Introduction
There are many types of genres (categories) that a story may fall into. In my essay below I am going to identify and discuss 5 of them, namely: - Myths, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Aesop Fables and Legends.
The myth genre includes seemingly historical stories, often supernatural in nature, and concerning the early history of a group of people. They are often used to explain the roots of a long standing cultural practice or of a natural or social occurrence. They frequently involve supernatural beings or events. Examples of myths include ‘Ancient Rome’ and ‘The myth of King Midas and his golden touch’.
The Fairy Tale genre consists of old-style, fictional stories that are written for children and normally involve a variety of make-believe characters and creatures (e.g. fairies, elves, talking animals, giants or witches) and often a bit of magic as well. They usually describe a fanciful story line which often happened long, long ago. An example of a fairy Tale is ‘Hansel and Gretel’ by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.
The Folk Tale genre consists of mythological short stories that are passed on verbally from generation to generation and often involve a lesson to be learned. There are many forms of folk tales, some of which are tall tales and ghost stories and often involve superstitions. An example of a folk tale is ‘The King’s Magic drum’.
Aesop’s fables are a group of stories thought to have been written by Aesop, a Greek slave and storyteller. The majority of his