Types of Tales
Tales are forms of stories that are typically oral and ephemeral and are told
and retold. A few extra non-traditional tales are included here.
Folk Tales: stories passed down through generations, mainly by telling
Legend: a story handed down for generations among a people and popularly
believed to have a historical basis, although not verifiable. About heroes,
individuals, or kings who lived before written record; embellished over time.
Myth: a traditional story of unknown authorship, ostensibly with a historical basis, but serving usually
to explain some phenomenon of nature, the origin of man or life and/or elements of nature (how
something came to be). Also can reveal the customs, institutions, religious rites of a people: usually
involve the exploits of gods and heroes.
Fable: a fictitious story meant to teach a moral lesson: the characters are usually talking animals, such
as fables written by Aesop (ancient Greece, 6th Century B.C.) or Jean de La Fontaine (French poet
and writer of fables, 1621-1695). Short, simple tales which teach a lesson; have few characters, often
animals; have a moral.
Parable: short, simple story, usually of an occurrence of a familiar kind, from which a moral or
religious lesson may be drawn
Fairy Tale: Entertaining stories which reveal a lot about human nature; always end happily; animals
may speak sometimes; wishes come true as a result of a test or struggle.
Tall Tale: Stories with the pioneer spirit; may be based on real characters but often deal with
exaggerated incidents or traits.
Trickster Tale: A Trickster is a mischievous or roguish figure in myth or folklore who typically makes
up for physical weakness with cunning and subversive humor. The Trickster alternates between
cleverness and stupidity, kindness and cruelty, deceiver and deceived, breaker of taboos and creator
of culture. Tricksters play an important role in the folklore and culture of the United States.
PourQuoi Tale: Also known as an origin story or an etiological tale, explains why something is the way
it is, for example why a snake has no legs, or why a tiger has stripes. A quasi-folk hero that at times
acts like a hero and other times acts like the fool.
Proverbs: A short pithy saying in frequent and widespread use that expresses a basic truth or practical
precept.
Noodlehead Story: - Stories that take hours, day, weeks, and even months to tell. Sometimes, stories
are told that are part of a saga.
_____________________________________________________________________
Riddles and Jokes: a mystifying, misleading, or puzzling question posed as a problem to be solved or
guessed : conundrum, enigma. Something said or done to evoke laughter or amusement, especially
an amusing story with a punch line.
Superstitions: A story centering around an irrational belief - i.e., one held in spite of evidence to the
contrary - usually involving supernatural forces and associated with rituals.
Anecdote: originally, an anecdote was a little-known, entertaining facts of history or biography; now,
a short, often entertaining account of some happening, usually personal or biographical
Epic: a long narrative poem in a dignified style about the deeds of a traditional or historical hero or
heroes; such as Homer's Iliad or the Odyssey, with certain formal characteristics (beginning in medias
res, catalog passages, invocations of the muse, etc.) (called classical epic) b) a poem like Milton‘s
Paradise Lost, in which such characteristics are applied to later or different materials (called art epic
or literary epic) c) a poem like Beowulf, considered as expressing the early ideals and traditions of a
people or nation (called folk epic or national epic) AKA Saga-Stories that take hours, day, weeks, and
even months to tell.
Drama: a literary composition that tells a story, usually of human conflict, by means of dialogue and
action, to be performed by actors; play; now often any play that is not a comedy
Tragedy: a serious play or drama typically dealing with the problems of a central character, leading to
an unhappy or disastrous ending brought on, as in ancient drama, by fate and a tragic flaw in this
character, or, in modern drama, usually by moral weakness, psychological maladjustment, or social
pressures (often seen as requiring catharsis, and a tragic flaw.
Farce: an exaggerated comedy based on broadly humorous or highly unlikely situations
Parody: a literary or musical work imitating the characteristic style of some other work or of a writer
or composer in a satirical or humorous way, usually by applying it to an inappropriate subject
Traditional Literature
Religious/Cultural Literature
Folklore
Folktales
Myths
Folktales
Creation stories
Nursery rhymes
Legends
Riddles
Tall tales
Jokes
Fairy tales
Noodlehead stories
Animal stories
Trickster tales
Superstitions