[00:00.00]Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a literature class.
[00:06.14]MALE PROFESSOR: Now, we can't really talk about fairy tales without first talking about folktales … because there is a strong connection between these two genres, these two types of stories. [00:16.07]In fact, many fairy tales started out as folktales.[00:19.99]So, what's a tale? [00:23.33]How would you characterize them? Jeff?
[00:26.21]MALE STUDENT: Well, they're old stories, traditional stories. [00:29.68]They were passed down orally within cultures, from generation to generation, so they changed a lot over time; [00:36.47]I mean, every storyteller, or maybe every town, might have had a slightly different version of the same folktale.
[00:43.36]MALE PROFESSOR: That's right, there's local difference, [00:45.99]and that's why we say folktales are communal.[00:49.40]By "communal," we mean they reflect the traits and the concerns of a particular community at a particular time. [00:58.20]So essentially the same tale could be told in different communities, with certain aspects of the tale adapted to fit the specific community. [01:06.14]Um, not the plot … the details of what happens in the story would remain constant; [01:13.19]that was the thread that held the tale together. [01:15.98]But all the other elements, like the location or characters, might be modified for each audience.
[01:22.60]OK, so what about fairy tales? [01:28.05]They also are found in most cultures, but how are they different from folktales? [01:35.16]I guess the first question is what is a fairy tale? [01:38.83]And don't anyone say, "a story with a fairy in it." Because we all know that very few fairy tales actually have those tiny magical creatures in them. [01:49.40]But what else can we say about them? Mary?
[01:52.95]FEMALE STUDENT: Well, they seem to be less realistic than folktales. Like they have something improbable happening—a frog turning into a prince, say. [02:01.04]Oh, that's another common element, royalty … a prince or princess. [02:05.52]And fairy tales all seem to take place in a location that's nowhere and everywhere at the same time.
[02:11.53]MALE PROFESSOR: What's the line, ah—[02:12.96]how do all those stories start? [02:14.70]"Once upon a time, in a faraway land …" In the case of folktales, each storyteller would specify a particular location and time, though the time and location would differ for different storytellers. [02:28.90]With fairy tales, however, the location is generally unspecified, no matter who the storyteller is … [02:36.00]that “land faraway.. ." We'll come back to this point in a few minutes.
[02:40.26]MALE STUDENT: Um, I thought a fairy tale was just the written version of an oral folktale.
[02:45.67]MALE PROFESSOR: Well, not exactly, though that is how many fairy tales developed. [02:51.34]For example, in the late eighteenth century, the Grimm brothers traveled throughout what's now Germany recording local folk tales. [02:58.76]These were eventually published—as fairy tales—but not before undergoing a process of evolution.[03:05.86]Now, a number of things happen when an oral tale gets written down.
[03:10.30]First, the language changes, [03:12.29]it becomes more formal, more standard—some might say less colorful. [03:18.27]It's like the difference in your language depending on whether you're talking to someone or writing them a letter.
[03:23.90]Second, when an orally transmitted story is written down, an authoritative version, with a recognized author is created. [03:32.58]The communal aspect gets lost; [03:34.99]the tale no longer belongs to the community; [03:37.84]it belongs to the world, so to speak. [03:40.50]Because of this, elements like place and time can no longer be tailored to suit a particular audience, [03:46.46]so they become less identifiable, more generalizable to any audience.
[03:50.97]On the other hand, descriptions of characters and settings can be developed more completely. [03:55.65]In folk tales, characters might be identified by a name, but you wouldn't know anything more about them. [04:01.63But in fairy tales, people no longer have to remember plots—[04:05.84]they're written down, right? [04:07.64]So more energy can be put into other elements of the story, like character and setting.
[04:13.27]So you get more details about the characters, and about where the action takes place, what people's houses were like, whether they're small cabins or grand palaces … [04:24.78]And it's worth investing that energy because the story, now in book form, isn't in danger of being lost, [04:30.94]those details won't be forgotten. [04:33.11]If a folk tale isn't repeated by each generation, it may be lost for all time. [04:39.17]But with a fairy tale, it's always there in a book, waiting to be discovered again and again.
[04:46.52]Another interesting difference involves the change in audience—[04:50.93]who the stories are meant for. [04:52.70]Contrary to what many people believe today, folktales were originally intended for adults, not for children. [04:59.49]So why is it that fairy tales seem targeted toward children nowadays?
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