Folklore and Fable

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    Lecture IV: The Origins of Tales

      September 12 - September 18

     

This class session will explore the origins of folk material. 

Illustration from Old Russian Folktale - King and Lovely Maiden

 

Most experts agree that tales in the Oral Tradition spring out of important messages in a culture - that is, tales don't arise from a vacuum.  In order for an oral narrative to survive, it needs to fulfill at least one important cultural function. We can trace some tales back to an effort to describe the natural world. Other tales are cautionary, designed to act as informal guides to the audience. Some tales seem to be "directed" by a need for a culture to describe itself in ways controlled by the "elite" (this is Zipes' theory).  And, large numbers of tales persist even when we have forgotten the origin and meaning.  What experts don't agree on is what, exactly, accounts for the staying power of myth.  Literature, religion, sociology, astronomy, magic, economics, psychology, science, and status all figure in the impetus to create folk material.

Nuts and bolts before we start--Be sure that you are posting regularly to the Discussion List

A word about your assignments - regular assignment, discussion, workshop.

In your syllabus, you will see assignment suggestions for each week.  I do not expect that you will respond directly to every one of these, but I would invite you to start there if you are looking for ideas about what to post on the Discussion List.  Similarly, we would like to see your work from any week that produces important new developments in your research.  In a couple of weeks, I hope we will begin to have preliminary sketches of your Research Paper subjects.  

Assignment: Each of your weekly assignments is can be seen as possibly providing material that is building toward your Final Research Project. This week, look at the tale you have written down to see what kind of origin it might have had. Does it set out some important warning or advice?  Is it a story that re-affirms the reality of the world or its magic? Save this analysis for your final project. If you have trouble figuring out the origins of your chosen tale or myth, discuss it with other class members in the discussion forum.

Be sure to check the Announcements Page.

 

Contents of Lecture IV.

Another Cinderella Story - not the movie, yet.

The Cinderella Classic, Ashputtle, told by John Jacobs.

Review of Last Three Sessions

Perhaps it would be helpful, about now, to consider the curriculum, that is, the course of study, that we have taken so far.   We've had a lot of fun, and many of you have discovered important things about favorite folktales from your childhood.  But we have also been following a critical and analytical path, laying the groundwork for deeper investigations - both cultural and literary.  Let us review what we have established to date.

About Censorship--left over from Lecture III.

then, onward, to a look at the general theories of the origins of Tales.

Entertainment - and what it means

Explaining the Unknown and Unseen

Training the Culture (cultural/social control)

Resolving Psychological Puzzles

Connecting to Supernatural Powers

 

Continue with Lecture IV.