fairy tale

fairy tale
1. a story, usually for children, about elves, hobgoblins, dragons, fairies, or other magical creatures.
2. an incredible or misleading statement, account, or belief: His story of being a millionaire is just a fairy tale. Also called fairy story.
[1740-50]

* * *

Simple narrative typically of folk origin dealing with supernatural beings.

Fairy tales may be written or told for the amusement of children or may have a more sophisticated narrative containing supernatural or obviously improbable events, scenes, and personages and often having a whimsical, satirical, or moralistic character. The term embraces popular folktales such as "Cinderella" and "Puss in Boots," as well as art fairy tales of later invention, such as those by Hans Christian Andersen. It is often difficult to distinguish between tales of literary and oral origin, because folktales have received literary treatment from early times, and literary tales can often be traced back to oral tradition.

* * *

      wonder tale involving marvellous elements and occurrences, though not necessarily about fairies. The term embraces such popular folktales ( Märchen, q.v.) as “Cinderella” and “Puss-in-Boots” and art fairy tales (Kunstmärchen) of later invention, such as The Happy Prince (1888), by the Irish writer Oscar Wilde. It is often difficult to distinguish between tales of literary and oral origin, because folktales have received literary treatment from early times, and, conversely, literary tales have found their way back into the oral tradition. Early Italian collections such as Le piacevoli notti (1550, vol. 1; 1553, vol. 2; “The Pleasant Nights”) of Gianfrancesco Straparola and Il Pentamerone (1636; originally published [1634] in Neapolitan dialect as Lo cunto de li cunti) of Giambattista Basile contain reworkings in a highly literary style of such stories as “Snow White,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “The Maiden in the Tower.” A later French collection, Charles Perrault's (Perrault, Charles) Contes de ma mère l'oye (1697; Tales of Mother Goose), including “Cinderella,” “Little Red Ridinghood,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” remains faithful to the oral tradition, while the Kinder- und Hausmärchen (1812–15; “Children's and Household Tales,” generally known as Grimm's Fairy Tales) of the Brothers Grimm (Grimm, Brothers) are transcribed directly from oral renderings (although often from literate informants). The influence of Perrault and the Grimms has been very great, and their versions have been commonly adopted as nursery tales among literate people in the West. For example, Grimm's “Rumpelstiltskin” has replaced the native English “Tom Tit Tot,” and Perrault's “Cinderella” has replaced “Cap o' Rushes,” once almost equally popular in oral tradition.

      Art fairy tales were cultivated in the period of German Romanticism by Goethe, Ludwig Tieck, Clemens Brentano, and E.T.A. Hoffmann and in Victorian England by John Ruskin (The King of the Golden River, 1851) and Charles Kingsley (The Water-Babies, 1863), but few of these tales have found permanent popularity. The master of the art fairy tale, whose works rank with the traditional stories in universal popularity, is the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (Andersen, Hans Christian). Though his stories have their roots in folk legend, they are personal in style and contain elements of autobiography and contemporary social satire.

      Twentieth-century psychologists, notably Sigmund Freud (Freud, Sigmund), Carl Jung (Jung, Carl), and Bruno Bettelheim (Bettelheim, Bruno), have interpreted elements of the fairy tale as manifestations of universal fears and desires. In his Uses of Enchantment (1976), Bettelheim asserted that the apparently cruel and arbitrary nature of many folk fairy stories is actually an instructive reflection of the child's natural and necessary “killing off” of successive phases of development and initiation.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • fairy tale — fairy tales also fairytale 1) N COUNT A fairy tale is a story for children involving magical events and imaginary creatures. She was like a princess in a fairy tale. Syn: fairy story 2) ADJ: ADJ n A fairy tale place or situation is so wonderful… …   English dictionary

  • fairy tale — UK / US or fairy story UK / US noun [countable] Word forms fairy tale : singular fairy tale plural fairy tales Word forms fairy story : singular fairy story plural fairy stories * 1) a traditional children s story in which magic things happen 2)… …   English dictionary

  • fairy tale — (= fairy story), noun 1) the movie was inspired by a fairy tale Syn: folk tale, folk story, traditional story, myth, legend, fantasy, fable 2) informal she accused him of telling fairy tales Syn: lie …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • fairy tale — n. 1. a story about magical or mythological creatures, such as fairies, elves, goblins, trolls, orcs, unicorns, wizards, dragons, etc., usually composed for the amusement of children; called also a {fairy story}. [PJC] 2. a false story intended… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fairy tale — ► NOUN 1) a fairy story. 2) (before another noun ) magical or idealized: a fairy tale romance …   English terms dictionary

  • fairy\ tale — • fairy tale • fairy strory noun An inaccurate, even false account of something; a result of wishful thinking. Jeff said he was going to be promoted soon, but we all suspect that it is only one of his customary fairy tales …   Словарь американских идиом

  • fairy tale — also fairy .story n 1.) a children s story in which magical things happen 2.) a story that someone has invented and is difficult to believe …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • fairy tale — fairy ,tale or fairy ,story noun count * 1. ) a traditional children s story in which magic things happen 2. ) a story or explanation that someone has invented in order to make people believe something that is not true …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • fairy tale — oral narrative centered on magical tests, quests, and transformations, 1749, translating Fr. Conte de feés of Madame d Aulnois (1698, translated into English 1699). As an adjective (also fairytale), attested by 1963 …   Etymology dictionary

  • fairy tale — n. 1. a story about fairies, giants, magic deeds, etc. 2. an unbelievable or untrue story; lie …   English World dictionary

  • Fairy tale — For a comparison of fairy tale with other kinds of stories, such as myths, legends and fables, see Traditional stories. For other uses, see Fairy tale (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Fairy Tail …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”