ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Legends are usually very old stories with little or no evidence to prove them. Legends are often passed on by word-of-mouth. They are very similar to myths. Legends can also be famous or historically significant people, places, art, etc..

Detailed explanation-2: -Myths and legends began to be recorded just as soon as humans mastered the technology of writing. Often the very first texts were hymns to the gods or collections of mythological stories that became organised into cycles, explaining how the world was created, how humans came into existence or why Death is necessary.

Detailed explanation-3: -Examples of legends are Ali Baba, the Fountain of Youth, Paul Bunyan, Bogeyman, Kraken, Sirens, Atlantis, the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and Yeti. Some legends are stories about real people; others are not. Odysseus and Robin Hood for example may have been real but most the stories about them are definitely fiction.

Detailed explanation-4: -So let’s do a quick review: Myths are stories that are passed down about how or why something came to be. Legends are designed to teach a lesson about a real person in history, with a few facts dramatically changed.

Detailed explanation-5: -The central figures in legends were actual people once, and stories built up around them as time went on. The folkloric version of gossip, if you will. This is important as, unlike other tale types, legends are rooted in reality.