Key Theories & Frameworks
Trace folktales to their origin by comparing variants across regions. Identify the "Ur-form" — the original version. Criticized for assuming a single origin but valuable for understanding diffusion.
Folklore serves social functions: education, social control, entertainment, and cultural continuity. "Folklore is a mirror of culture" — reflects and reinforces social norms and values.
Propp's "Morphology of the Folktale" — 31 narrative functions in Russian fairy tales. All tales follow the same structure — different characters, same plot. Dundes applied structuralism to American folklore.
Folklore is not just text but performance — the act of telling. Context, audience, and performer shape the folklore. "Folklore is communication in context" — the same story changes with each telling.
Examines women's folklore — domestic arts, lullabies, gossip, rituals. Challenges male-dominated canon. Reveals women's perspectives, resistance strategies, and cultural contributions.
Folklore in the digital age — internet memes, urban legends, viral videos. Folklore is not dying but evolving. "Fakelore" — manufactured traditions. The boundaries between folk and popular culture blur.
Core Concepts
Traditional practices — seasonal festivals, life-cycle rituals, foodways, crafts. Examples: Maypole dancing, harvest festivals, wedding customs, folk medicine. Embodies cultural identity and continuity.
Case Studies & Examples
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected German folk tales — "Children's and Household Tales" (Grimms' Fairy Tales). 200+ tales including Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White. Not originally for children — scholarly collection of oral tradition. Shaped global understanding of fairy tales.
Arthurian legends — from Geoffrey of Monmouth (1136) to Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur" (1485) to modern adaptations. Themes: chivalry, quest for the Holy Grail, betrayal, ideal kingship. Reflects medieval values and continues to shape Western literature and film.
Anansi the spider — trickster figure from West African (Akan) folklore. Spread to Caribbean and Americas through slavery. Tales of Anansi's cunning, humor, and survival. Represents resistance, intelligence, and cultural continuity of African diaspora.
Internet folklore — creepypastas (Slender Man), chain letters, viral hoaxes, memes. "Slender Man" (2009) — fictional character that became "real" to some. Demonstrates how folklore evolves in digital spaces — rapid transmission, collective creation, blurred reality.
Practice Questions
A: Myth: sacred narrative, set in primordial time, featuring gods and supernatural beings. Legend: believed to be true, set in historical time, featuring human characters. Fairy tale: fictional, set in "once upon a time," featuring magic and transformation. Each genre has its own conventions and functions.
A: Propp's "Morphology of the Folktale" (1928): 31 narrative functions in Russian fairy tales. All tales follow the same structure — different characters, same plot. Functions include: absentation, interdiction, violation, reconnaissance, delivery, trickery, complicity, villainy, lack, counteraction, return, recognition. Universal structure underlying surface diversity.
A: (1) Education — transmitting cultural values and knowledge, (2) social control — reinforcing norms through cautionary tales, (3) entertainment — providing enjoyment and aesthetic experience, (4) cultural continuity — maintaining identity across generations, (5) psychological — expressing anxieties, hopes, and desires, (6) social cohesion — creating shared experience and community.
A: Digital folklore: internet memes, creepypastas, viral hoaxes, chain letters. Characteristics: rapid transmission, collective creation, blurred reality, global reach. "Fakelore" — manufactured traditions. The boundaries between folk and popular culture blur. Folklore is not dying but evolving — new forms, same functions.
A: Performance theory (Bauman, 1977): folklore is not just text but performance — the act of telling. Context, audience, and performer shape the folklore. "Folklore is communication in context" — the same story changes with each telling. Shifts focus from static texts to dynamic events — how folklore is created, transmitted, and transformed in performance.