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How did myths, fables, legends, and fairy tales contribute to the modern short story?
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short story
American editor and anthologist Clifton Fadiman discusses the elements of a short story, 1980. The video features clips from EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica Educational Corporation's dramatizations of O. Henry's âThe Gift of the Magi,â Guy de Maupassant's âThe Necklace,â and H.G. Wells's âThe Magic Shop.â
Myths, fables, legends, and fairy tales form the essential milieu from which the modern short story emerged. While these older forms are not identical to the modern genreâwhich was defined in the 19th century by its focus on concise narrative, economy of setting, and realistic or subjective character developmentâthey provided the foundational tradition of brief fictional prose.12
These earlier narratives contributed to the modern short story in several key ways:
- Narrative Building Blocks: Early storytellers relied on stock phrases, rhythms, and motifs to construct and memorize tales, techniques that influenced the structure of later prose.3
- Symbolism and Allegory: Forms like the parable and allegory taught writers how to use simple, surface-level events to convey deeper moral, psychological, or ideological meanings.24
- Subjectivity and Imagination: Writers like Washington Irving and Nathaniel Hawthorne drew upon the surreal, dreamlike qualities of folklore to move beyond strict realism, allowing the short story to explore the inner workings of the human mind.2
- Transcultural Themes: The universal nature of folktales and their ability to cross linguistic boundaries established a repertoire of panhuman themes that continue to resonate in contemporary fiction.56