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Author
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Comment
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AsheLeBeau
Registered User
(8/22/03 11:18 pm)
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Fairy Tail Elements vs. Inspiration
I was wondering if anyone could give me their definitions of "Fairy Tale Elements." Magic, godmothers, evil step-parents, moral lessons etc...
Also what is your opinion of a story that incorporates fairy tale elements or themes wihtout being based on a pre-existing myth or classic story?
Thirdly, is it possible for a story to be written without being based, in some way, on a pre-existing story? Do all modern fairy tales come from those before?
I guess this is a lengthy post, but what the hey! We seem a loquatious lot! Enjoy!
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JoanneMerriam
Registered User
(8/23/03 10:20 am)
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Re: Fairy Tale Elements & Inspiration
Doubt it's possible to list all possible elements, but you've got a good start on common ones. I'd add kings, queens, princes, princesses, three brothers, malicious or absent parents, dragons, beasts, blacksmiths, magic items, helper characters...
Not sure what you're asking with your second question.
Thirdly... I don't know. I don't think this is a question that's limited to fairytales, though. I'm a writer, and although I rarely consciously base my stories on somebody else's work, it's easy to look at a story after it's written and see where certain elements are similar to elements in other narratives. I think that's unavoidable, since we all live on the same world and no matter what country or culture you're from there's always going to be commonalities, even if only from the natural world.
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AsheLeBeau
Registered User
(8/23/03 2:04 pm)
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Re: Fairy Tale Elements & Inspiration
I guess I should clarify.
1. What do you consider Essential Fairy tale elements?
2. What do you think of modern stories that incorporate fairy tale elements, but are not themselves based on a specific tale i.e. "Where the Wild Things Are"?
3. Well, I think that even though I posted this at 4 am I managed to get this one across. HA!
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Rosemary
Lake
Registered User
(8/23/03 10:49 pm)
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Propp's elements
1. What do you consider Essential Fairy tale elements?
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See Vladimir Propp's MORPHOLOGY OF THE FOLKTALE. Max Luthi has good things to say also.
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janeyolen
Registered User
(8/24/03 12:21 am)
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Depends...
I think if this is a homework assignment, we should be told that.
Jane
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wrightales
Registered User
(8/26/03 8:36 am)
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Re:modern fairytales
You would have to turn to Jung, Joseph Campbell, Bettelheim, or Jack Zipes for anything like a full answer to the question of fairy tale elements. But contact with magic for good or ill and the overcoming of impossible obstacles by an apparently powerless character are at the heart of most--if not all--fairytales.
There are many writers using the fairytale format in one way or
another to create original fairy tales today including Jane Yolen
( I especially love The Girl Who Cried Flowers) and myself. You
can get a glimpse of mine at wrightales.com
I hope this helps
Lisa
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AsheLeBeau
Registered User
(8/26/03 12:23 pm)
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Re: Re:modern fairytales
This is in not a homework assignment. I was interested in everyone's opinion on the topic.
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Rose Deo
Unregistered User
(8/26/03 2:51 pm)
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elements
I'd add Tolkein's paper "tree and leaf" which I think adds a great deal to the debate of how to define a fairy tale. I agree with the other statments here by Rosemary and Lisa etc about the usefulness of looking at the psychoanalytic and structural interpretations of fairy tales as well, although they are not without their own problems. Perhaps it depends also on whether you are after more global definitions of the elements, or if you want a more specific outline of the plot structure of fairy tales.
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janeyolen
Registered User
(8/27/03 2:34 am)
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Re: elements
Sorry, it was the one, two, three format and the formal wording of the questions that sounded like homework to me. I apologize for mistaking it. (I get an awful lot of email from kids asking for help with their homework so they don't have to read my books!)
Jane
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Aliera
Registered User
(8/27/03 6:44 am)
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Re: Fairy Tale Elements & Inspiration
Have you seen the essay "Fairy Tale and Fantasy: From Archaic
to Postmodern" by Maria Nikolajeva in Marvels and Tales?
It's more geared to Fantasy but you might find it interesting. Available
online at Project Muse.
muse.jhu.edu/journals/mar...t17.1.html
Abstract:
The essay discusses the ontological, structural, and epistemological differences between fairy tales and fantasy literature, two genres often treated together in critical works. Using contemporary theories of the fantastic, it is argued that unlike fairy tales, with their origin in archaic thought, fantasy literature is firmly anchored in twentieth-century science and philosophy, especially the postmodern concepts of uncertainty, intersubjectivity, heterotopia, and heteroglossia. The characteristic features of postmodern fantasy literature are illustrated by the works of Diana Wynne Jones, Philip Pullman, Susan Cooper, and Russell Hoban
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