Main DIFFERENCES between STORY and LEGEND- SHORT SUMMARY !!

In the wonderful universe of literature, we meet different narrative subgenres that have some common characteristics but also have interesting differences that are worth knowing. This is what happens with the story and the legend, two types of narrations that are usually short and that have very different characteristics between them. In this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to discover what the difference between tale and legend knowing well the definition of each subgenus to better understand its nature. We started!

Index

1. What is a story: main characteristics
2. What is a legend: main characteristics
3. Main differences between tale and legend

Before starting to fully enter into the differences between tale and legend, it is important that we stop to know the definition of each of these subgenres since, knowing what they really are, we can better understand the differences that the make them unique.

The story is a type of subgenre within the narrative and that has a series of features that make it special. One of the most obvious is that it is a short character text (much shorter than the novel) and that, due to its brevity, has a minor incursion of characters, plots and settings. They can be stories for children or adults depending on the subject matter, stylistic resources, language, and so on.

But to differentiate the tale from the legend, let's talk about the most important elements that have the stories:

• Fiction: one of the elements that we must highlight the most is that the story is fiction, that is to say, it is an invention made by the author and that, therefore, does not have to be related to reality. Of course: it may be that the text is based on reality, but it may also be that everything it tells is fictitious.
• Storyteller: It is also important to note that the story has a storyteller, that is, a narrative voice that tells us the story. It can be counted in the third person (omniscient), in the first person or as if it were a witness who sees the events but there is always someone, a voice, who explains what is happening throughout history.
• Closed structure: the story structure it usually complies with the classic presentation-node-denouement structure, something that is not always necessary in the case of the legend.
• Authorship: It is also important to note that stories usually have an author who signs the story. This may not work for tales from the oral tradition or folk tales, but generally speaking, tales always have an author.
• Thematic freedom: It is also important to bear in mind that in the case of stories, the author can freely choose the topic he wants to talk about. You can choose a totally invented theme or be based on a historical person or real anecdote to, from there, create your fiction.
• Real characters or not: in stories, the choice of characters is also part of the author's own will. You can choose a real character and create a story about him or, if you prefer, choose fantastic or unreal characters.
• Objective of the storyAlthough there are stories that have a didactic or instructive purpose, the truth is that they are literary texts that do not pursue any other purpose than the merely literary one. If we are faced with texts with a final moral, then we are facing fables, not stories.

Continuing with this lesson on the difference between tale and legend, now we are going to focus on defining better the concept of legend and, thus, be able to understand the most outstanding characteristics of this type of text. We are also faced with a literary narrative that has a short duration and that, therefore, can easily be confused with a story. However, the legend has very particular and unique elements that differentiate it from the rest.

• Legend objective: We begin by talking about the objective pursued by the legend since it is not a literary will but what it wants is to tell us some real events with an instructive and teaching purpose.
• Reality-fantasy relationshipAlthough the legend also falls within the field of fiction literature, the truth is that it has a real and truthful basis. It is always based on real events or characters and tells a story that has some elements that really happened. Therefore, there is a close relationship between reality and fiction.
• Creative license: The great characteristic of the legend is that it is a text that, although inspired by real events, The truth is that it has creative licenses that add or modify facts and, thus, further enhance its message.
• Anonymous: the legends are not written by a specific author, they are usually anonymous and oral, that is, they have been passed from generation to generation.
• Specific topics: the topics that a legend is about always focus on telling us some heroic deeds that were carried out by real people. The objective of these narratives is, as we have already said, to transmit values, ideals of conduct, and so on.
• The time of the narration: in the legend, the time in which the story is inscribed is always very well marked since it is a text based on real events and where the story is of great importance. The time of the legend is in our past and, due to the distance from our reality, it may contain fantastic elements that give the narrative a more literary air.
• Heroic characters: It is also important to note that legends are usually starred by characters who commit heroic and outstanding feats. They are usually men or women who, due to their actions in the past, have become important characters in a culture. The Cid Campeador, for example, is the legendary character well known in Spain.

Image: Language and literature

Now that we know well what each of these subgenres is like, we are going to dive right into offering a list with the main differences between tale and legend. In this way, you will be able to understand the elements that make each of these texts unique.

The most prominent differences are the following:

• The narrative time: while in the legend time is always past and located in a real and truthful context, in the In the case of the story, this time can be whatever the author wants (past, present, future, real or imaginary).
• Authorship: a very important difference between a story and a legend is that the legend has no author, it is of oral tradition and, therefore, it is usually anonymous; instead, the story almost always has the signature of an author, a writer who is in charge of creating this fictional story.
• Characters: In the case of legends, the protagonists are always real characters who, due to their feats or their historical importance, have become well known. In the case of stories, the author can choose the character he wants, both real and invented; the story has greater creative freedom.
• Thematic: the legend tells us the adventures or feats carried out by a protagonist who actually existed; These feats are also inspired by reality, although they may include made-up elements. The stories can talk about the theme that the author wants.
• Structure: the story has a specific structure that is usually presentation-middle-end, instead, the legend usually presents with another structure that can begin with the denouement or the knot, rather than the presentation.
• Objective: Another important difference between a story and a legend is that the objective pursued with each of these texts is different. For example, the legend always seeks to instruct the reader in ethical or moral values; the characters are an ideal to follow and an example for the people. The stories do not pursue any other objective than the literary one, that is, to entertain the public and play with different stylistic resources.

Image: Slideshare

If you want to read more articles similar to Difference between tale and legend, we recommend that you enter our category of Literary concepts.