I read through the The Annotated Brothers Grimm in order to get a better understanding of the content of fairy tales. I found out a lot of interesting things (which I will discuss later). In order to make taking notes a little quicker whilst reading, I used tracing paper to highlight and make annotations quicker. This is so that I could quickly and easily refer back to parts of the book when I'm writing my essay.
Key Notes
& Quotes:
- “Even
in an age when the attractions of high-tech entertainment distract us from
stories found between the covers of books, fairy tales continue to work
their magic. They ceaselessly migrate from one medium to another,
shape-shifting to suit audience both young and old and morphing into
variants that crackle with renewed narrative energy”
- Wystan
Hugh Auden- ranked as “next to the bible in importance”
- “fairy
tales have a depth that keeps us talking about the characters in them
without every feeling that we have exhausted their riches. The tales not
only reflect psychic realities and lived experiences, they have also
shaped lives through their construction of cultural anxieties and
desires.”
- Purpose- To
shorten time spent on repetitive jobs
- Initial
audience- documents for scholars
- The
Grimms wanted to “capture the pure voice of the German people”- got their
tales from real people
- Relief
that comes with the happy ending
- Juxtapositions/
opposites- “rags to riches"
- Stereotypes
of gender – changed over time- i.e. brave
- Vladimir
Propp- ‘Villainy’- fuels the plots of fairy tales – “danger lurks in
every corner of the world”
- Fairy
tales have been moulded and changed but story still shines through
- One
of the biggest adjustments- have been appropriated for children- 1819
(Grimms)
- Change
in writing style- more descriptive
- Eliminated
references of a sexual nature, bawdy humour etc
- Preserved
violence – added value- distinction between virtue and vice- children find
cathartic pleasures in displays of physical violence- find theory
- John
Ellis- argued that Grimms lost “authentic folk quality”
- Luthi-
Grimms narrative style changed- “replacing psychological suffering by a
physical blow”- Rapunzel
- Deal
with daily issues
- Address
important matters that can be difficult to communicate “these are the
tales that continue to enchant and entrance, the stories that invite us to
engage with events that still matter to us today.
- Perfect
balance of what is real and what isn’t
- Reach different
cultures- Greek Mythology vs. fairy tales- Europa vs. Red riding hood
- Joseph
Cambell- Myths deal with the serious matter of living life, fairy tales
told for entertainment
- Fairy
tales can rise to seriousness in re-interpretations- i.e. poets, Angela
Carter
- Cultural
issues- Cinderella: courtship, marriage, romance/ Little red riding hood:
vulnerable young against predator
- Remakes
in TV/ Film: If it wasn’t for them fairy tales might not still
be as popular
- Multiple
“delivery systems”- “have reclaimed multi-generational appeal”
- Reach
different audiences- i.e. tv shows for young adults, books for children
- Colours
used- red, white, black, silver, gold, steel
- Don’t
often use green as a symbolic colour- interesting- green = health,
positive, red = danger, negative
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