The Story of Lore

What does it mean?

Photo by robin mikalsen on Unsplash

Lore is the story that develops below the surface of a text. It is also what happens when a story takes on a life of its own.

What is the definition of lore?

Lore: a body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth. (Definition from Oxford Languages)

Where does lore come from?

As the definition above implies, lore is spread amongst groups of people. This is not a formal explanation or an original story. At one time, most lore existed only in the mind of humans. Now, it is different and often written down.

In our predominantly literate world, humans write down almost everything. We also like to share it online.

Q: Why do we do this?

A: Lore is the attempt to explain the meaning of a text.

What is a text?

For clarity, let’s consider what I mean by text. When we hear the word “text” in the modern world, most think about sending a typed message on our phones. If you have been away for a while, you should know that this is how most of us communicate. It is almost like talking to us.

In the field of critical analysis, a text is a media artifact. It can be a story, a book, a film, or a Netflix series. It could even be an advertisement or a photograph.

A text is a story.

We are calling these texts because they all do the same thing. They share information from one mind to the next. Texts are how humans communicate.

The Paradox of Texts

The nature of texts is meaning
People make texts to influence others.
People find different meanings in texts.

Considering this carefully, you will notice that almost everything humans do to communicate involves some influence. This isn’t necessarily a “good” or “bad” influence. It is just communication.

Here are some examples… All of these statements…