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What Is A Legend

The legend is a folklore narrative transmitted orally that lies between the real and the fictional. It can be converted into text and contain historical or supernatural events. Each region has its own legends that are passed down from generation to generation, even if their truthfulness cannot be verified.

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25 views4 pages

What Is A Legend

The legend is a folklore narrative transmitted orally that lies between the real and the fictional. It can be converted into text and contain historical or supernatural events. Each region has its own legends that are passed down from generation to generation, even if their truthfulness cannot be verified.

Uploaded by

ScribdTranslations
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

What is a legend?

The Legend is a folktale that is transmitted in the form of


oral but it can also become a narrative text, already
whether in prose or verse. It is a story that is situated between the real
and the fictional, between true or verifiable facts (they can even
historical) and unexplained events, many times
supernatural.
Each region, according to its geography, culture, and religion, has its
own legends, and these are passed down from generation
in generation.
The veracity of the Legend is not verifiable; however, the
the community usually receives it as something possible, since the narration
often includes characters and landscapes of the surroundings, which gives it
credibility.

Etymology of the word Legend


The word Legend comes from the Latin legere, which meant
variable as it could be understood as 'to read' or 'to choose'. Near
From the 16th century, the verb takes on the character of 'Non-historical narration'.

Types of Legend
Depending on its theme and the area where it is told, the legend can
divide into several types:

The Religious Legend: This type of legend usually


collect information about some event such as the appearances,
episodes from the life of a saint, crying virgins,
diabolical pacts, sacred faces that can be glimpsed in, by
example, tree bark, moisture stains, etc.
The Eschatological Legend: It deals with the themes
endings, such as death, the Final Judgment, etc.
The Etiological Legend: An etiological legend intends
explain the origin of different natural elements, such as the
rivers, the mountains, some trees or animals.
The Local Legend: This type of legend is based on supposed
events that occurred in a particular area, and that are
widely disseminated in that community.
The Urban Legend: These legends are the most well-known,
since they tell stories that are common in many cities
and that usually have a terrifying character, like the legend of La
Llorona, or the one from The Coffee Stain. To be more effective
plausible stories often include modern elements in the plot,
such as cars, cell phones, etc.
The Rural Legend: It is the one told in communities of
field, and it is a kind of mix between local legend and the
urban. These legends usually talk about animals
beastly like El Familiar (diabolical animal), the Lobizón; or
about supernatural themes, such as spirits from beyond or the
Evil Light.

Characteristics of the Legend


At a grammatical and literary level, the legend has a great deal of
characteristics:

It can be a text in prose or in verse: The written legend


it is usually a prose text. But there are also some
legends in verse, some even set to music, like in the
case of“Anahí”, song that tells the legend of the flower of the
ceibo.
In general, they are simple and brief narratives: One must
note that they are stories of extensive oral tradition, that they
they transmitted from memory; it is simpler, then,
to remember them and transmit them if they are short and simple.
They leave a lesson: Among the most characteristic
important is the intention to leave a teaching, something
may it serve as a reflection for the people of the community.
They intend to create an impact: For the characters and
facts that involve, the narrator of a legend usually seeks
the amazement and often the fear of the audience.
The characters are often real: The protagonist many
sometimes it is someone who exists or existed in reality. Sometimes
he is an ordinary person and sometimes he is a historical figure, and
can achieve the character of a hero and perform some feat
impossible. This feat makes him worthy of great
honors for the generations that follow. It is well known that
the legend that surrounds Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, also called
"El Cid," to whom military victories were attributed even
after dead.
They are passed down through generations: Normally the legends
they are transmitted from one generation to the next among members
of a community or members of a religious tribe, a
society or a group of people who reside in the same
zone.
It is common for them to start with a filler: It is
characteristic of the legend that the narrator begins to
to tell it with already popular phrases, like for example 'Once upon a time'
"Over there in [...] they told me that..." or "The legend says that...".
Real geographical names: in the legends they usually
include characteristics of the environment and geography that
they tend to be real: a known lagoon is mentioned, or a
mountain, or a village, etc., to make the story more believable.
Some resort to magic: In the narration, many times
a miraculous or magical element appears. Some, like the
rabbit's foot or four-leaf clovers have remained in
collective imagination as lucky charms.
Transformations and enchantments are common:
Legends often speak of people who transform.
in animals or in plants, or that have died and return in form
of spirits, or those who are benefited or harmed by
magical enchantments or curses.
Sometimes they recount deep fears: It is characteristic that
there are legends that tell of overwhelming experiences, such as
endless persecutions, encounters with entities
malignant or monstrous, confrontations with facts
supernatural, etc.
Facts that explain the origin of a place or of things:
In some legends, very ancient stories are narrated that,
through fictional facts, they describe the birth of a
royal town. It is also often attempted to explain the color
particular of a flower or the particular traits of an animal,
as it happens with the legends of theWater Lily o
The Legend of the Hummingbird.

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