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Folk Literature: Definition & Books

Chapter 19 /  Lesson 16
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Instructor: Joshua Wimmer

Joshua holds a master's degree in Latin and has taught a variety of Classical literature and language courses.

From China to Israel to the United States, folk literature exists wherever there are humans to tell stories or to sing songs. Come hear more about these pieces of oral heritage and encounter some examples of the genre that you're sure to recognize!

Writing the Unwritten: Folk Literature Defined

Do you remember any of the old melodies that your grandparents used to hum, or maybe you had an uncle who caught a record fish on every trip? These and likely many more of the stories and songs you've ever heard are examples of folklore: oral traditions of singing or storytelling. When we write down these songs or stories, the resulting preservation of oral traditions is known as folk literature.

So, what's the big difference, right? Well, let's consider this question: Who 'wrote' it? Some of the earliest Western examples of folklore that we're still aware of can be found in the epic poems of Sumer (Gilgamesh) and Greece (Iliad & Odyssey). Although people have tried to attribute these massive works and other folk songs to a single author for millennia, the truth is we simply can't do that with any amount of certainty. This is because folklore - as a heritage that is traditionally passed on vocally rather than by the written word - is truly a product of a culture, not an individual. Folk 'literature' on the other hand can be said to be a writer's version of songs or stories that were previously circulated only by mouth. For instance, we might be familiar with the Grimm brothers' version of the fairy tale Cinderella, but many other forms of this story have existed, as well.

Since antiquity, people have attributed the Greek epics to the blind bard Homer (above), though it is obvious they are a part of a much larger oral tradition.
Bust of Homer

Aside from folk songs and fairy tales, folklore comes in all shapes and sizes. We can expect then the same sort of variety in folk literature. In the U.S. alone, there are thousands of folktales, narratives often involving humans performing superhuman tasks (i.e. the tornado wrangler, Pecos Bill). Many of these have found their way into collections of such stories or have been transmitted through an author's reinterpretation of the tradition (i.e. Mark Twain). All over the globe, proverbs - sayings or stories meant to illustrate ethical issues - have also been carefully collected in volumes for many years. Books devoted to or incorporating things like fables, anecdotes, parables, or even jokes also serve to preserve these folk traditions.

With so many examples of folk literature to choose from, it's difficult to pick just a few to show you! Nevertheless, it will hopefully feel like meeting an old friend when you take a look at these familiar songs and stories.

Examples of Folk Literature

Bingo

Epic poems are by far not the only folk songs out there. For instance, there's this famous example that children have been singing since the 18th century. This beloved tune about a farmer's dog named 'Bingo' was first copied down in the 1780's and has seen many different changes over the years as it spread from Britain to America and other English-speaking areas. However, the dog's 'name-o' has always been the same!

Snow White

With enchanted mirrors, poisoned apples, and wicked stepmothers, the story of Snow White is your typical fairy tale, full of magic and fantasy. Of course, the Brothers Grimm were some of the first to record this German folklore in literary form during the 19th century. But many others since then have adapted this story in their own ways. For instance, the screenplays of the Disney and other screen versions of Snow White vary greatly between one another and the Grimm telling, but nonetheless serve to preserve this cherished story.

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