The difference between myth and fairy tale is not obvious. For a modern person, both types of narration tell about miracles, adventures of heroes (people, animals or gods) endowed with supernatural qualities. However, if you look closely, the difference between a myth and a fairy tale is not so difficult to notice. This also applies to the legend. The myth can be called the ancestor of both genres. Each of them has something from the ancestor, but both the fairy tale and the legend differ from it in a whole set of features.
Source
The myth is the result of a rethinking by people of all the phenomena that occur before their eyes, which determine or accompany life. Initially, he performed the functions that science has taken on today. The myth explained what, where and why it comes from, by what rules the universe lives, how it all began. Today we perceive it as a beautiful narrative about cosmic processes or a somewhat naive representation of our ancestors about the etiology (origin) of individual objects and phenomena. In ancient times, myths acted as a concentration of worldview truths, opposed to ordinary understanding.
Plots
Myths of different nations always tell about distant, prehistoric times. One of their most important functions is to explain the occurrence of things, living things and natural phenomena. The most common mythological plots are the origin of the world, gods and heroes, the appearance of the first people and so on.
The reality of the events described in the myth was not questioned. A case in point is the works of ancient philosophers. For Herodotus, Titus Livius and other historians of antiquity, it was myths that served as the main source of information about the past.
The plot is based on the close relationship of the real and invisible worlds. Moreover, the second is almost always determined by the first. Myths tell about otherworldly creatures, their features and ways of interacting with them. They explain how to worship the gods, how they can appease or anger.
Successor
The similarities and differences between myths and fairy tales, at least their essence, become intuitive after identifying the more ancient component of this pair as a concentrated form of worldview and the main thoughts of the distant ancestors of modern peoples. We will designate them more specifically.
Tales from myth grow. This position is supported by most researchers of the issue. They borrow many stories, some heroes. Tales always have a magical, fantastic component in their composition. This is their similarity with their "ancestor."
Fiction and fiction
In order to understand how to distinguish a myth from a fairy tale, it is necessary to pay attention to the content of the story, as well as its purpose. If you recall Cinderella, a girl with matches, or any story involving Baba Yaga, in no example will you be able to find explanations for natural or cosmic processes. Tales do not set forth the structure of the world and do not talk about the origin of living things or objects. Moreover, even in the most ancient times, they, with the exception of very young children, did not seem to be a story about real events. The difference between a myth and a fairy tale is that the events described in the first were not questioned. A fairy tale by both the narrator and the listener was initially defined as fiction.
A fairy tale is a lie, but a hint in it
One of the goals of the existence of well-known stories about Little Red Riding Hood or Ivan the Fool is to entertain the audience. However, the role of fairy tales in our life is not limited to this. They do not describe cosmic laws, but explain many social, family, tribal, social principles and norms. A common plot is the oppression of the heroine by her stepmother and her daughters. Researchers often interpret it as a narrative of the likely consequences of a marriage with representatives of a too distant tribe.
Many fairy tales tell about the ups and downs of heroes who are at low steps of the social ladder (and this is another difference between the myth and the fairy tale: in the first, the heroes often initially have a number of advantages over other characters). Ivan the fool, orphans, offended and deprived in the course of history after tests and meetings with wonderful assistants receive wealth, princess and half the kingdom in addition. Many stories that describe events in a particular family, in fact, tell about processes of a tribal or national scale. Some, however, present to the listener a personal story from which everyone can isolate something useful for themselves.
Profane and Sacred
The difference between a myth and a fairy tale can be summarized as follows:
- a fairy tale - fiction, myth - a reality for our distant ancestors;
- a fairy tale is created, read and listened for entertainment, the myth belongs to the sacred area, in some cases not even everyone was allowed to know it;
- the tale tells of personal grief or the happiness of characters, family or tribal history, the myth focuses on global events, its heroes are always endowed with superhuman properties;
- a fairy tale teaches, describes social processes, a myth explains the structure of the world.
The difference between a myth and a fairy tale by the example of stories set forth by the Brothers Grimm and antique plots is easy to see. However, this is not always the case. Archaic tales, which appeared first, grow directly from the myth and often borrow heroes and plot logic from it. But even in this case, upon a detailed examination, we can identify elements that turn the sacred narrative into a simply interesting story with meaning.
Legend
The difference between a myth and a fairy tale lies in the time of the events described. The first tells of an ancient era. The plot of a fairy tale, as a rule, is timeless: it is practically impossible to determine when certain events occurred. The same applies to the scene. A characteristic feature of the legend - another genre that in the minds of many is identical to myth - is precisely time. The described events occur in a certain historical era. The accuracy of dating is rarely in doubt. And here lies the similarity of myths and legends: they are thought of as a description of real events. Common to the two genres is the presence of a fantastic component.
The difference between a myth and a legend and a fairy tale lies in the plot. The first, as has already been said, tells of the acts of heroes and gods, which are reflected in the entire Universe and explain one or another of its laws. The legend sets out historical events that happened to people, often often taking place in reality. They are often embellished and complemented by spectacular details, mystical and fantastic elements.
Traditions
A legend, like a fairy tale, loses an element of sacredness. Her characters act at a later time than in myth, time. Often their existence in reality is proved by many other sources. Moreover, in the European tradition, legends told about the acts of the characters of the sacred history. The narratives of the events of worldly life were called traditions. Often such a description was not accompanied by fantastic additions.
Traditions and legends are not distinguishable from each other in all cultures. The border between them can only be drawn in a society where the early mythological systems were replaced by a new single religion (Christianity or Islam).
Mythology and religion
If the difference between myth and fairy tale in literature is not obvious to many, then the border separating myth and religion is even more invisible to a person inexperienced in the matter. Throughout history, many scholars have dealt with this topic. Some tried to purify religion from the impurity of mythology, others extolled the second and were incredulous about the first. Today, a deep connection between these two concepts and systems is obvious to researchers.
As already mentioned, myths act as the equivalent of modern science at a certain stage in the development of mankind. They explain the structure of the world and in this function are far from religion. At the same time, myths substantiate norms of behavior and customs. They justify the immutability of many social rites and prohibitions, endow them with sacredness. This is how religious customs grow from myths. The sequence of ritual actions, the need for prohibitions are due to the fact that this is what the gods or heroes acted in, captured in myth. However, religion cannot be called secondary education. For many followers of one or another cult, mythology did not matter much. Her narrative did not have to be believed. Important in this case was worship of the gods and knowledge of the ritual. Thus, religion and mythology maintained a certain independence from each other in the early stages of society. And in most cases it is impossible to determine the primacy of one in relation to the other.
The difference between a myth and a fairy tale and religion, from a legend and a tradition becomes clear only after a detailed examination of each category separately. The myth can be called the progenitor of almost all literary genres and even the art of narration. The situation is somewhat different with religion. Mythology is closely connected with it, but is not its source. She explains many religious rites, but often turns out to be an unnecessary, aggravating component.