FAIRY TALES AS GENRE

Defining the term “fairy tale”

What springs to mind when you hear the words “fairy tale”?  A phrase like “Once upon a time…”?  A bevy of Walt Disney princesses?  Or possibly a beloved book or story remembered from childhood?   Defining the term “fairy tale” is certainly no easy task. 

The name "fairy tales" originated with writers in the French Salons who dubbed their tales "contes de fees." The term was translated into English as "fairy tales." The one essential element that allows us to set the fairy tale apart from other tales is the depiction of magical events as a valid part of human experience. 

Most fairy tale studies deal with literary fairy tales which are tales that have been written down by one or more authors. Once the story is transcribed, it becomes static in that version. It no longer exists only as folklore, but has become a part of the world's body of literature - thus the use of the term “literary fairy tales”.

Image from Disney Princess Wallpaper retrieved from http://www.desktopwallpapers4.me/cartoons/disney-princesses-10679/