Narrative

The Development of Narrative

Folklore

Folklore is a narrative typically concerned with the mundane traditions of everyday life, but it evolves to express the dominant beliefs of the time. As the beliefs became more entrenched in the collective psyche, certain folklore stories gained importance for their moral message.

Storytellers passed on stories learned from others, creating a distance between the person who actually witnessed the story and the teller. Certain stories became distinguished from a chronicle as the telling became more formal and structured. This transformation gave stories a moral definition that lifted them above the banality of everyday life and a universality that made them worth repeating for generations as legends.

Legends

Legend, from Latin, legenda, 'things to be read‘, is a narrative of human actions perceived by both the teller and listeners as having taken place in human history and possessing qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. No events occur outside the realm of the possible - anything perceived as actually having happened. This may include unexplainable events such as miracles. Although a legend has some historical or geographical connection, it may attach imaginary events to real persons.

Fables

Legends that exceed these boundaries of 'realism' are called fables. Fable comes from Latin, fabula, meaning 'conversation', 'narrative', 'tale'. Although fables originate in human history and are presented in a conversational tone, they have become figurative or fictional stories. In a strict sense, a fable is a folk tale that embodies a moral, which may be stated explicitly at the end as a maxim. Human characters are often transformed metaphorically as animals that personify humans and interact with humans as equals. Inanimate objects may also be personified.

Myth

As societies evolved, they developed moral and ethical concepts to guide acceptable behaviour. Storytelling became an essential vehicle for transmission of these moral and ethical concepts, particularly in oral, non-literate societies. As stories were passed down through generations, the concept of the sacred developed and myths evolved.

Myths, from Greek mythos, meaning 'story, legend', are stories arranged in a coherent system (a mythos) that express spiritual or religious concepts through the adventures of supernatural, divine or heroic beings. These characters appear less interwoven with remembered history than those of legends. Often, the forces of nature and the soul are personified, as in fables. Persons may also be transformed metaphorically as animals or inanimate objects.

Myths have existed in all cultures since before recorded history. Mythic stories often begin by explaining creation, inexplicable natural phenomena, cultural conventions and anything else for which there is no simple explanation.

Although myths have been considered fabrications, modern research has discovered many correlations between mythological accounts and actual historical events. In fact, a method of interpretation known as euhemerism treats mythological accounts as reflections of historical events, shaped by retelling and transformation that give natural events supernatural characteristics.

Myths are considered sacred because people who attach religious or spiritual significance to them believe they are true. As societies became literate, moral and ethical concepts became codified and recorded in the written narratives of sacred texts such as the Bible, the Koran, and the Vedic texts.

Fiction

The ability to create fiction is often cited as one of humanity’s defining characteristics. Fiction, from the Latin fingere, 'to form, to create', is a story of imagined events that make no claims about reality. Fiction appeals because it can evoke the full spectrum of human emotions through imagined narrative. The source material for imagination can be as superficial as current memories and as deep-rooted as Freudian archetypes and Jungian symbolism.

Fiction is created largely as entertainment, although not all fiction is necessarily created for divertissement. Fiction may be created to educate or to serve as propaganda and advertising.

Urban Legends

Over time, fiction may blend with factual accounts and develop into legends and myths. Contemporary folklore includes fictional stories that those who circulate them often believe are factual. People frequently recite these urban legends, saying that they happened to a 'friend of a friend'. This apparent accountability adds force to the narrative by personalisation it. The way these stories spread shows that people take urban legends as true rather than recognizing them as tall tales or unsubstantiated rumours.

Urban legends are framed as stories, with plots and characters. They are often just extended jokes, told as if they were true events. The events are not necessarily untrue, but they are often distorted, exaggerated, or sensationalized. Urban legends often stem from fears and insecurities, and many are presented as warnings or cautionary tales. Like traditional legends, some urban legends also concern unexplained phenomena. The compelling nature of these stories, and their mystery, horror, or humour, makes them so attractive.