Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a story featuring folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. The fairy tale is a sub-class of the folktale. These stories often involve princes and princesses, and modern versions usually have a happy ending. In cultures where demons and witches are perceived as real, fairy tales may merge into legendary narratives, where the context is perceived by teller and hearers as having historical actuality. However unlike legends and epics they usually do not contain more than superficial references to religion and actual places, persons and events.

Contemporary fairy tales

In contemporary literature, many authors have used the form of fairy tales for various reasons, such as examining the human condition from the simple framework a fairytale provides. Some authors seek to recreate a sense of the fantastic in a contemporary discourse. Sometimes, especially in children's literature, fairy tales are retold with a twist simply for comic effect, such as The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka. Other authors may have specific motives, such as multicultural or feminist reevaluations of predominantly Eurocentric masculine dominated fairy tales, implying critique of older narratives. The figure of the damsel in distress has been particularly attacked by many feminist critics. Examples of narrative reversal rejecting this figure include The Paperbag Princess, by Robert Munsch, a picture book aimed at children in which a princess rescues a prince, or Angela Carter?s The Bloody Chamber, which retells a number of fairytales from a female point of view.

Related Topics:
Human condition - Jon Scieszka - Multicultural - Feminist - Eurocentric - Damsel in distress - Robert Munsch - Angela Carter

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Other notable figures who have employed fairy tales include A. S. Byatt, Jane Yolen, Donald Barthelme, Robert Coover, Margaret Atwood, Tanith Lee, James Thurber, Kelly Link, and many others.

Related Topics:
A. S. Byatt - Jane Yolen - Donald Barthelme - Robert Coover - Margaret Atwood - Tanith Lee - James Thurber - Kelly Link

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:Fairy tales are more than true -

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:not because they tell us dragons exist,

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:but because they tell us dragons can be beaten.

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::G. K. Chesterton

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