Read complete books and articles on: Folktales

Folktale - general term for any of numerous varieties of traditional narrative. The telling of stories appears to be a cultural universal, common to primitive and complex societies alike. Even the forms folktales take are demonstrably similar from culture to culture, and comparative studies of themes and narrative techniques have been successful in showing these relationships. Among the foremost folklorists of the 19th cent. were Oskar Dähnhardt in Germany, S. O. Addy in England, Paul Sébillot in France, and Y. M. Sokolov in Russia. Major 20th-century scholars in the field include Franz Boas, Richard Chase, Marie Campbell, and Stith Thompson. Folklorists make distinctions among the categories of folktales. Legends and traditions are narratives of an explanatory nature concerning creation and tribal beginnings, supernatural beings, and quasi-historical figures (e.g., King Arthur, Lady Godiva). These stories are related as fact and concern a specific time and place. Fairy tales are entirely fictional and often begin with such formulas as "Once upon a time…" and "In a certain country there lived…." Popular examples recount the supernatural adventures and mishaps of youngest daughters, transformed princes, mermaids, and wood fairies and elves (e.g., Cinderella, Rumplestiltskin, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Hansel and Gretel). Animal tales abound in every culture; most of them are clearly anthropomorphic, the animals assuming human personalities. Such tales are classified according to three subdivisions: the etiological tale, or tale concerning origins (e.g., Great Hare of the Native North Americans); the fable pointing to a moral (Aesop's fables); and the beast epic (e.g., Reynard the Fox; see bestiary). Myths, which are more difficult to define satisfactorily, treat happenings of a long-ago time; they generally concern the adventures of gods, giants, heroes, nymphs, satyrs, and villains, as well as etiological themes. See also mythology; monsters and imaginary beasts in folklore; elf; fairy; goblin; gremlin; troll.

Bibliography

See S. Thompson, The Folktale (1946); V. O. Binner, American Folktales (1966) and International Folktales (1967); R. M. Dorson, America in Legend (1974); H. Courlander, A Treasury of African Folklore (1975), A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore (1976), and The Tiger's Whisker and Other Tales from Asia and the Pacific (1995); A. Clarkson and G. B. Cross, World Folktales (1984).

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15 of the Best Books and Articles on: Folktales

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The Folktale » Read Now
by Stith Thompson. 510 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...contains an account of all the well-known folktales now current in countries belonging to...acquaint the reader with most of the great folktales of the world, not only for...
2.

Indexing Folktales: A Critical Survey: From the Past to the Present, in Journal of Folklore Research » Read Now
by Hans-Jorg Uther. 12 pgs.

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...Hans-Jorg Uther Indexing Folktales: A Critical Survey FROM THE PAST...mukashibanashi tsukan (Survey of Japanese Folktales; cf. Inada 1988) published 1977-90 in Tokyo, the...
3.

Bits and Pieces: Toward an Interactive Classification of Folktales, in Journal of Folklore Research » Read Now
by Max Louwerse. 5 pgs.

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...Toward an Interactive Classification of Folktales In these brief remarks I hope to underline...Instead of defining the variable units of folktales through time (cf. Propp...
4.

Mythology and Folktale Typology: Chronicle of a Failed Scholarly Revolution, in Journal of Folklore Research » Read Now
by William Hansen. 6 pgs.

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...Grimm published their collection of folktales in two volumes, Kinder- und Hausmarchen...how old and widespread the telling of folktales is, the question of genre, and the...
5.

Folklore in America: Tales, Songs, Superstitions, Proverbs, Riddles, Games, Folk Drama and Folk Festivals » Read Now
by Tristram P. Coffin, Hennig Cohen. 256 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library
6.

Myths, Legends, and Folktales of America: An Anthology » Read Now
by David Leeming, Jake Page. 228 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

This marvelous collection brings together the great myths and legends of the United States--from the creation stories of the first inhabitants, to the tall tales of the Western frontier, to the legendary outlaws of the 1920s, and beyond. This thoroughly engaging anthology is sweeping in its scope...
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This marvelous collection brings together the great myths and legends of the United States--from the creation stories of the first inhabitants, to the tall tales of the Western frontier, to the legendary outlaws of the 1920s, and beyond. This thoroughly engaging anthology is sweeping in its scope, embracing Big Foot and Windigo, Hiawatha and Uncle Sam, Paul Revere and Billy the Kid, and even the Iroquois Flying Head and Elvis. In the book's section on dogmas and icons, for instance, Leeming and Page discuss the American melting pot, the notion of manifest destiny, and the imposing historical and literary figure of Henry Adams. And under Heroes and Heroines, they have assembled everyone from "Honest Abe" Lincoln and George "I Cannot Tell a Lie" Washington to Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, and Martin Luther King, Jr. For every myth or hero rendered here, the editors include an informative yet readable excerpt, often the definitive account of the story in question. Taken as a whole, Myths, Legends, and Folktales of America reveals how waves of immigrants, encountering this strange land for the first time, adapted their religions, beliefs, and folklore to help make sense of a new and astounding place. Covering Johnny Appleseed and Stagolee as well as Paul Bunyan and Moby Dick, this wonderful anthology illuminates our nation's myth-making, enriching our idea of what it means to be American.
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7.

The Black Cloth: A Collection of African Folktales » Read Now
by Bernard Binlin Dadie. 140 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...BLACK CLOTH A Collection of African Folktales Bernard Binlin Dadie Foreword...increasingly significant role in broadcasting folktales. Let us hope Le Pagne noir in...
8.

Chinese Folktales: An Anthology » Read Now
by Yin-lien C. Chin, Yetta S. Center, Mildred Ross. 180 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

"Flows with the naturalness of conversation". -- The Small Press Book Review
"Translated with simplicity and lucidity". -- The Book Reader
"This collection of twelve traditional tales from various parts of China in different time periods represents a popular choice and one sure to be well-received". -- Religious Studies Review
9.

Studies in Japanese Folklore » Read Now
by Richard M. Dorson. 347 pgs.

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...pioneer volume of collected Japanese oral folktales, Tono Monogatari, told by the farmer...are found under Mukashibanashi , Folktales," Minkan Shinko , Folk Reli gion...as...
10.

Sitting at the Feet of the Past: Retelling the North American Folktale for Children » Read Now
by Gary D. Schmidt, Donald R. Hettinga. 244 pgs.

Collections: Education, Literature, Entire Library

Can a folktale with universal applications be transmitted from one culture to another without loss? Is it legitimate for a reteller to create variants for a child audience? Children's literature is today the major conduit for folklore, and professionals in the field must consider these issues. Here...
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Can a folktale with universal applications be transmitted from one culture to another without loss? Is it legitimate for a reteller to create variants for a child audience? Children's literature is today the major conduit for folklore, and professionals in the field must consider these issues. Here 23 writers, illustrators, storytellers, and critics offer their experiences and views. The four major traditions comprising the North American folktale are separately presented, each with an introductory survey and a selection of essays by the writers and scholars: The Native American folktale, the African American folktale, the retold Western European folktale, and the American tall tale.
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11.

Folk Poetics: A Sociosemiotic Study of Yoruba Trickster Tales » Read Now
by Ropo Sekoni. 141 pgs.

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Of all the different sub-genres of oral prose fiction among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the trickster tale is the most popular, especially among the nonruling stratum of society. Sekoni describes and explains literally what makes the trickster tale a trickster tale. The focus is to establish the...
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Of all the different sub-genres of oral prose fiction among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the trickster tale is the most popular, especially among the nonruling stratum of society. Sekoni describes and explains literally what makes the trickster tale a trickster tale. The focus is to establish the phenomenology of the trickster tale discourse from a sociosemiotic perspective. More specifically, Sekoni attempts to investigate the sociological and narratological conditions that govern the formation, transformation, and persistence of the trickster tale primarily among the Yoruba masses and secondarily among contemporary Yoruba authors writing in English.
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12.

Keys to Exploring Latino Cultures: Folktales for Children, in Social Studies » Read Now
by Maria Perez-Stable. 6 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library

...Keys to Exploring Latino Cultures: Folktales for Children MARIA PEREZ-STABLE With "Keys to Exploring Latino Cultures: Folktales for Children," Professor...
13.

Studies in Folklore » Read Now
by W. Edson Richmond. 272 pgs.

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...book as the collected edition of Grimms folktales. Conditions were somewhat different in...Notes to a Folktale S tudents of folktales will undoubtedly agree that...
14.

Folktales in the Middle Grades, in Childhood Education » Read Now
by Robert L. Gilstrap, Doris Evens. 4 pgs.

Collections: Education, Literature, Entire Library
15.

Ariadne's Thread: A Guide to International Tales Found in Classical Literature » Read Now
by William Hansen. 548 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library