Bellwork When you hear the word “fairy tale” what is the first thing that comes to mind? Why? Explain.

Definition a children's story about magical and imaginary beings and lands. denoting something regarded as resembling a fairy story in being magical, idealized, or extremely happy. a fabricated story, especially one intended to deceive.

Controversies Some may argue that children should not read fairy tales, due to the fact that they are stories that can never come true. Others argue that to cast out fairy tales is to rob human beings of their childhood, which is the time in their lives where their imagination is the active.

Why Fairy Tales are Important They are meant to amuse, but they also provide children with a by-product which has a moral significance. In every reaction which the child has for distress or humor in the tale, he or she deposits another layer of vicarious experience, and the emotions that are exhibited in these stories assist with the shaping of the child’s personality. Bottom line: fairy tales bring a child joy!

Transmission of Fairy Tales Oral transmission- people learned of the tale and then spread the story by word of mouth. The story became well known by being told over and over again. Tales came from various countries: Persia, India, Egypt, Greece, Italy, France, to name a few.

Charles Perrault Was born in Paris in 1628, died 67 years later, in 1695 Wrote fairy tales 200 years before the Grimm Brothers Wrote: Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, Mother Goose, and many others

Charles Perrault Tales were translated into English in 1729. The original stories were more grisly than how we know them now. His version of Little Red Riding Hood, for example, made it more explicitly obvious that the 'wolf' is a man intent on preying on young girls who wander alone in woods. The version of Sleeping Beauty we know now is a combination of a tale by Perrault (which in turn was based on older stories dating back to the 14th century) and the Grimm Brothers’, Briar Rose, which was an oral version of Perrault's.

Charles Perrault In 2011, a version of Sleeping Beauty, directed by Julia Leigh, harked back to Perrault’s original tale. Emily Browning played a cash-strapped student who takes a job at a brothel. She strips naked and is drugged into a stupor, before equally naked old men pay to climb into bed with her.

Grimm Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are often associated with Snow White and Rapunzel, but they didn’t write either tale. The tales existed before they were born. They were born in Germany in the mid 1780s. These tales were part of the oral tradition- passed down from generation to generation, by women who wanted to pass the time while doing household chores. However, industrialization occurred, and traditions began to change. Jacob and Wilhelm wanted to save the stories, so they interviewed relatives and friends, collecting whatever tales they could. Some say the brothers embellished some of the tales, but they insist that they did not. In 1812, they published those stories as part of a collection titled Nursery and Household Tales, A.K.A. Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

Grimm Brothers Originally, Grimm’s Fairy Tales were not meant for children. The stories routinely included sex, violence, and incest. They also did not include illustrations, as they were aimed toward an adult audience. The early editions of Nursery and Household Tales contained remarkably dark elements. In its original version, for example, Rapunzel gets pregnant by the prince after a casual fling. In Cinderella, the stepsisters cut off their toes and heels to try to fit into the slipper. These sort of scenes (and many others) were eventually revised once the stories became popular among children. 

Grimm Brothers They had written 7 editions when Wilhelm died (1859). At that point, it included 211 stories, and intricate illustrations had been added. Some say their collection has only been outsold by Shakespeare and the Bible.

Hans Christian Andersen Danish author, 1805-1875. Most famous for The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea, and The Ugly Duckling. Moved to Copenhagen, and wanted to be an actor. He started to write during this time, but was discouraged to continue. He wrote a short story, a play, and a book of poetry. Won a grant from the King, which allowed him to travel across Europe to pursue writing. He started writing fairy tales in 1835.

Hans Christian Andersen Continued to write for both adults and children. He wrote autobiographies, travel diaries, and poetry. Critics overlooked stories like The Little Mermaid and The Emperor’s New Clothes. In 1845, English translations began to gain attention from foreign audiences.

Hans Christian Andersen He forged a friendship with novelist Charles Dickens. He died in 1872 when he fell out of his bed. His final publication, a collection of stories, was published the same year. An amusement park based on his work opened in Japan in 1996. An amusement park based on his work is scheduled to open on June 1, 2017 in Shanghai.

Writing a Classic Fairy Tale Decide what lesson your fairy tale is going to teach before you write it. Fairy tales are morality tales from the horror of stepmothers to not talking to strangers. They are generally teaching a lesson of some kind, therefore this is an important first step.

Writing a Classic Fairy Tale Create a good character. A fairy tale needs someone to root for. They don’t have to be perfect. Consider Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk, or Red in Little Red Riding Hood. The main thing is, your readers should like them and want them to succeed.

Writing a Classic Fairy Tale Devise an evil character. A fairy tale must have an evil character that works as an antagonist to the good character. The evil character usually has special powers of some sort, and they must use those powers in a way to cause the good character pain.

Writing a Classic Fairy Tale Design a magical character or object to write into the fairy tale. The magical character can be the evil character, but many fairy tales have both good and evil magical characters that work to off-set the other’s influence.

Writing a Classic Fairy Tale Identify what obstacles your good character is going to have to face. Whatever the obstacle, it should seem insurmountable and genuinely require a bit of creativity by your good character, as well as a little magical assistance.

Writing a Classic Fairy Tale Write a happy ending. A fairytale isn’t a fairytale unless it has a happy ending. Your good character must succeed and your evil character must lose, and lose in a big way, so you can write your “happily ever after.”

Writing a Classic Fairy Tale Also, make sure to have a compelling setting, and some magic couldn’t hurt either. Castles…forests...a picture that transports the main character somewhere...including these types of things are important.

Writing a Modern Fairy Tale You should select a classic fairy tale as a jumping off point. Time: A story could be set in the present or the future instead of "once upon a time”. Location: A story could be set in a different country or region. (Imagine a "Cinderella" story set in Africa, Texas, Manhattan). Gender: The gender of the protagonist (main character) can be changed to provide a fresh slant. Why can’t it be Jill and the Beanstalk? Ending: Or, you can keep many elements of the story the same, but change the ending.

“The Rule of Three” The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears (which included 3 bears, 3 bowls or porridge, and 3 beds), Cinderella receives 3 gifts (glass shoes, mice became coachmen, and a pumpkin became a carriage) Belle is with the Beast for 3 months. “The Rule of Three” was a rule used to help people remember events of a story, which was important when fairy tales were being delivered orally. There are also 3 parts to a story: beginning, middle, and the end.

Sevens Seven was also a prominent number: 7 dwarves, 7 ravens, 7 days, 7 deadly sins. 7 has been determined to be an unlucky number, and there is also the saying, “Bad things come in threes.”

Examples of Modern Fairy Tales Red, by Reese Reed Cinder, by Marissa Meyer Dorothy Must Die, by Danielle Paige Once Upon A Time (TV Series) Grimm (TV Series) Beastly (film) Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (film) Shrek (film) Beauty and the Beast (CW TV Series) A Cinderella Story (film) Ella Enchanted (film) Sydney White (film)

Fairy Tale Assignment Write a classic fairy tale, which has the classic elements, but is your original idea. Write a modern fairy tale, where you take a classic fairy tale, and re-write it to reflect what it would be like today. You can type it, or you can make it similar to a children’s book and include illustrations. Length: It needs to be a complete story. Many fairy tales are similar to the length of a short story. Make sure the story is told in its entirety! Due on June 1st, on turnitin.com, by 11:59 p.m. If you are doing illustrations, follow the same procedures as when we did the children’s books (turn in the text file on turnitin.com, and bring the book to class).

Memoirs Memoirs are due on Thursday, 5/25, by 11:59 p.m., on turnitin.com