Forms of Fiction

What are the different types of

fiction?
The Oldest Forms of Fiction

Myths and Epics
Fables
Folk Tales, Fairy Tales,
and Legends
What Are the Forms of Fiction?

Fiction Today

Short Story
Novel
Novella
Other Forms of
Fiction
These stories have traveled
The oldest stories come from the oral tradition
knowledge and wisdom that have been passed
down by word of mouth.
The Oldest Forms of Fiction

from generation
to generation
from culture
to culture
The oral tradition brings us many different types of
fictional stories.
The Oldest Forms of Fiction

[End of Section]
Myths and Epics
Folk Tales, Fairy
Tales, and Legends
Fables
Our ancestors created stories called myths to
explain the world around them.
Myths and Epics

The characters in myths include gods and
goddesses, monsters, and heroes.
Myths and Epics

Myths answer big questions such as,
Myths and Epics

Where do
we go when
we die?
Why do
we fall in
love?
How can we
tell right
from
wrong?
How did we
learn about
fire?
How was
the world
created?
What makes
the sun
rise?
Epics were originally long
poems about the deeds of
heroes.
Gods and heroes of myths often appear in long
stories called epics.
Myths and Epics

Epic heroes possessed
qualities valued by
their cultures.
Hero: Achilles
Qualities: brave, fierce warrior
Culture: ancient Greece
What questions
does this myth
answer?
Quick Check
The Titans were gigantic beings who
inhabited Earth a long time ago. The
Titan Prometheus and his brother
Epimetheus were given the task of
making human beings. To set these
human creatures apart from all other
animals, Prometheus gave them a
special gift. He went up to heaven,
lighted his torch at the chariot of the
sun, and brought down fire to man.
[End of Section]
Myths and Epics

The fable is another kind of story told all over
the world.
Fables

A fable is a very brief
teaching tale.
It presents a lesson about
life, usually warning us
about human weaknesses.
Many fables end with a moral, a statement of the
lesson they teach.
Fables

Look before you leap.
What is the
moral of this
fable?
Quick Check
The Fawn and His Mother
A young fawn once said to his Mother, "You
are larger than a dog, and swifter, and
more used to running, and you have your
horns as a defense; why, then, O Mother! do
the hounds frighten you so?" She smiled, and
said: "I know full well, my son, that all you
say is true. I have the advantages you
mention, but when I hear even the bark of
a single dog I feel ready to faint, and fly
away as fast as I can." No arguments will
give courage to the coward.
[End of Section]
Fables

enchanted princesses, elves,
and giants
A folk tale is a fictional tale that has been passed
down orally through generations of storytellers.
Folk tales usually feature
elements such as
Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, and Legends

genies, flying carpets, and
magic lamps
talking animals and three
magic wishes
A special form of folk tale is the fairy tale.
Fairy tales usually start with the
words Once upon a time.
Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, and Legends

fantasy
They usually involve
a conflict between good
and evil
a happy ending
A legend is a folk story with elements of fantasy
but some basis in historical fact.
Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, and Legends

Legends become more
exaggerated and less accurate
the longer they are told.
King Arthur may have been a real
leader in 6
th
-century Britain.
He didnt really pull a magic sword
out of a stone.
Quick Check
[End of Section]
Which of these
sentences is most
likely the beginning of
a fairy tale? Which
sounds as if it is part
of a legend?
A.
The lumberjack Paul Bunyan
was so big and strong that he
could straighten out a road
just by pulling on it.
B.
Once upon a time, a king
suffered from a mysterious
illness caused by a magical
curse.
Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, and Legends
When people talk about fiction today, they usually
mean short stories and novels.
Fiction Today

You can also experience
fictional worlds in
movies and TV shows
comic books and
graphic stories
video games
Readers often place fiction into specific categories.
Fiction Today

Short stories usually
focus on
A short story is a brief storyabout five to twenty
pages longthat you can read in one sitting.
Short Story

[End of Section]
one or two main
characters
one main setting
one main theme
A novel is a fictional story that is more than one
hundred pages long.
Novel

[End of Section]
Compared to a short story,
a novel
has more characters,
settings, and themes
has a more complex plot
and more detailed
characters and settings
A novella is shorter than a novel but longer than
a short story.
Novella

[End of Section]
A novella is often published
with a collection of short
stories or
as a small book by itself
Fiction takes many other forms, too.
Other Forms of Fiction

[End of Section]
dramas
radio and
television
scripts
narrative
poems
(poems that
tell a story)
Youll find some of these forms in your textbook.
graphic stories
and novels
comic strips
Quick Check
[End of Section]
What Are the Forms of Fiction?

Which items on the right are forms of fiction? Select
the correct items to complete the diagram.
Fiction
folk tales
?
?
?
novels
graphic
stories
legends
?
biographies
fables
novella
essays
myths
short stories
Analyze Forms of Fiction

Your Turn
Find at least one example of a movie, TV show, or book
for each type of fiction listed below. Explain your
choices to the class.
adventure mystery
fantasy science fiction
historical fiction romance
The End