The literary fairy tale made popular in France and Germany in the 18th century.

The folk fairy tales are made up of amazing adventures of a hero or heroine, who encounters with supernatural forces, overcomes dreadful conflicts, and lives happily ever after. The folk fairy tale belongs to the oral tradition, but is different from other types of folktales, such as the fable, legend, and myth in the following ways:

• It is a tale having several episodes.
• It takes place in a mythical world.
• Its hero or heroine is not historically significant.
• It appears that the story is untrue, and its main goal is to delight the reader.

The birth of European folk fairy tales is unclear. Through the centuries, they have appeared at different times throughout Asia, Europe, and North Africa. The earliest collections of the European folk fairy tale are:

• The Gesta Romanorum (ca. 14th c.).
• The Arabian Nights (ca. 1450).
• The Facetious Nights (ca. 1550-53).
• Pentamerone (ca. 1634-36).
• Tales of Mother Goose (ca. 1697-English translation c. 1729).

The literary fairy tale has no set pattern of character, plot, or theme (motif). Made popular in Germany by Goethe and Wieland it was later considered sacred by the romantics who related it to poetry. By the 1800's, fairy tales became a source of enlightenment for all artists. Walt Disney produced animations such as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Cinderella, among others. Writers such as Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Dickens continued the tradition of the literary fairy tales.

Bib:
Lexicon Univ. Ency. New York.
The Golden Book Ency. Wisc.

©2001JCPinkerton