LITR 4533:
TRAGEDY

Genre Presentation 2000

Stacey M. Burleson

Legend

Definitions:

* "Legends are events or stories which have grown to mythic proportions. They are closely associated with folktales, but usually on a heroic scale, as with Robin Hood. A collection of legends related to a culture's foundations and hero figures becomes a mythology. Legends generally are not born of nothing-there is usually some historical basis--but embellishment transforms them into a form of myth." John Clute and John Grant, eds. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.

* "Legend-traditionally narrative or collection of related narratives, popularly regarded as historically factual but actually a mixture of fact and fiction. A legend is set in a specific place at a specific time; the subject is often a heroic historical personage. A legend differs from a myth by portraying a human hero rather than one who is a god." http://www.encarta.msn.com

* "Myths are specific accounts of gods or super-human beings involved in extraordinary events or circumstances in a time that is unspecified but which is understood as existing apart from ordinary human experience." http://www.eb.com:180/bol/topic?eu=115608&

Related genres: Folktales, Mythology, Urban Legends, Fantasy, Saga.

Representational genre: dialogue + narrator.

Narrative genre: Arthurian legend (Lady of the Lake, Merlin) + Fantasy (magic).

Example: Robert Halmi, Sr., Merlin (1998).

Highlights of Example: historical basis, story of mythic proportion, elements of Arthurian legend and fantasy.

Additional examples of genre: Sir Thomas Malory, Le morte d'Arthur (1469-1470); Lord Alfred Tennyson, Idylls of the King (1859-1885); Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889); T.H. White, The Once and Future King (1938-1958); Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon (1982).

Research Sources: See above, plus web site: Legends

http://legends.dm.net/index.html

Questions:

Based on the example, what are the elements of Arthurian legend?

Why do you think this legend has maintained its appeal throughout the centuries?

Do you think the Arthurian legend will continue its popularity in the centuries to come?