Week 7

Question 1

is the body of ancient stories and poems that grew out of the oral tradition of storytelling before being eventually written down. Having no known or identifiable authors, these stories and poems are attributed to entire groups of people or cultures.

Answer 1

Traditional Literature

Question 2

are two-dimensional and easily identified as good or bad.

Answer 2

Characters

Question 3

are short, simple, and direct; all but the essentials disappeared during countless retellings.

Answer 3

Plots

Question 4

is concentrated and fast paced, adding interest.

Answer 4

Action

Question 5

are unimportant and vague (“In the beginning . . .” or “Long ago in a land far away . . .”).

Answer 5

Settings

Question 6

is characterized by standard beginnings and endings (“Once upon a time . . .”),

Answer 6

Literary Style

Question 7

(recurring features such as the number 3), and repeated refrains (“Mirror, mirror, on the wall…”).

Answer 7

motifs

Question 8

are almost always happy (“. . . and they lived happily ever after.”).

Answer 8

Endings

Question 8

are limited (e.g., good overcomes evil, the small and powerless overcome the powerful, explanations for the ways of the world).

Answer 8

Themes

Question 9

Traditional literature includes several different types of stories, but because they were all shared orally for so long, they have many features in common:

Answer 9

Plots
Action
Characters
Settings
- Literary style
- motifs
Themes
Endings

Question 10

single origin

Answer 10

Monogenesis

Question 11

is still being created, particularly in cultures and countries where the oral tradition remains an important means of communication. In the United States, urban legends, jokes, and jump-rope rhymes are all part of the constantly evolving body of modern folklore.

Answer 11

Folklore

Question 12

Another theory credits the funda mental psychological similarity of humans for the similarity of their stories. ——— or “many origins,” holds that early humans had similar urges and motives, asked similar fundamental questions about themselves and the world around them, and logically created similar stories in response.

Answer 12

Polygenesis

Question 13

A version of a tale written in a style that will appeal to a contemporary audience but otherwise remaining true to the ancient tale.

Answer 13

Retold Tale

Question 13

The entire body of stories passed down from ancient times by the oral tradition. The term folktales is sometimes used synonymously with traditional litera ture, but we see it as a subcategory.

Answer 13

Traditional Literature

Question 14

A story that shares elements of plot or character with other stories and is therefore in the same “story family” but differs mainly by culture. There are hundreds of variants of “Cinderella,” for example, from all over the world, that originated in the ancient past.

Answer 14

Variant