Folk literature

Osama Khadrawi  
Morocco

Folk literature is a mirror that reflects life in a particular society. Folk creativity includes folk music, folkdance, folk arts and folk literature, which is the focus of this study.

The study of folk literature must continue to develop because as technology develops, the results of heritage studies improve.

Regarded as one of the most significant and original heritage subjects, folk literature has been the subject of many studies. Folk literature is rich in symbols that depict man’s experience and his relationship to the world around him. Some of these symbols have become so widely understood that they have come to represent particular nations. When literary critics are unable to interpret a text, they attribute it to myths and folktales.

Folk myths, which contain a nation’s heritage, are credited with being the origin of symbols in literature. Folk literature reflects cultural, historical and intellectual heritage and passes on a nation’s thoughts, customs, traditions, tales, stories, genealogy and beliefs.

The study of folk literature sheds light on the cultural history of Moroccan society. It is the key to understanding contemporary culture and social structure, because this literature includes values and symbols represented in artistic ways and stylistic features; modern society is in grave need of these artistic features.