Degree Name
BA
Department
English
College
Humanities
Defense Date
2022-03-16
Publication Date
2022-03-25
First Faculty Advisor
Eric A. Eliason
First Faculty Reader
Christopher Blythe
Honors Coordinator
Aaron Eastley
Keywords
supernatural, legend, folk group, interpretation, folklore
Abstract
A range of interpretations can characterize supernatural legends as religious or non-religious—or somewhere in between. Religious audiences quickly categorize supernatural religious legends as such, but they hesitate when interpreting supernatural non-religious legends and supply multiple interpretations. Folk group paradigms influence these interpretations, and a variety of factors in turn influence which paradigms are used. The most important of these factors is a hierarchy of folk groups, which each individual has uniquely created and to which they refer when interpreting stories and experiences. When the most important of these folk groups fails to fully interpret a narrative, individuals will use folk groups lower in the hierarchy. Individuals can apply multiple folk groups simultaneously.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Kimball, Melanie, ""I Don't Believe One-half of It Myself": The Role of Folk Groups in Supernatural Legend Interpretation" (2022). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 216.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/studentpub_uht/216
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/uht0244