The main parts of a legend are the introduction, middle and end. The legend it is a narrative text and, as such, it has different parts and a structure that guarantees its effectiveness and dissemination.
Like all narration, it tries to relate a particular event that involves natural or supernatural actions, but placing them in a specific space and time, giving them a component of verisimilitude..
Often, they tell traditional events and that define the idiosyncrasy of a specific group.
The natural way of spreading the legends is through orality. For this reason, they are usually susceptible to having additions and omissions over time and it is common to find different versions of the same legend depending on the place or time where and when they are heard..
Unlike the myth that tells about the gods and cosmogony, the characters in the legends are human and represent characteristic types, such as heroes or wise men..
These heroic legends are grouped into sagas or cycles as in the case of the history of King Arturo or that of the Cid Campeador. They can also have a moralizing or religious function, as in tales of ghosts and other fantastic beings..
In most cases, the legends are based on a historical fact. However, the historical, due to oral tradition, tends to be transformed with errors, misinterpretations or exaggerations, whether involuntary or due to particular motivations or simply aesthetic.
All these characteristics give the legends a particular structure that, through certain strategies, allows their permanence in time..
Like any narrative text, the legend has three main parts, according to Aristotle: introduction, middle and end.
Also called exposure, orientation, or prothesis. Its main function is the presentation of the characters and the place and time where the actions are carried out. This introduction also serves to set the tone of the narrative..
In this first part, it is essential to show the conflict or motivation that will allow the plot to advance. The solution of this conflict is the main objective of the protagonist.
Also called development, complication, or epittasis. In this part there is an increase in the events that occur and that respond to the way in which the conflicts raised at the beginning will be solved.
The series of events that make up the knot, become more complex until reaching a climax or culminating moment where the most exciting events happen.
Also called resolution or catastrophe. The outcome entails a drop in the intensity of the plot product of the culmination.
Its role is to make sense of the experience. It can have an ending in the form of teaching or just to find out what happens to the characters once their objectives are achieved.
Given its nature, as already said at the beginning, it is common for legends to be about a hero and his adventures. In these heroic legends you can see what Joseph Campbell has called "the hero's journey.".
The hero's journey is a narrative structure that is present in many traditional and modern narratives, such as novels and films.
This journey consists of a series of steps and fundamental principles that the hero must overcome to reach his grandiose destination..
This way of organization in 12 steps, keeps an intimate correspondence with the structure in three parts.
1- The ordinary world: the function of this stage is to present the hero. He shows his interests and his limitations through his daily life. He is still an ordinary person and in a particular location.
2- The call to adventure: the hero's routine is suddenly interrupted. Suddenly you are presented with a problem or challenge that you must face and you have to decide whether to accept the call..
3- The rejection: in view of the sudden alteration of his stability, the hero prefers to reject the call. You decide to stay in your everyday world.
4- The help of the mentor: the hero finds someone or something that leads him to finally accept the call. It can be a person or supernatural help that fills you with security and conviction.
Get information you didn't know, discover a hidden talent, or do some training that makes you feel ready.
5- The crossing of the threshold: when the hero crosses this first threshold, he abandons everything known and commits himself to the adventure that awaits him.
On the other side, a different world awaits you, unknown, even magical. The rules and limits of this new world are not yet well defined.
6- Trials, allies, and adversaries: while on his way, the hero faces a series of trials, finds allies on his adventure, and runs into his adversaries. These situations and people help the hero to discover the rules of the world he is meeting..
7- The approach: having overcome the initial obstacles, the hero realizes that a greater challenge awaits him and begins to prepare for it. Overcomes the tests that are presented, makes new learnings and establishes new beliefs.
8- Calvary: the closer he gets, the hero is presented with a difficult or traumatic test that threatens him with death. Passing the test means a new life or a rebirth.
9- The reward: after his encounter with death, the hero overcomes the challenge and overcomes his fears. In return, he gets a reward that can be a physical object or a transcendental quality. And he earns it based on his skills and conscience.
10- The way back: once the reward is earned, the hero begins on the way back. The hero wants to complete the adventure and return to his ordinary world with his reward. The return journey can be as adventurous and dangerous as the outward journey.
11- The resurrection of the hero: upon reaching the threshold that means returning from the unknown to his ordinary world, the hero is severely tested one last time.
This test is an attempt to undo your previous achievements. At this point, the hero has come full circle, and the main conflict that caused him to set out on the journey is finally resolved. The hero must use all the resources and learnings that he collected along the way.
12- The return: the hero returns home with the reward and everything he has learned during the trip and uses it to help everyone. His ordinary world is changed by the hero's own transformation.
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