World Myths and Folktales Unit Vocab #1

Question 1

Oral Tradition

Answer 1

A way stories are passed down from generation to generation. It is a way cultural traditions and knowledge are passed down orally.

Question 2

Myth

Answer 2

An anonymous traditional story that explains a belief, custom, or mysterious natural phenomenon.

Question 3

Folktale

Answer 3

A story created by the common people and passed around orally from generation to generation. Includes folktales, fables, tall tales, fairy tales, and ghost stories.

Question 4

Origin myth

Answer 4

A story that explains how something began.

Question 5

Archetype

Answer 5

A pattern or model that serves as the basis for different, but related, versions of a character, plot, or theme

Question 6

Motif

Answer 6

Recurring story features

Question 7

Trickster

Answer 7

Ambivalent figures who tend to leave trouble and chaos behind wherever they go. Rebel against authority or social convention. Not always evil.

Question 8

Motivation

Answer 8

The reasons for a character’s actions

Question 9

Plot

Answer 9

The sequence of events in a story. Series of connected events that make up a story

Question 10

Mythic Hero

Answer 10

Hero usually has a remarkable birth of childhood, and is often the offspring of a god and a human being. Allows them to have mortal and immortal powers.

Question 11

Folktale Hero

Answer 11

A very ordinary person, who may be neglected or a step-child. They don’t have superpowers, but are out of the ordinary in other ways.

Question 12

Quest

Answer 12

A journey taken in search of a person or object of great value

Question 13

Characterization

Answer 13

The process by which an author reveals a character’s personality

Question 14

Monomyth

Answer 14

A monomyth is the story of a hero’s journey

Question 15

Hubris

Answer 15

A word used to describe someone with excessive pride or overconfidence