly, leaving
generation by word of mouth, which is called oral
the imagination to fill in the gaps. For example,
tradition.
folktales take place in a cottage in the woods or in a
 Folktales were made up to explain the wonders of the
magical kingdom
world or to teach morals and lessons.
o Time is fantasy time, such as Once upon a time, or A
long time ago
Different Types of Folktales
 Trickster Tales
Drama
o One character, usually the protagonist, is a clever
 Prose or verse telling a story intended for representation
trickster that causes problems for the other
by actors through dialogue or action.
characters
o They usually goes unpunished
The Play
 Fables  Playwright : person who writes plays.
o These are stories that teach a lesson or have a moral
 Script : printed copy of a play.
o The main characters of Fables are usually animals  Acts : the major sections of a play.
with human characteristics  Scene : small section or portion of a play.
o The moral is never stated, but needs to be inferred
by the reader The People
 Pourqoui stories  Actor: male performer
o Explain WHY something is as it is  Actress: female performer
o Explains HOW something came to be and it usually  Cast: all performers selected to portray characters.
explains something in Nature  Director: instructs actors on how to portray characters.
 Fairytales
o Include good and evil characters
o Usually has a hero or heroine
o Has Magic The Theater
 A building where a play is performed containing the  Use of intensifiers
stage and seating area for the audience.  Use of temporal conjunctions

Elements of Drama
 Plot: the main storyline
 Theme: the basic idea of the play
 Character: person, animal or thing in the story
 Language: formal setting or dialect
 Dialogue: conversation between two or more characters.
 Monologue: one person speaking
 Spectacle: visuals involved on stage
 Costumes: clothing worn by an actor on stage to help
represent characters.
 Props: items used on stage to help actors tell a story

Creative Dramatics
 Improvisation: to make up or perform without
preparation.
 Pantomime: to communicate without speaking using only
facial and body gestures.
 Mimicry: to copy or imitate something very closely.
 Role Playing: to take on the characteristics of someone or
something.

A legend is a semi-true story, which has been passed on from

person-to-person and has important meaning or symbolism
for the culture in which it originates. A legend usually includes
an element of truth, or is based on historic facts, but with
'mythical qualities'. Legends usually involve heroic characters
or fantastic places and often encompass the spiritual beliefs
of the culture in which they originate.

A myth is a story based on tradition or legend, which has a

deep symbolic meaning. A myth 'conveys a truth' to those
who tell it and hear it, rather than necessarily recording a
true event. Although some myths can be accounts of actual
events, they have become transformed by symbolic meaning
or shifted in time or place. Myths are often used to explain
universal and local beginnings and involve supernatural
beings. The great power of the meaning of these stories, to
the culture in which they developed, is a major reason why
they survive as long as they do - sometimes for thousands of
years.

ANECDOTE
 To share with others an account of an unusual or
amusing incident
 Deals with something unexpected or out of the ordinary
 It is the unexpected events which makes the story worth
telling
 Almost exclusively used for oral genre

Language Features of Anecdote

 Use of material processes/action verbs to tell what
happened
 Use of exclamations