EXPLORING TRADITIONAL
& CLASSICAL LITERATURE
Folktales, myths, legends, & fairy tales
SYNOPSIS
 Students explain how authors use personification and hyperbole to
create meaning in literary texts.
 Students also analyze the unique stylistic elements of traditional
and classical literature.
GENRES
 Fairy tales are fictional stories in which magical things happen.
"Cinderella" is an example of a fairy tale.
 Myths and legends are stories that often attempt to explain why
things are the way they are now. For example, a myth might try to
explain why the sky is blue through an interesting story. A legend
might explain why bears hibernate in the winter.
 Folktales are stories handed down from earlier times, especially one
popularly believed to be historical.
REVIEW
 Personification: making it seem like a person
 Hyperbole: exaggeration
Stylistic Elements:
TYPES OF STYLISTIC ELEMENTS IN
TRADITIONAL/CLASSICAL LITERATURE
 Rule of three
 Magic helper
 Frequent use of rhyme and repetition
 Reflects the culture in which the story originated
 Good vs. evil- good usually wins
 Magic doesn’t work in the end for evil person
 Evil spells can be overcome by love or sacrifice
Rule of
Three
The rule of three is a writing strategy that suggests that things
that come in threes are naturally funnier, more satisfying, or
more effective than other numbers of things. The reader is also
more likely to process information if it is written in groups of
threes. From slogans ("Go, fight, win!") to character groupings,
many things are structured in threes. There were the Three
Musketeers, the Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three
Bears, the Three Blind Mice, and even the Three Stooges.
A series of three is often used to create a progression in which
the tension is created, then built up, and finally released (such
as in “The Three Little Pigs” or “Goldilocks and the Three
Bears”).
In storytelling in general, authors often create triplets or structures in three parts – which is even seen in the
parts of a story…beginning, middle, and end.
“Jack and the Beanstalk” showed Jack climbing the
beanstalk three times. The wicked stepmother visited
Snow White in the forest three times before she finally
caused her to fall to her death. In the “Wizard of Oz,”
Dorothy is only able to return home to Kansas after
clicking her ruby slippers together three times,
chanting, “There’s no place like home.”
In most folklore, there are three tasks which
have to be performed to reach a certain goal.
Magic
helper
Many fairy tales have a typical list of
characters that often include the protagonist
(or hero), a princess (or some other “damsel
in distress”), a magic helper, and an
antagonist (or villain).
The magic helper is a character – whether
supernatural, human, or animal – who
possesses an extraordinary kind of power
that often assists the hero or heroine
throughout his/her journey within the story.
Magic helpers, such as the
“Fairy Godmother” in Cinderella, allow for
things to occur within a story that would
otherwise be impossible. The magic helper is
the element that usually links the genres of
fairy tales & fantasy fiction.
Magic helpers often assist other characters
with their problems, allowing the plot to
progress and the conflict(s) to be resolved.
Think about it:
Would Cinderella have ever been able to make it to
the ball on time if the Fairy Godmother’s wand
hadn’t turned the pumpkin into a coach, her rags
into a dress, and the mice into horses?
Would Pinocchio have been able to turn into a
“real boy” without the blue fairy’s help?
Would Aladdin have been able to end up with
Jasmine if it hadn’t been for the genie?
Though the stylistic elements of “Rule of
Three” and “Magic Helper” aren’t used
in fiction as often as foreshadowing,
flashback, symbolism, and theme, it’s
important to recognize them as a part of
the collection of strategies that fictional
writers use to make their stories
interesting.
RHYME & REPETITION
Rhyme
Repetition
Reflects the culture in which the story originated
Good vs. evil- good usually wins
Magic doesn’t work in
the end for evil person
EVIL SPELLS CAN BE
OV E R C O M E B Y L OV E O R S A C R I F I C E
ANALYZING STYLISTIC ELEMENTS IN
TRADITIONAL/CLASSICAL LITERATURE
1. Identify the stylistic elements
1. Identify the function of the element in the text
1.
Explain how stylistic element enhances the literature
STUDENT ASSIGNMENT
 Students fold the construction paper into three columns.
 Students label the first column “Type” the second column
“Specific” and the third column “Effect”
 Students select a traditional or classical story from the collection.
 Student read the story.
STUDENT ASSIGNMENT
 Students record three types of stylistic elements found in their
story in the first column of their tri-fold display.
 Students record the specifics of the stylistic elements in the second
column.
 Students record how the stylistic elements affect the story in the
third column.
STUDENT ASSIGNMENT
stylistic element
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Example: “Brave”
TYPE
SPECIFIC
EFFECT
Good vs. evil- good usually
wins
Meridia wins/evil witch
loses!
Why did the author have
this happen? What does it
“add” to the story”
Rule of three
Siblings are identical
triplets: Hamish, Hubert
and Harris
Why did the author have
this happen? What does it
“add” to the story”
Evil spells can be overcome It is only after Merida
by love or sacrifice
breaks down in tears and
reconciling with her
mother that Elinor is
transformed back (from a
bear to a human!) along
with the triplets, and the
family is reunited.
Why did the author have
this happen? What does it
“add” to the story”