The terms "folk/fairy tales" are interchangeable. They are called "folk" because they are part of the oral tradition handed down from generation to generation by the folk. The term "fairy" denotes the presence of magic, characters like dwarfs, leprechauns, and the like. The characteristics of folktales is presented in outline form below. Look for confirmation of the characteristics as you read the fairy tales for your assignment.
Storytellers of old were not concerned in classifying their tales; they just wanted to tell a good story. Their tales were so good that they were passed on through generations. Today’s storytellers still follow the old tradition; therefore, folktales remain reflecting their past forms, yet sometimes expressing the current culture. Traditional literature is still alive, being retold and updated. Modern folklorists wish to classify the stories, but it is difficult to fit some tales into a class by themselves.
Folktales, according to Carl Tomlinson and Carol Lynch-Brown's Essentials of Children's Literature are "stories that grow out of the lives and imaginations of the people, or folk." They are a form of traditional literature which began as an attempt to explain and understand the natural and spiritual world. The oral tradition of folktales remained until the twelfth century; then the literary versions began to circulate in Europe.
Some scholars argue that folktales were passed through the migrations of peoples. Once developed, they spread from country to country through people, for example "sailors and soldiers, women stolen from their tribes, slaves and captives of war, traders, minstrels and bands, monks and scholars, and young men on the grand tour," as stated by Sutherland and Arbuthnot in Children and Books. The stories circulated in consistent, yet shifting form due to the fact that each teller would slightly alter the words. Interestingly, the folktales that traveled by land changed a great deal because of the retelling process, while those that traveled by sea were more similar in version. Folklorists agree that most folktales were created at early stages of civilization.
"Folktale is a general term for 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 (Answer.com)."
What Is Traditional Literature?
You have probably heard of tales like 'Cinderella' and the 'Three Little Pigs', but do you know how many times they have been retold? Stories like these are part of the genre known as traditional literature, which are stories that have been passed down through generations. Much of traditional literature was initially told orally and written down later on. Because of this, the stories are often altered slightly in each retelling. For example, Cinderella's name in other versions has been 'Zezolla' and 'Cendrillon.' Nevertheless, the heart of the story will still remain.
The purpose of traditional literature is having the story be relatable to everyone. For this reason, universal themes are important to the genre. Some common themes include good versus evil, the weak versus the strong, the beautiful versus the ugly, and the rich versus the poor. Even if the characters are magical or nonhuman, the message of the story is always one that the majority of people can understand and value.
The main characteristics of modern fantasy are:
they have a known author
they were WRITTEN down first
they were written since 1800 (modern does NOT mean 2009!)
they were created mainly for entertainment purposes, though they might have a lesson
They are usually longer than traditional folktales, often a full length novel
Traditional Literature
Traditional literature began as an oral tradition, and the tales of the Brothers Grimm count among the most well-known of these tales. While fairy tales fall within the category of folk tales, as the University of Tennessee website points out, not all folk tales are fairy tales. Fairy tales are a subset of folk tales, fables, urban legends, myths and legends. Many of these tales are the foundation for fantasy literature. For example, stories about King Arthur are legend, and the basis of many novels and movies.