Elements+of+a+Fairy+Tale


 * Elements Found in Fairy Tales **

A **fairy tale** is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, witches, giants, and talking animals) and enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events. The term is also used to describe something blessed with unusual happiness, as in "fairy tale ending" (a happy ending) or "fairy tale romance," though not all fairy tales end happily. Fairy tales are a genre in literature. They have their roots in the oral tradition. Fairy tales with very similar plots, characters, and motifs are found spread across many different cultures. Fairy tales also tend to take on the color of their location, through the choice of motifs, the style in which they are told, and the depiction of character and local color.

A **fable** is a brief, succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized (given human qualities), and that illustrates a moral lesson (a "moral"), which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.

A fable differs from a **parable** in that the latter //excludes// animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as actors that assume speech and other powers of humankind.

** Special beginning and/or ending words ** ~ Once upon a time...and they lived happily ever after. Sometimes, there’s a surprise ending… ** Good character ** ~ Do you see a kind, innocent character? Is the good character clever? Is s/he helped by others? ** Evil character ** ~ Do you see a witch? A demon? An evil stepmother? A sinister gnome? In the end, the evil character usually loses somehow… ** Royalty ** ~ Is there a castle? A prince? A princess? A king? A queen? ** Poverty ** ~ Do you see a poor working girl, a poor family, a poor shepherd? – Do you see poor people trying to eke out a living to have enough to eat ** Magic **** and Enchantments ** ~ Do you see magical things happening? Do you see talking animals/objects? You might see fairies, trolls, elves, goblins, etc. ** Reoccurring Patterns / Numbers ** ~ Do you see any patterns? Often, you’ll see things, phrases, tasks appear in "threes," “sixes,” and/or "sevens" Universal Truths ~ the tale probably touches on some universal experiences (i.e., coming of age) or hopes (i.e., to have enough food and love)
 * Common motifs ~ **
 * Talking animals / objects
 * Cleverness / trickster / word games
 * Traveler’s tales
 * Origins ~ where do we come from?
 * Triumph of the poor
 * Human weakness explored (i.e., curiosity, gluttony, pride, laziness, etc.)
 * Human strengths glorified (i.e., kindness, generosity, patience, etc.)
 * Trickster (sometimes a hero, sometimes on the side of evil but humans benefit)
 * Tall story (slight exaggeration – hyperbole)
 * Magic words or phrases; repetition of phrases/words (//abracadabra!//)
 * Guardians (fairy godmothers, mentors, magical helpers, guides, etc.)
 * Monsters (dragons, ogres, evil creatures, etc.)
 * Struggle between good and evil, light and dark
 * Youngest vs. Oldest (sons, daughters, sibling rivalry)
 * Sleep (extended sleep, death-like trances)
 * Impossible tasks (ridiculously mind-numbing, fantastic effort needed to complete, etc.)
 * Quests
 * Gluttony / Starvation (there’s a fine line between eating for survival and succumbing to temptation)
 * Keys, passes (opening new doors)
 * Donors, Benefactors, Helpers