Fairy Tale
Last update: Friday 21st of November 2008
For other uses, see Fairy tale (disambiguation). For a comparison of fairy tale with other kinds of stories, such as myths, legends and fables, see Traditional stories. A fairy tale or fairy story is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, talking animals) and enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events. In modern-day parlance, the term is also used to describe something blessed with princesses, as in "fairy tale ending" (a happy ending) or "fairy tale romance", though not all fairy tales end happily. Colloquially, a "fairy tale" or "fairy story" can also mean any far-fetched story. Fairytales mostly attract young children since they easily understand the archetypical characters in the story. In cultures in which figures such as witches are perceived as real, and the teller and hearer of a tale see it as having historical actuality, fairy tales may merge into legendary narratives. However, unlike legends and epics, they usually do not contain more than superficial references to religion and actual places, persons, and events; they take place "once upon a time" rather than in actual times. The history of the fairy tale is particularly difficult to trace, because only the literary forms can survive. Still, folklorists have found these forms from every culture over many centuries. Thus the oral fairy tale may have existed for at least that long, although not perhaps recognized as a genre. The name "fairy tale" was first ascribed to them by Madame d'Aulnoy. Fairy tales, and works derived from fairy tales, are still written today. The older fairy tales were intended for an audience of adults as well as children, but they were associated with children as early as the writings of the précieuses; the Brothers Grimm titled their collection Children's and Household Tales, and the link with children has only grown stronger with time. Fairy tales of the past were disturbing by today’s standards and were in effect a way of teaching children and adults alike things to watch out for in the way in which the world works. For example, little red riding hood, in which the young girl strays from the path to grandma's house and ends up in bed with the wolf who 'eats her up' referring to a sexual act rather than just the act of physically eating her. Today's version has been turned into a children's story, where the original was quite gruesome. (See 'The Classic Fairy Tales' by Maria Tatar) Folklorists have classified fairy tales in various ways. Among the most notable are the Aarne-Thompson classification system and the morphological analysis of Vladimir Propp. Other folklorists have interpreted the tales' significance, but no school has been definitively established for the meaning of the tales.
Fairy Tale
A fairy tale or fairy story is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, witches, giants, and talking animals) and ...
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Fairy tale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Grimms' Brothers true fairy tales. Stories, timeline, maps, resources, and biographical information of Grimms'
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Brothers Grimm: Fairy Tales, History, Facts, and More
Vandergrift's Special Interest Page This site is no longer available.
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Vandergrift's Special Interest Page - No Longer Available
Portal to the realm of fairy tale and folklore studies featuring annotated fairy tales, numerous unique ebooks, illustrations, and a forum.
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SurLaLune Fairy Tales: Annotated Fairy Tales, Fairy Tale Books and ...
Two hundred and nine tales based on the translation by Margaret Hunt, called Grimm's Household Tales; available through the Universal Library.
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