SIGNIFICANCE OF

STUDYING FOLK
LITERATURE
WHAT IS FOLKLORE?

The definition of folklore is the set of

cultural artifacts—such as religious
practices, stories, dances, and other art
forms—preserved among a community
of people through oration.
  comprises all of the artful forms and expressions
that define a group's particular culture and
includes tales, songs, jokes, dances, and sayings.

Folk literature refers to traditional beliefs and stories

originally preserved through the act of storytelling
and subsequently recorded in writing.
Folk literature - can be in the form of documented poems, proverbs, idioms, stories, songs,
myths, riddles, and other artful forms of knowledge passed down from generation to generation.

◦ “The Ant and the Grasshopper” – one of Aesop’s fables

about the grasshopper who plays all summer, the ant who
prepares for the hard time ahead, and the winter that greets
them both.
 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDYING FOLK
LITERATURE

As folktales were passed down over

generations, they modeled behaviors and helped
reinforce expectations about how to live a
meaningful life.
 Folklore gives us the wisdom to understand
these moments from different points of view.

◦Folktales can be used to help children study other

cultural traditions, model positive character traits,
learn about the consequences of decision making,
and even develop stronger reading skills
 THEORIES RELATED TO
FOLK LITERATURE
ANCIENT THEORIES
◦ RATIONALISM THEORY
◦ ETYMOLOGICAL THEORY
◦ ALLEGGORICAL THEORY
◦ EUHEMERISM
1. Rationalism
According to this theory, myths represent an early
form of logical thinking: they all, have a logical base.
2. Etymological Theory
This theory states that all myths derive from and can be traced back to certain words in the
language. Sources of most mythological characters have their origins from the languages of
the world.

◦ For example, you could explain the name of the

goddess, Aphrodite by saying that she was born in
sea-foam, since aphros is the Greek word for sea-
foam.
 3. Allegorical theory
In the allegorical explanation, all myths contain hidden meanings which the narrative deliberately conceals
or encodes.

◦ For example, the surface story might be about two

neighbors throwing rocks at each other's homes, but the
hidden story would be about war between countries.
4. Euhemerism
Euhemerus lived from about 325-275 BCE author of a Utopian work
that was popular in the ancient world; his name was given to the theory
that gods are great men worshipped after their death (i.e., Euhemerism
).
His most important work was Hiera Anagraphe (probably early 3rd
century BC; “The Sacred Inscription”), 
Resources:
https://study.com/learn/lesson/folk-literature-overview
www.farmersalmanac.com/importance-folklore-modern-world

https://
www.slideshare.net/RichardBanez/myth-mytholog
y-and-folklore
www.slideshare.net/JHONKENETHAGUIRRE/
group-1-elt-212-pptpdf
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FOR
LISTENING !