ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Myths, legends, fables and folktales are types of stories originally passed by word-of-mouth, but are now found in writing. They vary in their subject matter, from explaining the natural world and delivering life lessons, to exaggerated events and people grounded in history.

Detailed explanation-2: -The fable is part of an oral tradition as its earliest forms were circulated through oral transmission. In ancient Greece, for example, Aesop’s fables were only collected and written down around 900 BCE-roughly three centuries after Aesop’s death.

Detailed explanation-3: -Definition of fable-A short allegorical narrative making a moral point, traditionally by means of animal characters who speak and act like human beings. Examples: Aesop’s Fables, Definition of folktale-A traditional narrative, usually anonymous, handed down orally-e.g., fables, fairy tales, legends, etc.

Detailed explanation-4: -Myths, fables and legends are part of a community’s oral tradition. They are narratives that serve to describe or explain specific episodes from one generation to the next, always stressing their cultural values.

Detailed explanation-5: -A legend in literature is a traditional story or group of stories told about a particular person or place. Formerly the term legend meant a tale about a saint. Some legends are the unique property of the place or person that they depict.