We all must have heard stories from our parents and grandparents since childhood. Even nowadays, listening to stories is never going out of fashion because everybody loves hearing stories.
Stories are nothing but incidents or actions put to words.
Not everybody can have the talent to do the perfect storytelling because one must know how to grasp the listeners’ attention so the story becomes interesting.
Now, fables and myths are just some parts of stories because fables are known as short stories with a moral at the end, whereas myths were written down as short stories.
Myths are foundational tales like characters of gods, demigods, and such kinds of stuff. Myths can be true or false.
Key Takeaways
- Myths are traditional stories that explain the beliefs and customs of a particular culture, while fables are fictional stories with moral lessons.
- Myths feature gods and other supernatural beings, while fables feature talking animals or inanimate objects as their main characters.
- Myths are considered sacred and have a religious or spiritual significance, while fables are more lighthearted and intended for entertainment.
Fable vs Myth
A fable is a short story involving animals or inanimate objects that are personified like humans, with a moral lesson or message explicitly stated at the end. A myth is a traditional story that explains the origins of the world, natural phenomena, and cultural beliefs and practices.
It is said that myths can be true or false, but there has to be proof that a myth is false or else many people will believe that they are true, but fables are false stories.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Fable | Myth |
|---|---|---|
| Fictional or Non-Fictional | Fables are mostly fictional stories and are false. | Myths may be fictional or non-fictional because if its non-fictional, then there has to be proof to satisfy it. |
| About | Fables are stories that can be about anything. | Myths are stories that are about supernaturals or gods and demigods. |
| Moral or Lesson | Fables always have a moral or a lesson at the end of the story. | Myths can have a lesson to learn. |
| Word Origin | Fable comes from the Latin word ‘fabula’. | Myth, on the other hand, has originated from the Greek word ‘mythos’. |
| Handed Down | Fables continue generation after generation by passing them on from the older ones to the young ones. | Myths are passed down to the younger ones from their older one’s generation after generation. |
What is a Fable?
Fables are short stories with a moral or lesson to be learned at the end of the story.
Most of us have heard the story of ‘The Lier Shepherd Boy’, and this is what we call a fable because, in the end, the story had a moral to be learned.
However, fables and myths are not the same at all because fables are made up and are fictional and made for kids. They are false stories and are said to the younger ones.
Younger ones learn that they should not make mistakes by listening to the story’s morals.
Fables are interesting to hear because the stories are short and are made for kids. Fables mainly consist of animals, things, and natural things that give a moral lesson.
Fables can also include kings and queens, and fables can be found in most other cultures.
Well, nowadays, stories are told to entertain people and if you notice that most of the stories will have a lesson to be learned.
Stories are heard not only by kids, but many adults also love to hear stories nowadays.
Listening to stories can sometimes be relaxing. Some stories can be useful to listen to because they have cultural values to share or some educational content.
What is a Myth?
On the other hand, myths are also a type of story, but they are mostly related to supernatural forces like gods, demigods, and other such kinds of stuff.
The myth originated from the Greek word ‘mythos’ and has a history about it.
The myths were stories that were the personification of things and the natural forces worshipped by the people.
Myths can vary from place to place or from person to person because myths are beliefs of a person that has been carried down from generation to generation.
In a country like India where people worship where Hindus worship more than 33 million gods, there can be billions of myths.
No one can say that myths are real or fake because people will demand proof that they are real.
However, without any proof, many people believe myths, and they try to pass them on to their younger ones and then to their younger ones.
Each culture will also have a story to tell about how their gods were created or how they created the Earth and the whole solar system.
Myths are also very interesting to hear, and they can be told to kids as well because they can have the opportunity to learn new things.
Myths have huge knowledge about one’s culture and their gods, but that also depends on many things.
Main Differences Between Fable and Myth
- Fables are fictional and false stories, whereas myths can be true or false. Suppose faithful must have some proof to prove it.
- Fables are stories about natural things like animals, human beings, kings and queens and such kinds of stuff.
- Myths are stories about gods and demigods or supernatural forces or super-humans.
- The word myth comes from the Greek word ‘mythos’, whereas fable comes from the Latin word ‘fabula’ means a narrative tale.
- Both fables and myths are told by older people to their younger ones and continue to be generation after generation.
- https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED178660
- http://ices.library.ubc.ca/index.php/criticaled/article/view/186116
Last Updated : 11 June, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
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