A fairy tale's structure

A Russian method applied to American fairy tales

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book A fairy tale's structure by Helga Mebus, GRIN Verlag
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Helga Mebus ISBN: 9783638065290
Publisher: GRIN Verlag Publication: June 18, 2008
Imprint: GRIN Verlag Language: English
Author: Helga Mebus
ISBN: 9783638065290
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Publication: June 18, 2008
Imprint: GRIN Verlag
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Cologne, 8 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Fairy tales are an interesting genre to me, so I decided to look upon them in greater detail. To analyze a fairy tale's meaning seems to be a task almost impossible to fulfill, though. 'Every reader reads a different story. Writers who confidently tell us what fairy tales 'mean' are oversimplifying their complex, multilayered character,' states The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English (Watson 2001: 249) concerning the matter. Further on, it says that fairy tales 'do not contain meaning and they cannot impart meaning. They allow meanings to be made' (Watson 2001: 249). I began to wonder how fairy tales can be compared if not by their meaning and what they might have in common. The question leads to another approach on fairy tale analysis: a structural one. Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale gives a scheme for the structure of fairy tales; it will be described in the following chapter. His work was originally written for Russian fairy tales but could supposedly be applied to other ones, too (Propp 1968). Therefore, I decided to try it on a small collection of American fairy tales by L. Frank Baum to find out their structure. The collection is named American Fairy Tales and contains twelve short tales of various types. My interest lay in finding out if Propp's scheme can be applied to the considered American fairy tales by Baum. This would indicate that they have a similar structure as the tales Propp classifies as fairy tales. In the following, Propp's method will be described and is then applied to the tale 'The Queen of Quok' out of Baum's collection (1978: 43-61) in all detail. Further on, examples of the other tales by Baum and the results of their analyses according to Propp's scheme will be shown. Conclusions are drawn afterwards.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Cologne, 8 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Fairy tales are an interesting genre to me, so I decided to look upon them in greater detail. To analyze a fairy tale's meaning seems to be a task almost impossible to fulfill, though. 'Every reader reads a different story. Writers who confidently tell us what fairy tales 'mean' are oversimplifying their complex, multilayered character,' states The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English (Watson 2001: 249) concerning the matter. Further on, it says that fairy tales 'do not contain meaning and they cannot impart meaning. They allow meanings to be made' (Watson 2001: 249). I began to wonder how fairy tales can be compared if not by their meaning and what they might have in common. The question leads to another approach on fairy tale analysis: a structural one. Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale gives a scheme for the structure of fairy tales; it will be described in the following chapter. His work was originally written for Russian fairy tales but could supposedly be applied to other ones, too (Propp 1968). Therefore, I decided to try it on a small collection of American fairy tales by L. Frank Baum to find out their structure. The collection is named American Fairy Tales and contains twelve short tales of various types. My interest lay in finding out if Propp's scheme can be applied to the considered American fairy tales by Baum. This would indicate that they have a similar structure as the tales Propp classifies as fairy tales. In the following, Propp's method will be described and is then applied to the tale 'The Queen of Quok' out of Baum's collection (1978: 43-61) in all detail. Further on, examples of the other tales by Baum and the results of their analyses according to Propp's scheme will be shown. Conclusions are drawn afterwards.

More books from GRIN Verlag

Cover of the book Introduction to Tactile Alphabets. The Invention, Development and Structure of Braille by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Synthesis of New Magnetic Nanoparticles and Study their Effect on Prolactin Structure by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Steuerungsmöglichkeiten des Shareholder Value durch strategische Erfolgsfaktoren - Intangibles als Potentialfaktor zur Wertgenerierung und Wertsteigerung by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Wir schreiben ein Katzen-Haiku. Wir beschreiben das Bild `Zwei Katzen`von Franz Marc by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Carl Schmitt: Vor und nach 1945 by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Gesinnungswandel als Antwort auf die ökologische Krise by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Moralentwicklung nach Kohlberg. Stufen der Moralenwicklung by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Kreuzigung und Tod Jesu im Markusevangelium by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Ist 'Lesen durch Schreiben' (Jürgen Reichen) auch eine Alternative für legasthene Kinder? by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Schutz der Menschenwürde by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Beispielhafte Anwendung des 4CID-Modells by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Der Patient/Die Patientin in der evangelischen Krankenhausseelsorge - Theologische und seelsorgerliche Perspektiven by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Die Kanzlerin macht's, Obama tut es auch. Twittern by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Wie viele Bauklötze wiegt ein Meerschweinchen? Die Ausstellung 'Mathe-Kings & Mathe-Queens' zu Gast beim LVR by Helga Mebus
Cover of the book Das Scheitern des europäischen Gas-Pipeline-Projekts Nabucco by Helga Mebus
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy