Goergina abegail s.

caldamo English 38

MIDTERMEXAM

Relationofmythstoothernarrativeforms

InWesternculturethereareanumberofliteraryornarrativegenresthatscholarshaverelatedin

differentwaystomyths.Examplesarefables,fairytales,folktales,sagas,epics,legends,and

etiologictales(whichrefertocausesorexplainwhyathingisthewayitis).Anotherformoftale,

theparable,differsfrommythinitspurposeandcharacter.EvenintheWest,however,thereis

noagreeddefinitionofanyofthesegenres,andsomescholarsquestionwhethermultiplying

categoriesofnarrativeishelpfulatall,asopposedtoworkingwithaverygeneralconceptsuch

asthetraditionaltale.Non-Westernculturesapplyclassificationsthataredifferentbothfrom

theWesterncategoriesandfromoneanother.Most,however,makeabasicdistinctionbetween

“true”and“fictitious”narratives,with“true”onescorrespondingtowhatintheWestwouldbe

calledmyths.

Ifitisacceptedthatthecategoryoftraditionaltaleshouldbesubdivided,onewayofdoingsois

toregardthevarioussubdivisionsascomparabletobandsofcolourinaspectrum.Withinthis

figurativespectrum,therewillbesimilaritiesandanalogiesbetweenmythandfolktaleor

betweenmythandlegendorbetweenfairytaleandfolktale.Inthesectionthatfollows,itis

assumedthatusefuldistinctionscanbedrawnbetweendifferentcategories.Itshould,however,

berememberedthroughoutthattheseclassificationsarefarfromrigidandthat,inmanycases,

agiventalemightbeplausiblyassignedtomorethanonecategory.

Fables

ThewordfablederivesfromtheLatinwordfabula,whichoriginallymeantaboutthesameas

theGreekmythos.Likemythos,itcametomeanafictitiousoruntruestory.Myths,incontrast,

arenotpresentedasfictitiousoruntrue.
Fables,likesomemyths,featurepersonifiedanimalsornaturalobjectsascharacters.Unlike

myths,however,fablesalmostalwaysendwithanexplicitmoralmessage,andthishighlights

thecharacteristicfeatureoffables—namely,thattheyareinstructivetalesthatteachmorals

abouthumansocialbehaviour.Myths,bycontrast,tendtolackthisdirectlydidacticaspect,and

thesacrednarrativesthattheyembodyareoftenhardtotranslateintodirectprescriptionsfor

actionineverydayhumanterms.Anotherdifferencebetweenfablesandmythsrelatestoa

featureofthenarrativesthattheypresent.Thecontextofatypicalfablewillbeunspecificasto

timeandspace—e.g.,“Afoxandagoosemetatapool.”Atypicalmyth,ontheotherhand,will

belikelytoidentifybynamethegodorheroconcernedinagivenexploitandtospecifydetails

ofgeographyandgenealogy—e.g.,“OedipuswasthesonofLaius,thekingofThebes.”

Fairytales

Thetermfairytale,iftakenliterally,shouldreferonlytostoriesaboutfairies,aclassof

supernaturalandsometimesmalevolentbeings—oftenbelievedtobeofdiminutivesize—who

werethoughtbypeopleinmedievalandpostmedievalEuropetoinhabitakingdomoftheirown;

aliteraryexpressionofthisbeliefcanbefoundinWilliamShakespeare’sAMidsummerNight’s

Dream.Thetermfairytale,however,isnormallyusedtorefertoamuchwiderclassofnarrative,

namelystories(directedaboveallatanaudienceofchildren)aboutanindividual,almostalways

young,whoconfrontsstrangeormagicalevents;examplesare“JackandtheBeanstalk,”

“Cinderella,”and“SnowWhiteandtheSevenDwarfs.”Themodernconceptofthefairytale

seemsnottobefoundearlierthanthe18thcenturyinEurope,butthenarrativesthemselves

haveearlieranaloguesmuchfartherafield,notablyintheIndianKatha-saritsagara(TheOcean

ofStory)andinTheThousandandOneNights.

Likemyths,fairytalespresentextraordinarybeingsandevents.Unlikemyths—butlike

fables—fairytalestendtobeplacedinasettingthatisgeographicallyandtemporallyvagueand

mightbeginwiththewords“Onceuponatimetherewasahandsomeprince....”Amythabouta
prince,bycontrast,wouldbelikelytonamehimandtospecifyhislineage,sincesuchdetails

mightbeofcollectiveimportance(forexample,withreferencetoissuesofpropertyinheritance

ortherelativestatusofdifferentfamilies)tothesocialgroupamongwhichthemythwastold.

Folktales

Thereismuchdisagreementamongscholarsastohowtodefinethefolktale;consequently,

thereisdisagreementabouttherelationbetweenfolktaleandmyth.Oneviewoftheproblemis

thatoftheAmericanfolkloristStithThompson,whoregardedmythsasonetypeoffolktale;

accordingtothisapproach,theparticularcharacteristicofmythisthatitsnarrativesdealwith

sacredeventsthathappened“inthebeginning.”Otherscholarseitherconsiderfolktalea

subdivisionofmythorregardthetwocategoriesasdistinctbutoverlapping.Thelatterviewis

takenbytheBritishClassicistGeoffreyS.Kirk,whoinMyth:ItsMeaningandFunctionsin

AncientandOtherCultures(1970)usesthetermmythtodenotestorieswithanunderlying

purposebeyondthatofsimplestory-tellingandthetermfolktaletodenotestoriesthatreflect

simplesocialsituationsandplayonordinaryfearsanddesires.Examplesoffolktalemotifsare

encountersbetweenordinary,oftenhumble,humanbeingsandsupernaturaladversariessuch

aswitches,giants,orogres;conteststowinabride;andattemptstoovercomeawicked

stepmotherorjealoussisters.Butthesetypicalfolktalethemesoccuralsoinstoriesnormally

classifiedasmyths,andtheremustalwaysbeastrongelementofarbitrarinessinassigninga

motiftoaparticularcategory.

Adifferentandimportantaspectoftheproblemofdefiningafolktalerelatestothehistorical

originoftheconcept.Aswiththenotionoffolklore,thenotionoffolktalehasitsrootsinthelate

18thcentury.Fromthatperioduntilthemiddleofthe19thcentury,manyEuropeanthinkersofa

nationalistpersuasionarguedthatstoriestoldbyordinarypeopleconstitutedacontinuous

traditionreachingbackintothenation’spast.Thus,storiessuchastheMärchen(“tales”)
collectedbytheGrimmbrothersinGermanyarefolktalesbecausetheyweretoldbythepeople

ratherthanbyanaristocraticelite.Thisdefinitionoffolktaleintroducesanewcriterionfor

distinguishingbetweenmythandfolktale—namely,whatclassofpersontellsthestory—butitby

nomeansremovesalltheproblemsofclassification.Justasthedistinctionbetweenfolkand

aristocracycannotbetransferredfrommedievalEuropetoprecolonialAfricaorClassical

Greecewithoutriskofdistortion,sotheimportingofadistinctionbetweenmythandfolktaleon

thelaterEuropeanmodelisextremelyproblematic.

Sagasandepics

Thewordsagaisoftenusedinageneralizedandloosewaytorefertoanyextendednarrativere

-creationofhistoricalevents.Adistinctionisthussometimesdrawnbetweenmyths(setina

semidivineworld)andsagas(morerealisticandmorefirmlygroundedinaspecifichistorical

setting).Thisrathervagueuseofsagaisbestavoided,however,sincethewordcanmore

usefullyretainthepreciseconnotationofitsoriginalcontext.ThewordsagaisOldNorseand

means“whatissaid.”ThesagasareagroupofmedievalIcelandicprosenarratives;the

principalsagasdatefromthe13thcenturyandrelatethedeedsofIcelandicheroeswholived

duringthe10thand11thcenturies.IfthewordsagaisrestrictedtothisIcelandiccontext,at

leastoneofthepossibleterminologicalconfusionsoverwordsfortraditionaltalesisavoided.

Whilesagainitsoriginalsenseisanarrativetypeconfinedtoaparticulartimeandplace,epics

arefoundworldwide.Examplescanbefoundintheancientworld(theIliadandOdysseyof

Homer),inmedievalEurope(theNibelungenlied),andinmoderntimes(theSerbo-Croatianepic

poetryrecordedinthe1930s).Amongthemanynon-EuropeanexamplesaretheIndian

MahabharataandtheTibetanGesarepic.Epicissimilartosagainthatbothnarrativeforms

lookbacktoanageofheroicendeavour,butitdiffersfromsagainthatepicsarealmostalways

composedinpoetry(withafewexceptionssuchasKazakepicandtheTurkishBookofDede

Korkut).Therelationbetweenepicandmythisnoteasytopindown,butitisingeneraltruethat
epicscharacteristicallyincorporatemythicaleventsandpersons.Anexampleistheancient

MesopotamianEpicofGilgamesh,whichincludes,amongmanymythicalepisodes,anaccount

ofthemeetingbetweentheheroGilgameshandUtnapishtim,theonlyhumanbeingtohave

attainedimmortalityandsolesurvivor(withhiswife)ofthefloodsentbythegods.Mythisthus

aprimesourceofthematerialonwhichepicdraws.

Legends

Incommonusagethewordlegendusuallycharacterizesatraditionaltalethoughttohavea

historicalbasis,asinthelegendsofKingArthurorRobinHood.Inthisview,adistinctionmaybe

drawnbetweenmyth(whichreferstothesupernaturalandthesacred)andlegend(whichis

groundedinhistoricalfact).Thus,somewritersontheIliadwoulddistinguishbetweenthe

legendaryaspects(e.g.,heroesperformingactionspossibleforordinaryhumans)andthe

mythicalaspects(e.g.,episodesinvolvingthegods).Butthedistinctionbetweenmythand

legendmustbeusedwithcare.Inparticular,becauseoftheassumedlinkbetweenlegendand

historicalfact,theremaybeatendencytorefertonarrativesthatcorrespondtoone’sown

beliefsaslegends,whileexactlycomparablestoriesfromothertraditionsmaybeclassifiedas

myths;henceaChristianmightrefertostoriesaboutthemiraculousdeedsofasaintaslegends,

whilesimilarstoriesaboutapaganhealermightbecalledmyths.Asinothercases,itmustbe

rememberedthattheboundariesbetweentermsfortraditionalnarrativesarefluid,andthat

differentwritersemploytheminquitedifferentways.

Parables

Thetermmythisnotnormallyappliedtonarrativesthathaveastheirexplicitpurposethe

illustrationofadoctrineorstandardofconduct.Instead,thetermparable,orillustrativetale,is

used.FamiliarexamplesofsuchnarrativesaretheparablesoftheNewTestament.Parables
haveaconsiderablerolealsoinSufism(Islamicmysticism),rabbinic(Jewishbiblical

interpretive)literature,Hasidism(Jewishpietism),andZenBuddhism.Thatparablesare

essentiallynon-mythologicalisclearbecausethepointmadebytheparableisknownor

supposedtobeknownfromanothersource.Parableshaveamoresubservientfunctionthan

myths.Theymayclarifysomethingtoanindividualoragroupbutdonottakeontherevelatory

characterofmyth.

Etiologictales

Etiologictalesareveryclosetomyth,andsomescholarsregardthemasaparticulartypeof

mythratherthanasaseparatecategory.Inmodernusagethetermetiologyisusedtoreferto

thedescriptionorassignmentofcauses(Greekaitia).Accordingly,anetiologictaleexplainsthe

originofacustom,stateofaffairs,ornaturalfeatureinthehumanordivineworld.Manytales

explaintheoriginofaparticularrockormountain.Othersexplainiconographicfeatures,suchas

theHindunarrativeascribingtheblueneckofthegodShivatoapoisonhedrankinprimordial

times.Theetiologicthemeoftenseemstobeaddedtoamythicalnarrativeasanafterthought.

Inotherwords,theetiologyisnotthedistinctivecharacteristicofmyth.

Source:(EncyclopediaBritannicaMyth)https://www.britannica.com/topic/myth/Relation-of-

myths-to-other-narrative-forms
SAMPLESOFMYTHS,LEGENDS,EPICSANDHEROTALES,FABLES:

SAMPLEOFMYTH-GREEKMYTH:MythofHercules

Hercules(knowninGreekasHerakles)wasademi-god,asonofZeus.Heisknownforhis

manyadventurescompletingthe12laborssetbyEurystheus,suchashisdefeatofthenine-

headedHydra,capturingtheErymanthianBoar,bringingbackCerberusfromtheunderworld,

andstealingcattlefromthefearsomemonsterGeryon.

ShortStory:Hercules

ThisShortStoryHerculesisquiteinterestingtoallthepeople.Enjoyreadingthisstory.

Herculeswasastrongandbraveman.HelivedinGreece.TheKingwasjealousofHercules.

PeoplemightmakeHerculestheKing.ThereforehewantedtogetridofHercules.Heset

difficulttasksforHerculestokeephimawayfromthecountrysothathewouldnotbea

possiblethreattohim(theKing).

OnceheaskedHerculestogetthreegoldenapples.Sometreesweresaidtobeargoldenapples.
ThesetreesweresaidtobeinaplacecalledHesperides.Butnooneknewthewayto

Hesperides.SotheKingthoughtofHesperides.Herculeswouldbeawayforalongerperiod.

Herculessetoutonthejourney.Atfirsthemetthreemaidensduringthejourney.Hercules

askedthemthewaytoHesperides.Theytoldhimtoasktheoldmanofthesea.Buttheyalso

warnedhim,“Holdtheoldmanoftheseatightly.Otherwisehewillescape.Nooneelseknows

theway."

Herculessawtheoldman.Hewassleepingontheshore.Hewaslookingstrange.Hehadlong

hairandabeard.Herculeswalkedtohimwithoutmakinganynoise.Thenheseizedhimvery

firmly.

Theoldmanoftheseaopenedhiseyes.Hewassurprised.Hechangedhimselfintoastag.He

triedtofreehimselffromthegripofHercules.ButHerculesheldhimtight.Thentheoldman

changedhimselfintoasea-birdandthentootheranimalforms.Buthecouldnotfreehimself

fromtheclutchesofHercules,becauseHerculeswasmakinghisclutchestighterandtighter.

FinallytheoldmansaidtoHercules,“Whoareyou?Whatdoyouwantfromme?"

Herculesreplied,“IamHercules.TellmethewaytoHesperides."

Theoldmansaid,“Itisanisland.Goalongthesea-shore.Youwillmeetagiant.Hewillshow

youthewaytoHesperides."

Herculescontinuedhisjourney.Hemetthegiant.Thegiantwasveryhugeandstrong.Hewas

sleepingontheshore.Herculeswokehimup.Thegiantwasangry.HestruckHerculeswitha

club.Herculeschargedatthegiant.Heliftedthegiantandthrewhimdown.Butthegiantgotup

immediately.Hehadbecometentimesstronger.Herculesthrewhimdownagainandagain.But

eachtimethegiantroseupmuchstronger.ThenHerculesliftedthegianthighupintheair.But

hedidnotthrowhimdown.Thegiantslowlylostallhisstrength.HenowpleadedwithHercules

toputhimdownontheearth.HerculesaskedhimtotellthewaytoHesperides.Thegiantasked

HerculestomeetAtlas.HetoldhimthewaytotheplacewhereAtlaswas.
Herculescontinuedhisjourney.He,atlast,metAtlas.

“Whydoyouwantthegoldenapples?"askedAtlas.

“MyKinghasorderedmetogethimthesethreegoldenapples,"saidHercules.

“Itisalongwayfromheretothatplace.OnlyIcangothere.Holdthisskyforme.Ishallget

themforyou,"saidAtlas.

Herculesagreed.Heheldtheskyonhisshoulders.Atlaswalkedaway.Hewasbackinashort

time.HeputdownthethreegoldenapplesatthefootofHercules.HerculesthankedAtlas.He

requestedAtlastotakebacktheskyfromhim.

“Takebackthesky!"saidAtlascunningly.“Ihavehelditforathousandyears.Ishallcomeback

afteranotherthousandyears!"

HerculeswasastonishedatwhatAtlastoldhim.Buthedidnotexpresshisastonishment.He

recoveredhissensesandreplied,“Oh!Inthatcase,willyoupleaseholdtheskyforalittlewhile?

Ishallmakeapadformyshoulderstosupportthesky.ThenIshalltakebacktheskyfromyou."

ThusHerculestalkedveryquietly.

Atlasagreed.AtlastookbacktheskyfromHercules.Herculesimmediatelycollectedthethree

goldenapples.HebidAtlasgoodbyewithamischievoussmileonhisface.Thehewalkedaway

towardsGreeceleavingAtlasspeechlessandsurprised.

HerculesreachedhishomelandGreeceaftermanydaysoftravel.Hegavethethreegolden

applestotheKing.TheKingwassurprisedtohavegotthegoldenapplesfromHercules.He

washappy.Buthepretendednottohavebeensatisfied.Buthesecretly,hewasplanningto

sendawayHerculesawayonanotherperilousadventure.