Billy Ray Blog #2

A folk or fairy tale is a form of literature that tells tales of a magical land or magical beings. These tales are not just meant for children, as they can be very appealing/satisfying to read for adults too. Like any other fiction book, a folk or fairy tale has an interesting story that pulls us in. Fairy tales don’t always have an original author, and they are constantly changing. The tales always change because they are passed through tons of different generations and cultures. For example, the story of Cinderella in America may be very different from the story of Cinderella in India. Though these stories change, there are certain things that are vital to a fairy tale that don’t and never will change. 

There are two agents to folklore. One being the performer, and the other being the listener. Things like family, religion, and society largely influence how a tale is told or how a person interprets the tale. Folk and fairy tales use many parallelisms, repetition, similes, metaphors, and epithets in their text, which is different from regular literature. Another way folk and fairy tales are different from regular works of literature is the emphasis on motifs. A motif that is seen throughout these tales are archetypes. Archetypes are the specific psychic impulse, producing an effect similar to a single ray of radiation and at the same time a whole magnetic field going in all directions. Some of the most important parts of a folk or fairy tale are also the character, structure, and the acts. 

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