Traditional Literature!

Traditional Literature


You have probably heard of tales like 'Cinderella' and the 'Three Little Pigs', but do you know how many times they have been retold? Stories like these are part of the genre known as traditional literature, which are stories that have been passed down through generations. Much of traditional literature was initially told orally and written down later on. Because of this, the stories are often altered slightly in each retelling. The purpose of traditional literature is having the story be relatable to everyone. For this reason, universal themes are important to the genre. Some common themes include good versus evil, the weak versus the strong, the beautiful versus the ugly, and the rich versus the poor. Even if the characters are magical or nonhuman, the message of the story is always one that the majority of people can understand and value. Traditional literature can fall into a number of categories: proverbs, fairytales, folklore, fables, animal tales, myths and legends, etc.

                                             

The story of the "Three Little Pigs" is a tale about three pigs that upon setting out from their mother's home each build a home, one made of hay, another made of twigs and the third one made of bricks. They are soon attacked by a wolf that wants to eat them.

                                           

The wolf tries to gain entry to the house by asking to come in, but the first pig, which lives in a house made of hay, refuses. The wolf responds by blowing the house down and then eating the first pig. The wolf then goes to the next pig's house, which is made of twigs. The second pig believes he is safe from the wolf because he made his house from twigs instead of hay. However, the wolf is also able to blow down the house made of twigs and the second pig is eaten up.

When the wolf comes to the third pig's house, which is made of brick, he fails to blow the house down. The wolf becomes infuriated by this and instead decides to climb into the pig's chimney to get inside. As the wolf jumps into the chimney, the last surviving pig opens up the lid of his cooking cauldron. The wolf falls into the cauldron and dies, concluding the story.

Do you like Poetry?

Do you like poetry here or there? Do you like poetry anywhere? In Dr. Suess' Green Eggs and Ham, he incorporates poetry by having Sam I Am ask Mr. Negative if he likes green eggs and ham! The theme of this story is you never know if you like something unless you try it. Rhyme and meter are used in this book for example, "Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox?" With the ending word of each line rhyming. Would you eat green eggs and ham?

 




Dr. Suess is famous for his poetry and his stories are known for introducing children to tropes of poetry such as rhyming. My favorite book growing up was "The Cat in The Hat," as we had a woman come into our class dressed up as The Cat in the Hat and read to us.