Fairy tales, like any other works, literary genre, there is also its own classification, and not even just one. Fairy tales can be divided into several groups, firstly, by content, and secondly, by authorship. In addition, there is also a classification of fairy tales based on nationality, which is transparent and understandable to everyone. For example, “Russian folk tales”, “German fairy tales”, etc. It is also not so difficult to say what kind of fairy tales there are by authorship. Everyone knows that there are folk tales, and there are original ones, written by a specific person. We will return to this later, but first we will talk about a more complex classification of fairy tales - by content.
Types of fairy tales by content
- household
- magical
- fairy tales about animals
Each of these types is divided into several more, which we will talk about in the corresponding chapters. Let's start with everyday fairy tales.
Everyday tales
As the name suggests, everyday fairy tales include those that describe the life and way of life of a particular people. However, it should be noted that in such tales usual description is rare, and most often it is supplemented with various humorous and satirical descriptions. For example, any qualities of a particular class of society or estate are ridiculed. Among everyday fairy tales, the following types of fairy tales are distinguished (we list them with examples):
- social and domestic (“Shemyakin Court”, “Dividing the Goose”, “Chatty Old Woman”)
- satirical-everyday (“The Man and the Priest,” “The Master and the Carpenter,” “The Master and the Man,” “How the Priest Hired a Worker”)
- magical and everyday (with elements from fairy tales, vivid examples of this: “Morozko”, “Cinderella”)
In general, it should be noted that this classification was derived by literary scholars rather conditionally, since it is not always possible to say unambiguously which category a particular fairy tale belongs to. Many can be classified as both social-everyday and satirical-everyday, and, for example, in the well-known fairy tale “Morozko”, a certain amount of magic is added to these two features, so it is both everyday, satirical, and magical at the same time. And this is the case with many fairy tales - be sure to take this point into account when classifying.
Fairy tales
A fairy tale can be recognized, first of all, by its surroundings, which, as a rule, little correspond to the reality revealed to us in life. Heroes exist in their own fantasy world. Often such tales begin with the words “In a certain kingdom...”. Fairy tales can also be divided into several types:
- heroic tales (involving victories over various mythical creatures or adventures in which the hero goes on to find some magical object). Examples: " Rejuvenating apples", "Vasilisa the Beautiful";
- archaic tales (tell about destitute and lonely people and those who were kicked out or left their family for some reason and about their adventures). Examples: “Twelve Months”, “Children of the Cannibal”;
- tales about people endowed with magical powers. For example: “Marya the Mistress”, “Elena the Wise”.
Animal Tales
Let's see what tales there are about animals:
- tales about ordinary animals (wild and domestic). For example: “The Fox and the Hare”, “The Fox and the Crane”, “The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats”;
- tales about magical animals. For example: " Goldfish", "The Little Humpbacked Horse", "Emelya" ("By pike command»).
In addition, there are fairy tales like this:
- cumulative (in which there is a repeating plot). For example: “Mitten”, “Kolobok”, “Turnip”;
- fables. As an example, let us cite the well-known fables “The Crow and the Fox” and “The Monkey and the Glasses.” A small note: not all literary scholars classify the fable as a fairy-tale genre, giving it a separate place among literary genres, but for the sake of completeness, I decided to include fables here too.
As you probably know, these fables are not folk art, they have authors. Thus, fairy tales can be divided into folk and original. “The Fox and the Hare” is a Russian folk tale, and “The Little Humpbacked Horse” is an original one, since it was written by P.P. Ershov. Well, we have considered, perhaps, all the main types of fairy tales, both in content and in terms of authorship and nationality.
Some links
This page contains wonderful fairy tales.
And you will find several dozen of the most famous fairy tales about animals.
I would like to note that the fairy tales presented on the pages of this site are perhaps the most famous from the Russian folk tales section.
Elkina Maria
Scientific and practical conference research work students "Youth. Science. Culture"
Scientific direction: Literary studies
Genre classification of Russian folk tales
student of Municipal Educational Institution Secondary School No. 2
Scientific supervisor: Shitova I.G.,
teacher of Russian language and literature
Noyabrsk, 2009
Content
Introduction
Magic world Russian folk tales... He worried me since early childhood when they were read to me, just a little girl, at night. Time passed, but the passion for fairy tales remained. Only the perception has changed. Previously, it was exclusively emotional and evaluative (I plunged into this world and lived in it together with the characters, feeling the vicissitudes of their fate), now it has become analytical (I looked at the fairy tale as special genre, which I wanted to explore). That is why I chose fairy tales as the object of my research. But it would seem that a lot of research has been written about fairy tales, what else can be discovered in them? A long study of literature led me to this controversial issue- this is a problem genre classification fairy tales
So, reasons for turning to the research topic:
1. The controversial issue of genre classification of fairy tales, the conventionality of each of the currently known ones, the dissatisfaction of folklorists and literary scholars with the classifications existing in at the moment.
2. Personal interest in fairy tales, the desire to study and systematize them for the convenience of further comprehension.
3. There is also a reason of a universal human nature, which lies in the formula: “The fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it...”. Will I not find answers to the questions that concern me among this whole world of magic and transformations?!
So the main purpose of work is an attempt to create our own version of the genre classification of Russian fairy tales. To achieve the goal, the following were set tasks:
1. Study the currently existing classification options, identifying their pros and cons.
2. Determine the tools (select criteria) to create a classification option.
3. Offer your version of classification.
4. Distribute Russian folk tales from Afanasyev’s collection into categories using the created classification.
So, object of study- Russian folk tales. The key reason for contacting them: personal interest and passion. Subject of research- classification of fairy tales. The key reason for the appeal: the lack of a complete, complete and indisputable classification in folklore studies at the moment.
Hypothesis: An indisputable classification can be created provided that successful criteria are chosen to help distribute texts into groups, and taking into account the disadvantages of known genre classifications.
Stages of work:
1. Statement of the problem, choice of topic, formulation of a hypothesis.
2. Collection of material:
A) bibliographic search on the problem of genre classifications of fairy tales;
B) analysis of existing classifications;
B)reading Russian folk tales in order to identify
criteria for creating your own classification.
3. Confirmation of the hypothesis by distributing fairy tales according to the classification compiled.
4. Conclusions.
Chapter 1. The problem of genre classification of fairy tales
Currently, there are several variants of classifications of fairy tales proposed by various literary scholars and researchers. For the sake of completeness and objectivity of the work, I present them in my research:
Classification 1.
Sreznevsky sets out his point of view in “A Look at the Monuments of Ukrainian Folk Literature.” According to the nature of the content, he divides them into:
· mythical (epic);
· tales about persons, historical events and private life;
Fantastic and humorous.
Classification 2.
In the 60s of the 19th century, Snegirev, in connection with Afanasyev’s collection in “Lubok Pictures of the Russian People in the Moscow World,” divides it into:
· mythical;
· heroic;
· everyday.
Classification 3.
Bessonov in “Notes to Kireyevsky’s Songs” divides it into:
· former, heroic;
· historical, but not heroic;
· popular prints;
· household (this also includes animals).
Classification 4.
Mythologists, having interpreted Afanasyev’s collection in their own way, are trying to create a different classification. Orest Miller proposes the following division into:
· mythical tales (he also divides 343 of them from Afanasyev’s collection into 10 plot circles);
· moral and mythical (about the soul, fate, truth);
· about animals;
· on heroic subjects;
· arose under the influence of books;
· “Purely moral descriptions of the character of a particular protester... in the form of satire.”
In fact, this is the first scientific classification. But, although Miller considered it historical, it is, in general, formal.
Classification 5.
M.P. Drahomanov in "Little Russians" folk legends and stories" identifies 13 headings. Veselovsky accuses Drahomanov of not maintaining the stated principle: the past is original, ancient, pagan and new Christian.
Classification 6.
Romanov divides fairy tales into:
· about animals;
· mythical;
· humorous;
· household;
· cosmogonic;
· cultural.
Classification 7.
V.P. Vladimirov in his “Introduction to the History of Russian Literature” tries to use the principle of motive when dividing fairy tales. He reveals three types of motives:
· motives of the animal epic;
· mythological character;
· ancient cultural character.
Classification 8.
In 1908, Khalansky divided fairy tales and plots without definition into general headings.
Classification 9.
A.M. Smirnov in his “Systematic Index of Themes and Variants of Russian Folk Tales” divides them into:
· tales about animals;
· about animals and humans;
· about the fight against evil spirits.
Classification 10.
An unconventional approach to classification was used by Wundt in The Psychology of Nations. He divides fairy tales according to forms of development from the most ancient to the latest formations:
Later education: comic tale, moral fable.
Classification 11.
It was proposed by Afanasyev himself, forming the collection, then by N.P. Andreev in 1927-28. compiled the “Index fairy tales" Fairy tales are divided into:
· about animals;
· magical;
· household.
This classification is now the most common, but in the future in my work I will point out all its disadvantages. In addition, the authors of numerous textbooks on oral folk art themselves note that a unified classification of fairy tales has not been developed at the present time, that is, there is no correct classification today.
Before I get to detailed description 11th classification, I would like to note the disadvantages of all the above classifications.
Thus, according to Sreznevsky’s classification (1), the second block seems overly extensive and unclear: tales about persons, historical events and private life. In addition, it is not clear where, in his opinion, animal epic should be classified. The same question can be addressed to Snegirev’s classification (2). Error
Bessonov (3) can be considered to include fairy tales about animals into the category of everyday ones, since a contradiction “fantasy-non-fiction” arises. In Miller's classification (4), the emphasis on form leaves aside diverse heroes as actors. Violation of the basic principle by Drahomanov (5)
Veselovsky also discovers.
It is difficult to establish the fundamental principle in Romanov's classification (6). Vladimirov (7) when dividing fractionally according to motives takes into account only 40 of them, and there are much more of them (so Sumtsev calls 400). Kholansky's classification (8) sins of dividing into subjects without defining a general rubric, and in general, almost all researchers are currently considered outdated. A.M. Smirnov (9) creates even more confusion without even finishing his work. Wundt's classification is interesting for its unconventional approach, but, unfortunately, not all fairy tales fall into it.
Chapter 2. Analysis of the Afanasyev classification
2.1 Tales of animals
Tales about animals are divided into the following thematic groups: about wild animals, about wild and domestic animals, about domestic animals, about humans and wild animals
The origins of fiction are due to the ancient views of man, which endowed animals with intelligence. The consequence of this is that the behavior of animals in fairy tales is similar to that of humans.
This is how they are determined poetic features tales about animals:
1. Fiction in them arises as a result of the combination of contradictions: the human world and the animal world - the water space, in one sphere. A special, grotesque world of mixed real ideas arises, in which the incredible must be perceived as probable.
2. There is no idealized hero. The mind is opposed to brute force and wins, but there is no single bearer of this quality.
3. Not all fairy tales about animals end happily, but despite this, there is no tragic sound.
4. Fairy tales about animals have a potential allegorical ability; human everyday situations are easily guessed in them.
5. The plot in fairy tales about animals is simple. There are few events in them. Most often it is developed based on a meeting. The duration of action is indicated by a system of repetitions. A fairy tale can consist of one episode, several episodes, or a chain of episodes in which one moment is repeated. In compositional terms, one can distinguish between single-plot fairy tales, multi-plot tales, and those built on the principle of a chain, with the repetition of all episodes - cumulative (a + ab + abc + abvg + ...).
6. The most common form of fairy tales about animals is narrative-dialogical.
7. The didactic, edifying plan of the tale is very clear. At the end of a fairy tale, a conclusion is always summed up, expressed either by a proverb or a general phrase.
8. In fairy tales about animals, traditional fairy-tale formulas are used during the narration, less often at the beginning and middle of the tale, more often at the end.
2.2.Fairy tales
The fairy tale took shape in its main features during the period when ideas primitive man about the world developed simultaneously in two dimensions: there was a visible, real world in which a person lived, and an imaginary, unreal world, inhabited by evil and good forces that, as it seemed to him, had a direct impact on life. Both of them in the consciousness of primitive man constituted a single reality.
Based on the nature of the conflict, there are two groups of fairy tales: in one, the hero comes into conflict with magical powers, in the other - with social ones.
Here is how the poetic features of fairy tales are determined:
1. A conflict in a fairy tale is always resolved with the help of miraculous forces, miraculous helpers, with the relative passivity of the hero.
2. The action unfolds in two space-time planes. From the beginning of the hero's action to his feat and marriage, many events take place; the hero crosses large spaces, but time does not concern him; he is forever young; sometimes epic time is at hand To real: year, month, week and so on. This is one plan that reveals the life of the hero. In another, spatial plane, the hero’s opponents and wonderful helpers live. Here time flows slowly for the hero, but quickly for opponents and wonderful helpers. Fairy tale time is associated with the perception of fairy tale rhythm. The “one-act” or “multi-act” nature of an action is measured by a system of repetitions. They create the rhythm of fairy tale time. Rhythm organizes anticipation and includes the listener in the tale. The rhythm creates tension until the moment the hero performs a feat. Until this point, time passes slowly, repetitions maintaining a state of anticipation in the listener. After the hero accomplishes a feat, a rhythmic decline begins - the tension of expectation is relieved, and the fairy tale ends.
3. In fairy tales there are two types of heroes: a “high” hero, endowed magical power from birth or who received it from a magical assistant (Ivan the Tsarevich) and “low” (Ivan the Fool).
4. In a fairy tale, description is replaced by poetic formulas. Knowing these formulas makes it incredibly easy to “construct” a fairy tale. A mandatory feature of the formula is repetition in a number of fairy tales. There are initial formulas (sayings), endings (endings), narrative ones, which are in turn divided into formulas of time (“Is it close, is it far, briefly, soon the tale is told, but the deed is not done soon”), into formulas-characteristics (“Such beauty “What cannot be said in a fairy tale cannot be described with a pen”), on etiquette formulas (“he placed the cross in a written way, bowed in a learned way”).
2.3.Everyday tales
The term “everyday fairy tale” combines several
intra-genre varieties: adventure fairy tales, short stories (adventurous-novelistic), social and everyday (satirical), family and everyday (comic).
Here are the poetic features that are generally characteristic of everyday fairy tales:
1. The conflict in everyday fairy tales is resolved thanks to the activity of the hero himself. A fairy tale makes the hero the master of his own destiny. This is the essence of idealizing the hero of an everyday fairy tale.
2. Fairy-tale space and time in an everyday fairy tale are close to the listener and the storyteller. The moment of empathy plays an important role in them.
3. Fiction in everyday fairy tales is based on the depiction of illogicality. Up to a certain point, a fairy tale is perceived as an everyday, completely plausible story, and its realism is aggravated by specific descriptions. Alogism is achieved by a hyperbolic depiction of any quality of a negative character: extreme stupidity, greed, stubbornness, and so on.
4. An everyday fairy tale can have different composition: novelistic and adventurous tales based on adventure motifs, large in volume, multi-episode. Comic and satirical tales They always develop one episode - an anecdotal or sharply satirical everyday situation. Multi-episode and comic tales are combined into a cycle according to the principle of increasing comic or satirical effect.
2.4.Discrepancy in ranks
Let me remind you once again that these characteristics of the three fairy tale genres were written according to the textbook “Russian Folk Poetry” edited by A.M. Novikova, but if you take and look at the same question in the textbook by Anikin V.P. and Kruglova Yu.L., then with a similar typology a number of contradictions can be detected. I'll point out a few. So, when characterizing fairy tales about animals, Anikin, unlike Novikova, places emphasis on humor and satirical beginning. If Novikova talks about the absence of an idealized hero in these fairy tales, then Anikin writes that a sharp distinction between positive and negative is in the nature of fairy tales about animals. And when characterizing fairy tales, even different interpretations of the same lexical content are revealed. So, according to Novikova’s textbook, the expression “soon the tale is told, but not soon the deed is done” is presented as a poetic formula, and according to Anikin, as the presence of signs of the everyday in a fantasy world.
Thus, based on all these contradictions, we can once again be convinced that a problem with the typology of Russian folk tales really exists.
Chapter 3. Creating a new classification option
To create any classification, the basis and operation of two principles are necessary: criteria and logic. So, based on all the above facts, I took Afanasyev’s classification as a basis, but specified it and expanded it, using two criteria: heroes and compositional features.
In total, I identified 17 categories:
1. Classic animals (“Fox the Midwife”, “Fox, Hare and Rooster”, “Fox the Confessor”, “Sheep, Fox and Wolf”, “Fox and Crane”, “Fox and Crayfish”, “Cat, Rooster” and the fox”, “Wolf and goat”, “Goat”, “Winter quarters of animals”, “Crane and heron”). Characters in such tales there are exclusively animals, in which human behavior is read, their volume is small, the composition is simple, and there is a good ending.
2. Tragic stories about animals (“The Pig and the Wolf”, “Mizgir”). Meets all the requirements of the first category in terms of heroic features, but has tragic ending, which no longer allows us to call them classical animals.
3. About animals with everyday context (“Animals in the pit”, “Fox and black grouse”, “Frightened bear and wolves”). In these tales, in contrast to the first category, it is not the compositional plan that becomes more complicated (as in the second category), but the heroic plan: people appear, but they are still only a background for the animal heroes, people are not participants in the events, they are only mentioned.
4. About animals with tragic everyday context (“Tower of the Fly”). As is already clear from the principle of division, this category includes fairy tales that meet the requirements for the third category, but with a tragic ending.
5. Animals (“Little Fox-Sister and the Wolf”, “For a Lapotok - a Chicken, for a Chicken - a Goose”, “A Man, a Bear and a Fox”, “Cat and a Fox”, “Fool Wolf”, “The Tale of a Goat” peeled”, “The Kochet and the Hen”, “The Hen”, “The Tale of Ruff Ershovich, Shchetinnikov’s son”, “The Tale of the Toothy Pike”, “Daughter and Stepdaughter”, “The Rooster and the Millstones”, “The Hunter and His Wife”). This category includes fairy tales with the compositional features of fairy tales about animals, but here, along with the main animal characters, people act on equal rights, sometimes even engaging in combat.
6. Animal-domestic tragedies (“Bear”, “Bear, Dog and Cat”). They meet the requirements of the 5th category, but have a tragic ending.
7. Animal-domestic tragic stories with magical elements (“Kolobok”, “The Little Cockerel”, “Kroshechka-Khavroshechka”). They meet the requirements of the 6th category, but the structure of these fairy tales is even more complicated due to the appearance of magic (these can be either magical secondary characters or magical objects).
8. Animals with magical elements (“Baba Yaga”, “Geese-Swans”, “Horse, Tablecloth and Horn”, “Tricky Science”, “The Little Princess”, “Magic Ring”). The composition of animal fairy tales here is complicated by the introduction of either magical heroes or magical objects.
9. Classical magic (“Marya Morevna”, “Ivan Tsarevich and Bely Polyanin"", "Legless and armless heroes", "Fake illness", "Wonderful shirt", "The Sea King and Vasilisa the Wise", "The Tsar Maiden", "Finist's Feather of the Clear Falcon", "Elena the Wise", "The Princess Solving Riddles "", "The Enchanted Princess", "The Petrified Kingdom", "Knee-deep in gold, elbow-deep in silver", "Golden Slipper". Fairy tales with complicated compositional structure, which is based on Propp’s well-known formula: here there are symbolic numbers, and the action of inanimate and magical objects, and magical heroes, a happy ending is required.
10. Classic everyday stories (“Treasure”, “Slandered Merchant’s Daughter”, “Soldier and Tsar in the Forest”, “Robbers”, “Medicine Man”, “Thief”, “Thieving Man”, “Soldier’s Riddle”, “Fool and Birch Tree”) ”, “The Daring Farmhand”, “Foma Berennikov”, “The Proving Wife”, “Husband and Wife”, “Dear Leather”, “How a Man Weaned His Wife from Fairy Tales”, “The Miser”). Fairy tales with a simple composition of everyday stories, noted in the Afanasiev classification. A mandatory requirement is the complete absence of magic.
11. Magical-everyday ones (“The Witch and the Sun’s Sister”, “Morozko”, “Vasilisa the Beautiful”, “The Korolevich and His Uncle”, “Three Kingdoms” - copper, silver, and gold”, “Frolka-seat”, “Ivan-bykovich”, “Nikita-kozhemyaka”, “Koschei the Immortal”, “ Prophetic dream", "Arys-Field", "Night Dances", "Dashing One-Eyed", "Good Word", "The Wise Maiden and the Seven Thieves", "Doka on Doku" and others). Fairy tales in which, based on the Proppian formula, the structure is complicated by the introduction of everyday heroes.
12. Magical-everyday ones with animal characters (“Baba Yaga and Zamoryshek”, “Tereshechka”, “Crystal Mountain”, “Kozma Skorobogatiy”, “Firebird and Vasilisa the Princess”, “Sivko-Burko”, “ Animal milk"). An even greater complication of the eleventh category due to the introduction of animal heroes.
13. Magical-pagan with everyday context (“Tales of the Dead”, “Tales of Witches”, “Death of the Miser”, “Fiddler in Hell”, “Leshy”, “Careless Word”). A special series of fairy tales that have a composition of everyday ones. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that they introduce heroes who personify evil spirits - echoes of paganism.
14. Domestic tragedies (“Ivanushka the Fool”, “The Stuffed Fool”, “Mena”, “The Wrangling Wife”, “The Prophetic Oak”). The composition and characters could classify these tales as being in the tenth category, but there is one feature - a tragic ending.
15. Household with open ending(“Lutonyushko”). A special category of fairy tales that violates all traditional fairy tale structures - they have no ending.
16. Everyday story with a dialogic structure and inanimate characters (“Good, but bad”, “If you don’t like it, don’t listen”, “Mushrooms”). Fairy tales that have a special structure - a form of dialogue.
17. Everyday ones with inanimate heroes of a tragic tonality (“Bubble, Straw and Bast Shot”). The structure of an everyday fairy tale, the heroes are inanimate objects.
Conclusion
Thus, I will summarize some of the work done:
1. I analyzed the current classifications of Russian folk tales.
2. Russian folk tales were carefully read and inconsistencies with existing classifications were found.
3. The basis and principles for creating your own classification are determined.
4. Created new classification, and tales from Afanasyev’s collection are distributed according to it.
In general, during the process of work, I became interested in the problem of oral folk art. So, today I already see the imperfection of the classification of oral non-fairy prose. In the future I intend to address this very issue.
References
1. Russian folk tales by A.N. Afanasyeva. – M., 2004.
2. Fairy tales: Library of Russian folklore. Book 1-2. – M, 1988, 1989.
Research:
1. Anikin V.L., Kruglov Yu.L. Russian folk tale. – M., 2001.
2. Zueva T.V. The wonderful world of fairy tales and historical reality // East Slavic fairy tales. M., 1992. P. 3-28.
3. Korepova K.E. The Magic World // Russian Fairy Tale: An Anthology. M., 1992. P. 5-18.
4. Novikova A.M. Russian folk poetry. – M., 2002.
5. Propp V.Ya. Index of plots // Afanasyev A.N. Russian folk tales: In 3 volumes. M., 1957. T. 3. P. 454-502.
6. Pomerantseva E.V. The fate of a folk tale. – M., 2006.
7. Propp V.Ya. Historical roots fairy tale. – L., 1976.
8. Comparative index of plots. East Slavic fairy tale. – L., 1979.
9. Streltsova L.E., Tamarchenko N.D. Verb and good: Magic and everyday tales. Tver, 2005.
“Fairy tale” comes from the word “to show.” Modern meaning The concept of “fairy tale” acquired in the 17th century. Before this, the word "fable" was used.
As a rule, fairy tales are intended for children. These are epic works of a magical nature. The ending of a fairy tale is usually happy. A fairy tale helps a child in the process of learning the rules and purpose of life, the need to protect their family values, decent treatment to others.
At the same time, a fairy tale carries enormous information, passed on from generation to generation, which helps shape a person’s character and which is based on respect for one’s ancestors.
By origin, fairy tales are either folklore or original.
Folklore tales
Folklore tales created by the people different countries. This is a prose (sometimes poetic) oral story about fictional events at one time or another. A fairy tale does not claim to be authentic (unlike, for example, a myth, epic or legend). A folk tale historically precedes a literary one; it is anonymous (does not have a specific author).
A folk tale has its own specific poetics and cliche(stamps). For example, the beginning of “Once upon a time...”, “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state...”, etc.
Since a folk tale is a work of oral folk art, the plot folk tale may be repeated in many texts. It allows improvisation by the performer of the tale. Therefore, the texts of one fairy tale may have variations.
Literary tales
Literary fairy tales are closely related to folk tales, but they have a specific author. Their content is new and has no verbal variations.
Author's fairy tales
In terms of the originality of the plot, the author's fairy tales are close to literary ones. But they can be a treatment of a well-known folklore plot, which the author uses at his own discretion: changes the course of action, adds characters, etc. Usually the term “author’s fairy tale” is used for those fairy tales that have an author, i.e. and for literary ones.
Main genres of fairy tales
Animal Tales
Kolobok. Park of forged figures (Donetsk)
Author: Sigismund von Dobschütz – own work, from Wikipedia
In these fairy tales, the main characters are animals, birds, fish, as well as plants, natural phenomena or objects (“Tereshechka”, “Kolobok”, “Ryaba Hen”, “Teremok”, etc.). Often fairy tales about animals are also magical - in Russian fairy tales, popular characters are magical animals that can talk and help the main character (“Baba Yaga”, “Geese-Swans”, “Po pike command", etc.).
Fairy tales
V. M. Vasnetsov “The Frog Princess” (1918)
The plot of a fairy tale is based on a story about overcoming some obstacles with the help of miraculous means or magical helpers. Typically a fairy tale has the following composition: exposition(the beginning of the main events in the work), the beginning actions, plot development, climax And denouement. Climax – highest point development of action in the work. The culmination of a fairy tale consists of the hero’s victory over his opponent or circumstances (“Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf,” “Morozko,” etc.).
Social and everyday tales
N. Matorin “Tom Thumb” (postcard)
Fairy tales of this genre have the same composition as fairy tales, but are more connected with reality. In them there is only the earthly world, the features of everyday life are realistically conveyed, and main character – ordinary person, fighting for justice and achieving his goal with the help of ingenuity, dexterity and cunning.
Anecdotal tales
Such tales are an expanded narration of an anecdote.
A young man went fishing, and his wife went to accompany him; I walked a mile and started crying.
Don't cry, wife, I'll be there soon.
Am I crying about this? My feet are cold!
Tales
Fables (non-fiction) - fairy tales built on nonsense. They are small in volume and often take the form of rhythmic prose. Fables are a special genre of folklore that is found among all nations.
“He used to live, he would put an ax on his bare foot, he would girdle himself with an ax, he would chop wood with a sash... Zhona was a beauty... she would look out the window and the dogs would bark for three days...” (fragment from “Northern Tales” by N.E. Onchukov).
Oskar Herrfurth "Baron Munchausen and his chopped horse"
IN fiction Examples of fables include the adventures of Baron Munchausen as told by Erich Raspe, the adventures of the heroes of Rabelais’ novel “Gargantua and Pantagruel,” and the poem “Confusion” by Korney Chukovsky.
Fairy tale collectors
The first collector of folk tales in Europe was the French poet and literary critic Charles Perrault (1628-1703).
F. Lallemald “Portrait of Charles Perrault” (1665)
In 1697, he published the collection “Tales of Mother Goose.” The collection included 8 prose fairy tales, now world famous:
"Cinderella"
"Puss in Boots"
"Little Red Riding Hood"
"Tom Thumb"
"Fairy Gifts"
"Rike-Khokholok"
"Sleeping Beauty"
"Bluebeard".
In 1704-1717 an abridged edition was published in Paris Arabian tales"One Thousand and One Nights", prepared by Antoine Galland for the king Louis XIV. But these were single collections. But the beginning of the systematic collection of fairy-tale folklore was laid by representatives of the German mythological school in folklore studies - first of all, members of the circle of Heidelberg romantics Brothers Grimm: Wilhelm and Jacob.
Elizabeth Yerichau-Bauman "The Brothers Grimm"
In 1812-1814. they published a collection of “Home and Family German Fairy Tales,” which included the still popular fairy tales “Snow White,” “ Bremen Town Musicians", "The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats" and many others. After the collection appeared, writers and scientists from other European countries showed interest in their native folklore.
The Brothers Grimm had predecessors in Germany itself: back in 1782-1786. German writer Johann Karl August Muzeus compiled a 5-volume collection “Folk Tales of the Germans”, which was published only in 1811.
In Russia, Russian ethnographer Alexander Nikolaevich Afanasyev was the first to collect Russian folk tales.
There are two types of fairy tales: original and folk. The name itself speaks for itself. Author's fairy tales include works written by one specific person. As a rule, he is the creator and parent whose name is advertised in the book.
Folk tales are passed down from generation to generation, by word of mouth. There is no one specific writer, everyone adds their own. As a result, with each reteller new actions appear, and then the fairy tale sounds in a new way.
From century to century, from generation to generation, stories are passed on where ancestors teach and pass on their wisdom, their instructions and enormous experience.
The common feature of the two types is the deepest meaning contained between the lines. For a child, a fairy tale is a fun and interesting story, a text for adults that carries moral and ethical implications.
Types of fairy tales by content
- magical
- about animals
- household
Fairy tales
Magic is present in almost every fairy tale. It is this that defeats evil and helps heroes cope with difficulties. Thanks to such stories, many children from an early age believe in miracles and magic. The author immerses you in a fantasy world where, with the help of magical objects or actions, any desire comes true. The purpose of such stories is to convey to the reader that there should always be faith in miracles. Miracles can strike at the most unexpected moment. These are exactly what the main character lacks to achieve his goal.
Most read fairy tales:
- Princess - frog
- Koschey the Immortal
- Morozko
- Emelya
Animal Tales
In this form, the role of humans is replaced by animals, not only domestic ones, but also forest and wild ones. Fish, birds, insects, all living creatures are involved, each is assigned special role. Even natural phenomena gets, if not the main thing, then a secondary importance. Both animals have their own character and principles of behavior. We were taught that the hare is a coward - he is afraid of everything and everyone. The fox is cunning and greedy. Everyone is afraid of the bear, but according to the plan, he is one of the intelligent animals. At first glance, the wolf is toothy and predatory. It is often found in fairy tales where he turns out to be a coward and a compassionate animal. In all actions, these heroes perform similar roles. It is stories about animals that instill in readers how they should be represented.
The most popular fairy tales about animals include:
- Teremok
- Kolobok
- turnip
In turn, stories about our little brothers are divided into two subgroups: in some, animals play minor role- At the behest of the pike. In others, their importance is equal to that of humans - Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych.
Everyday tales
Works of this nature, show that you shouldn’t expect miracles, you need to do everything yourself. Only a hardworking, fair and prudent person can achieve everything in life. They show the inherent life of each person. They focus on negative traits, make fun of them and teach a necessary lesson. In these works, the main thing is not powerful force, but intelligence and morality. In these fairy tales, stingy and greedy people are always taught a lesson by the wise and noble.
These include:
- Porridge from an ax
- The Tale of the Priest and His Worker Balda
- Magic pipe
Whatever fairy tales are, children of all ages love them very much. After all, they are the lessons in everyday life. They learn from the characters' mistakes and imitate the main characters. A fairy tale is important especially for young children. She subconsciously teaches lessons in different situations. Shows that defending your own opinion is important. Also in relation to different nationalities and races should not be a barrier to communication. Correct address to adults and elderly people. It’s not for nothing that they say that they learn from fairy tales.
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Fairy tales are very important genre in literature. This is where young children begin to become acquainted with the world of prose and poetry. But what do they mean, what is the history and specificity of the author's fairy tales? Let's look at all this below, as well as a list of Russian literary fairy tales with their authors and features.
Definition
A fairy tale is a genre in literature, usually based on folklore. It can be both prosaic and poetic. However, this is mainly folklore prose, and each nation has its own fairy tales. The main difference for them is usually the presence of mythical creatures and/or fantasy, fantastic, and magical elements.
But unlike folklore works, fairy tales always have an author. Often there is an obvious struggle between good and evil, bad and good. Usually there is main character- “favorite” of the author and, as a result, the reader. And there is also an antihero - a mythical villain.
Story
As mentioned above, fairy tales originate from folklore. However, not always, because they can also be purely copyrighted. They appeared a long time ago in the form of folklore works, passed on “from mouth to mouth.” In Rus', for a long time, their own folk tales existed and spread.
Some works can be classified as very old fairy tales. For example, many folklore tales Ancient Rus' and church parables of the Middle Ages, in many ways reminiscent of the genre we are considering.
Further, fairy tales began to appear in Europe in the usual sense for people: the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault and many others. But on the territory of modern Russia, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was previously (and still is) very popular. In the 18th century, in general, many writers loved to take a basis from folklore and thus create new works.
In the 20th century there appeared more fairy tales. Such great writers as Maxim Gorky, Alexei Tolstoy and others were known as authors of this genre.
Specifics
Author's fairy tales are also called literary. As already described above, they are distinguished from folklore works by the presence of an author. Of course, even very old folk tales had their creators, but the authors as such were lost, because for centuries the stories passed orally from one person to another, sometimes even changing significantly, since each person could interpret and retell in different ways, and so for a long time.
Another difference between an author’s fairy tale and a folk tale is that it can be in both verse and prose, while the second can only be in prose (initially it was only oral). Also, folklore usually touches on the theme of the confrontation between good and evil, while in literary works this is optional.
Another difference is that folk tales have more superficially described characters, while in literary tales, on the contrary, each character is clearly expressed and individual. In folklore there is also a beginning, a saying and peculiar figures of speech. They also tend to be even smaller than literary ones. This is all due to the fact that it was transmitted orally, so much was lost, and the size was shortened because it was forgotten over generations. But nevertheless, the tendency to different speech patterns, characteristic only of Russian fairy tales, has been preserved. For example, "once upon a time", the epithet " good fellow“, and in Pushkin: “in the distant kingdom, in the thirtieth state”, etc.
The most surprising thing is that there is no exact definition of an author's fairy tale as such. Yes, it came from folklore and has changed greatly, which helps in defining this term. Fantastic creatures have been preserved, which change depending on the people. Fairy tales are usually small in size. There is definitely some fiction in them. But you can always find some kind of morality, which is the main purpose of a fairy tale. This distinguishes it from fantasy, where the emphasis is not on morality, but on the narration of the plot, which also differs in that it has more adventures, events, and breathtaking events. Also, fantasy works and epics are long in size. And the world described in them usually does not have a folklore basis. It is often a fiction of an author who has completely created his own reality. In fairy tales, on the contrary, there is fiction, but it is within the framework real world.
Species
Many researchers subdivide literary tales into several categories. E. V. Pomerantseva, for example, divides them into 4 genres:
- adventure-novelistic;
- household;
- about animals;
- magical.
But the domestic folklorist V. Ya. Propp divides fairy tales into a larger number of categories:
- About inanimate nature, animals, plants, objects. Everything is simple here: fairy tales tell about this, respectively, about animals or inanimate nature as the main element. An interesting fact here is that such works are rarely Russian or European. But similar tales are often found among the peoples of Africa, North America.
- Cumulative fairy tales refer to those works where the plot is repeated several times until the denouement reaches the climax. This makes it easier for children to perceive them. A striking example There are stories about the turnip and the kolobok.
- The everyday (novelistic) genre tells about different people by character. For example, a fairy tale about an evil deceiver or a stupid person.
- Boring fairy tales are designed to lull children to sleep. They are very short and simple. (For example, a fairy tale about a white bull).
- Fables about something that could not happen in reality. It is worth noting that all fairy tales have a share of fiction, but fables contain the most fiction: talking animals, humanized bears (they live like people, communicate, etc.). As a rule, all subspecies overlap with each other. It is rare that a work belongs to only one of them.
In Russian fairy tales, heroic and soldier branches are also distinguished.
The most interesting thing is that fairy tales as a genre are studied very seriously. In Europe, A. Aarne wrote the so-called “Index fairy tale types"in 1910, where there are also divisions into types. Unlike the typology of Propp and Pomerantseva, well-known European tales about fooled devils and anecdotes are added here. Based on the works, Aarne created his index of fairy-tale plots and S. Thompson in 1928. A little later, folklorist N.P. Andreev and many other researchers worked on this typology, but with the introduction of Russian (Slavic) species.
Above we looked at the main subspecies, which relate more to folk art. Author's fairy tales, as a rule, are much more complex, and it is not easy to type them into a certain subgenre, but they have adopted a lot from folklore and the types described above as their basis. Also, plot motifs are taken from many sources. For example, the hatred of stepdaughter and stepmother, popular in works.
Now let's move on to the lists of folk and literary fairy tales.
Fairy tales for 1st grade
The list is large, since children begin their introduction to reading with stories and fairy tales, because they are small and easy to remember and master. In first grade it is recommended to read:
- Small folk tales. Often they are about animals: “The Cat and the Fox”, “Kolobok”, “Crow and Crayfish”, “Geese-Swans”, as well as “Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka”, “Porridge from an Ax”, “A Man and a Bear”, “ Cockerel-golden comb”, “Morozko”, “Bubble, straw and bast shoe”, “Teremok”, “At the command of the pike”, etc.
- Charles Perrault, "Little Red Riding Hood".
- Pushkin Alexander Sergeevich, "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" and other short stories.
Literary fairy tales: 2nd grade, list
- Folk tales adapted by A. N. Tolstoy.
- Works of the Brothers Grimm, for example "The Town Musicians of Bremen".
- E. L. Schwartz, "The New Adventures of Puss in Boots."
- C. Perrault: "Puss in Boots" and "Little Red Riding Hood".
- Tales of Hans Christian Andersen.
- As well as small works by A. S. Pushkin, D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak, P. Ershov, P. Bazhov, K. D. Ushinsky and others.
List of literary fairy tales for grade 3
In these classes they also read fairy tales, but they are longer, and there are also fewer folk tales and more literary ones. For example, everyone famous fairy tale Lewis Carroll about Alice Through the Looking Glass. And also larger ones fairy tales Mamin-Sibiryak, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Pushkin, Bazhov, Zhukovsky, Tchaikovsky, Perrault, Andersen and many others.
4th grade
List of literary fairy tales:
- Garshin V. M., “The Tale of the Toad and the Rose”;
- Zhukovsky V. A., “The Tale of Tsar Berendey”, “There the skies and waters are clear”;
- E. Schwartz "The Tale of Lost Time."
5th grade
Literary tales in high school in the reading program they are much less common than in grades 1-4, but nevertheless there are such works. For example, fairy tales by Andersen and Pushkin, which are also in primary school. The list of literary fairy tales for grade 5 does not end here. There are also works by Zhukovsky, Schwartz and many others for children of this age.
Instead of a conclusion
A fairy tale is a very interesting genre, which is still studied by various researchers, and children read according to school curriculum. Initially, they were only folk, transmitted orally. But then author’s literary fairy tales began to appear, which are usually taken as a basis folklore stories and characters. Such works are small, they contain fiction and a special narrative. But this is precisely what makes the fairy tale genre special and distinguishes it from others.