2007-06-25 22:04:23 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
A myth is a story with a purpose. It tries to explain the way the world is. Myths also try to explain the relationship between gods and humans.
A fairy tale is a story, usually told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as: fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants and others. Also, it often involves princes and princesses. American fairy tales normally have a happy ending, but German and other European tales most often have a bad ending (e.g., a girl plays with matches and burns the house to the ground)
2007-06-25 22:33:47 · answer #1 · answered by Sυ$ιє 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think there's a clear answer to your question. My feeling is that in most cases, such a line is impossible to draw. A fairy tale is a culturally specific story that reflects the myths held by that culture. A myth is a story that helps explain the world as seen by the people who hold it. So they're pretty close. My personal feeling is that a myth is less concrete than a tale. It's the structure more than the story itself. The framework we use to make sense of our lives. A fairy tale draws on those frameworks for illustrative purposes.
I'll try to give an example. Take Little Red Riding Hood. Keep in mind this is my interpretation -- it's perfectly fine for others to disagree. The fairy tale uses the story of the girl and wolf to teach the importance of caution and individual responsibility. So the tale teaches those lessons. But it functions by appealing to the myth that one should must be responsible and careful in order to live a good life. The tale is the structure. The myth is how you draw meaning from it. Both are stories, but the tale is specific, while the myth is more general.
Hope that's helpful.
2007-06-25 22:20:06 · answer #2 · answered by ahiddentableau 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Myth is very closely connected to religion. The myths of the Greeks told of the creation of their world, the acts of their gods and their heroes, much like our Bible does today. Every culture has myths, and will connect them with their religion.
Fairy tales are similar, but have nothing to do with religion. They are often stories with a message, a way to teach children what to do and not do. They also often involve magical items and creatures, whereas in myth a hero would not need a magical item as he would have a particular strength or skill that he used. The assumption that they all end happily ever after is completely wrong. The full tale of Sleeping Beauty involves a mother-in-law who is an ogre, and wants to eat Sleeping Beauty's children.
Sometimes myth and fairytale collide. If you read Homer's Odyssey, it is a classic Greek myth, and yet it has some stories in it that have jumped right out of international folklore and fairytale, such as the story of Polyphemus the Cyclops, and the magic boat of the Phaecians.
If you wish to know more, a good book on the subject is 'The Folktale' by Stith Thompson.
Hope I helped.
2007-06-25 23:43:40 · answer #3 · answered by benjamin_83 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A fairy tale is a fantasy story, usually with a happy ending.
A myth usually has a basis in fact. I answered this question before and some got upset, but this is the truth. A myth is a story that is not Judeo/Christian in origin. All stories were reduced to myth in order not to conflict with the teachings of the Church. In many cases, indigenous beliefs were incorporated into the Church in order for the Church to gain more members. Slowly, over time, many of the old stories were forgotten, or they became myth.
Myths were a way to tell young ones about a culture that was supposedly lost, but really went underground. The Church frowned on what they called "superstition and heresy", but turned a blind eye to bedtime stories.
2007-06-25 22:46:21 · answer #4 · answered by tsalagi_star 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A myth is thought to be true, even if it isn't or has a possibility of being true. A fairy tale is a nice story that might have a message but is known to be made up.
2007-06-25 22:16:46 · answer #5 · answered by jeffreyb 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
A fairy tale is a story & everyone knows it isn't true. A myth is a belief that something is true but isn't. For example, it was believed vitamin E was good for the heart but studies have proven that it is only a myth.
2007-06-25 22:45:33 · answer #6 · answered by Judith 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Fairy tales involves magical items and creatures like fairy, mermaid, elves, starts with "Once upon a time" and ends with " And they lived happily ever after".
Myths are just stories from the old, mostly heroic legends of the gods or leaders and they MOSTLY DO NOT live happily ever after.All I can say is that 90% of the protagonists die at the end in myths.
2007-06-25 22:15:52 · answer #7 · answered by Reyen 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Good question. I think a myth is a story told to explain something otherwise currently unexplainable, such as Greek and roman gods explain why the sea is turbulent(Poseidon) or why we have seasons(Persephone). On the other hand,a fairy tale is a story told to entertain, or convey a message or lesson. An example would be the Pied Piper of Hamelin, teaching children to honor their word.
2007-06-25 22:12:27 · answer #8 · answered by Cali_wife12306 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Myths are anything in the world that could be plausible and possibly can be explained by everything we know. A fairy tale is something that is so far-fetched it surpasses the qualification of anything like a myth and turns into something explicable but not plausible at all!! Hope this helps!!!! :)
2016-04-01 04:56:41 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fairy tale ends well myth not always
2007-06-25 22:08:03 · answer #10 · answered by maussy 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋