Eneh Akpan Writes: Myth, Legend, Fairy Tale, & Fable: What's the Difference?

Some basic similarities are apparent in these four categories of the traditional story but under careful scrutiny, the distinguishing characteristics are blown right out of the water.

Traditional stories were the basic means of preserving cultural values and the medium people of the medieval ages employed to keep the adventures of their heroes and account of their origins fresh and alive. They achieved this bit by transferring the vital part of their experiences from person to person by word of mouth.

A variety of sources, which I may be unavailable to provide, takes credit for much of the ideas in this article. I appreciate you people for the effort you took to enrich the internet with this invaluable info. And now to the business at hand.

What is a Legend?

Legends are stories passed down through generations, usually about heroic individuals, spectacular events, or powerful gods.— ask.com

“A legend is a story which is told as if it were a historical event, rather than as an explanation for something or a symbolic narrative. The legend may or may not be an elaborated version of a historical event. Thus, examples of legends are the stories about Robin Hood, which are set in a definite period, the reign of Richard I of England (1189-99)” - about.com

A legend may show some sort of proof that the events had occurred in the past. A legend belongs to a specific culture and the heroes of legends may be real people that actually existed and did heroic actions.

What is a Myth?

Myths are symbolic tales of the distant past (often primordial times) that concern cosmogony and cosmology (the origin and nature of the universe), may be connected to belief systems or rituals, and may serve to direct social action and values. Read more here http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~mmagouli/defmyth.htm

A myth has absolutely no proof to support its narrative. A myth is just ancient and belongs to humanity as a whole. While legends have human heroes, in a myth, we deal with supernatural beings, gods, and fantastic creatures that did not exist.

Briefly, we can say that a myth gives a religious explanation for something: how the world or a particular custom began. There is usually no attempt to fix the myth into a coherent chronology related to the present day, though myths or a cycle of myths may have their own internal chronology. The story is timeless in that the events are symbolic rather than just the way it happened. (I suppose I gleaned this one off about.com)

There are a number of general conceptual frameworks involved in definitions of myth, including these:

Myths are Cosmogonic Narratives, connected with the Foundation or Origin of the Universe (and key beings within that universe), though often specifically in terms of a particular culture or region. Given the connection to origins, the setting is typically primordial (the beginning of time) and characters are proto-human or deific. Myths also often have cosmogonic overtones even when not fully cosmogonic, for instance dealing with origins of important elements of the culture (food, medicine, ceremonies, etc.).
Myths are Narratives of a Sacred Nature, often connected with some Ritual. Myths are often foundational or key narratives associated with religions. These narratives are believed to be true from within the associated faith system (though sometimes that truth is understood to be metaphorical rather than literal). Within any given culture there may be sacred and secular myths coexisting.
Myths are Narratives Formative or Reflective of Social Order or Values within a Culture (e.g. functionalism).
Myths are Narratives Representative of a Particular Epistemology or Way of Understanding Nature and Organizing Thought. For example, structuralism recognizes paired bundles of opposites (or dualities -- like light and dark) as central to myths.
Mythic Narratives often Involve Heroic Characters (possibly proto-humans, super humans, or gods) who mediate inherent, troubling dualities, reconcile us to our realities, or establish the patterns for life as we know it.
Myths are Narratives that are "Counter-Factual in featuring actors and actions that confound the conventions of routine experience" (McDowell, 80).

Courtesy: http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~mmagouli/defmyth.htm

What is a Fable?

A fable is a short tale that provides the reader with a moral lesson by the end of the story.

Fables are generally regarded as fiction (no argument about that). The body of the story is like a premise that provides proof for the lesson at the end of the story.

The defining of the fable is the lesson it provides at the end of each story. The basic rule is that there must be some type of moral lesson imparted if the story must be considered a fable.

Length is another determining factor since fables are as a rule, really short stories.

The fable’s characters are usually (if not always) animals. The animals are given human qualities and they converse with each other. The entire cast of a fable never exceeds two characters, three at the most.

Fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as actors that assume speech and other powers of humankind. A fable as a fictional story may be in prose or verse and may include mythical creatures and inanimate objects given human qualities. The language of the fable is free flowing, tends to be simple and easy to read.

A fable is a myth, but it is told with the intent of teaching an important moral guideline. Fables are unique due to the presence of this moral lesson. the fable is comparatively sophisticated and does not originate as a folktale, though it may make use of folk material, and once composed may be absorbed into a culture and exchanged as traditional oral folklore.

What is a Fairy Tale?

Fairy tales are stories either created or strongly influenced by oral traditions. They have been passed down by word of mouth through the generations and nobody knows who the original author is.

Archetype characters in a fairy tales include witches and queens, giants and elves, princes, dragons, talking animals, ogres, princesses, and sometimes even fairies. The land of the fairy tale is the typical land of magic; a boy may become a bird; a princess may sleep for a hundred years; a seal may become a girl.

In fairy tales, mirrors talk, pumpkins become carriages, and a lamp may be home to a genie. French fairy tales were the first to be collected and written down.

A comparative study of fairy tales turned out to be quite amazing; study revealed that in places as distant and diverse as Egypt and Iceland similar fairy tales are told. Egypt, Iceland, China, England, Korea, Siberia, France, and Vietnam have "Cinderella" stories as do several other countries. There’s possibly a thousand versions of the Cinderella story, each with a unique telling which carries cultural information about the time and place the story was told.

A fairy tale often tells the story of an individual but focuses on a single event such as marriage as it takes into account the entire life of the hero or heroine.

The plots of a Fairy tale don’t take place in actual time, they are exclusive to “once upon a time.” They generally take place in a far-off time and place. In the land of fairy tales, magical happenings are the norm.

The traditional closing line of a fairy tale is, “and they lived happily ever after.”

Although, designed primarily for fun, fairy tales also contain a moral. “The Ugly Duckling,” for example, suggests that people considered unattractive or unpopular at childhood may discover their true worth and beauty in adulthood.

Some elements of a fairy tale is that the setting is usually within a castle, a forest, or a secluded town. It features at least, one good character and bad characters, as well, like the witch in “Hansel and Gretel.” One of the characters may be royalty. Fairy tale plots also feature animal characters like the big bad wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood,” or the bears in “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” And of course, there is a generous sprinkle of magic.

While myths and legends may be transmitted orally or in writing, folk tales tend to be transmitted orally, and they are more definitely regarded as fiction. Magic, magical creatures and magical people such as witches, dragons and dwarves are staple of a fairy tale rather than religion, which is the basis for myth. Folk tales can be any length and contain any amount or combination of characters. Fables are usually short tales that use animals with human qualities to convey a moral lesson, and contain at most, three characters. A fable is fiction just like the fairy tale, but it is told to impart an important moral guideline—this is the solitary most remarkable distinguishing characteristic of the fable.

Before I turn the page on this, here are the high points again. Legends are stories passed down through generations, are usually about heroes and their spectacular adventures, or supernatural entities like gods; myths represent a culture's beliefs and explain its customs; fables are conveyed for their moral values, while folk tales are all about magic, happy endings, and are fundamentally transmitted to give a sense of hope in human suffering.

Keep your pen bleeding!

Akpan