1. Fairy Tale Parts What is a Fairy Tale?
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features folkloric fantasy characters, such as dwarves, elves, fairies, giants, trolls, or witches, and usually incorporates magic or enchantments.
Brainstorm some Famous Fairy Tale titles.
In pairs, come up with at least five elements of a Fairy Tale.

2. Background Information
The Princess Bride mimics a fairy tale by having with common archetypes (universal symbols)
“Inconceivable!”
Beginning/Ending
Animals
Characters
Love
Royalty
Conflict/Resolution
Magic
Unity of Three
Once upon a time…happily ever after
Good guy/bad guy
Princess/Prince Charming/Castle
Fairy Godmother/Witches
Animals help/talk
Love is in the air
3 little pigs, 3 godmothers in Sleeping Beauty, 7 dwarves. Numbers represent
A Hero

3. “As you wish.”
I noted that this was for authenticity. He wanted to make it feel like a classic fairy tale.
The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure (The 'Good Parts' Version) by William Goldman
Why would he pretend that it was written by someone else?
Original presentation downloaded from Modified for class use by Deb Salter.

4. Background Information
The Princess Bride is considered to be a classic.
“A work of literature that is widely held to be one of the greatest creations within a given literary tradition.”
“This is true love - you think this happens every day?”

5. Background Information
The Princess Bride is a fantasy.
“A literary work that contains highly unrealistic elements and takes place in a non-existent and unreal world.”
I had them list examples of fantasy works.
“You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.”

6. Literary Techniques
Preface: a statement made at the beginning of a literary work, often by way of introduction
Author Intrusion: narrative technique where the narrator interrupts the plot/story to share their opinion as to what is happening in the story
Satire: A work that uses humor, wit, and/or ridicule to point out the weaknesses in human nature and institutions and thereby provokes change
“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!”

7. Narrative Structure Main story (outer frame)
The Princess Bride is a frame narrative.
Story-telling structure wherein the main story contains one or more secondary stories. A character from the main story often becomes the narrator of the secondary story.
Main story (outer frame)
Examples of frame narratives:
Canterbury Tales
Arabian Nights
Secondary story/stories
(inner frame)
“Why won't my arms move?”
“You've been
mostly-dead
all day.”

8. Buttercup
Buttercup moves complacently through her days, certain that she will never feel passion for anything or anyone again, but willing to go through the routines and rituals involved in becoming queen. The greatest factor in her decisions is a simple preference of life over death—she marries Humperdinck instead of opting for death, and she jumps into the shark-infested water rather than have her throat slit by Vizzini. In her essence, Buttercup is a common girl who also happens to be bold, passionate, and uncommonly beautiful, and in the end it is her beauty that moves the men who move the plot, not her wits or courage. The Buttercup in the book is less guarded, less rational, and more extreme but also charming.

9. Westley
Westley is motivated entirely by his love for Buttercup. He explains to her in chapter one that everything he does, he does to please her. Throughout the story, his love-directed motivation encompasses many other ends, and he learns everything the world can teach him, with the sole hope that it might one day prove useful in reclaiming his beloved. Thus, after his tryst with the Dread Pirate Roberts, he returns to Florin about to do everything with a godlike perfection. He can duel better than Inigo. He can wrestle better than Fezzik. He can reason better than Vizzini. He can live through Count Rugen's death machine. He can intimidate the over-confident Prince Humperdinck. In short, he is the ideal man, just as Buttercup is the ideal woman, despite their imperfections.

10. Inigo Montoya
"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya; you killed my father; prepare to die." This phrase that Inigo practices repeatedly for his ultimate encounter with Count Rugen completely sums up his motivation throughout the story. We learn in a flashback to his childhood that he had adored his father, a great swordmaker, who had created as his magnum opus a glittering sword for the six- fingered count. The Count returned, was displeased with the product and refused to pay the price he had originally offered, and then in a fit of anger he killed Inigo's father, shattering young Inigo's life. Inigo spends the rest of his childhood and young adulthood mastering the sword, and ultimately becomes a wizard, the highest ranked swordsman in the world.

11. Fezzik
Vizzini uses Fezzik, the strongest man alive, for criminal purposes. As an especially large child in Turkey, his parents took him to fight against champions, first locally, then all over the continent. Fezzik hated the sport of fighting but didn't want to lose his parents' affection by refusing. As a matter of fact, it is Fezzik's mother who, when Fezzik protests that fighting will hurt, says the famous words: "Life is pain. Anyone who says different is selling something." Fezzik, although excellent at following instructions, is very bad at remembering them, so Inigo often makes up rhymes that he can repeat to keep Vizzini's rules straight. He is fretful, fair, loyal to Inigo, and an excellent follower, since we are told many times that his only drive in life is not to be left alone.

12. Prince Humperdink
Prince Humperdinck, the most powerful man in what would one day become Europe, epitomizes everything crotchety, undeserved and dishonest in this story. The country of Florin is his playground, and Buttercup his disposable doll of a wife. While he is an exceptionally talented hunter, he uses his training for his own good: he hunts for sport within his zoo of death, and he disposes of his wife in order to amuse himself with a war. Even under Vizzini's criminal leadership, Fezzik and Inigo use their skills for arguably useful, perhaps even noble purposes, and thus this story is their adventure as it seeps under and around Humperdinck's reign.

13. Literary Analysis Questions
Choose one of the major characters (Westley, Buttercup, Count Rugen, Prince Humperdink, Fezzik, Inigo) in the story. Discuss the character’s personality and skill. Explain how the character functions within the novel as a main and/or secondary character.
Why does Prince Humperdinck build his Zoo of Death? What is significant about the fifth level? How would you characterize the Prince’s brand of sadism— and the sadism of Count Rugen and his life-sucking machine? How are these elements of sadism and evil necessary to the universe of a fairy tale?

14. Literary Analysis Questions
Consider the romantic relationships that Goldman describes throughout the novel (Goldman and Helen, Westley and Buttercup, Miracle Max and Valerie). How does Goldman portray the women in his novel? Does this say something about his views of romance and marriage—or is it all part of a joke?
Ultimately, how should The Princess Bride be categorized? Satire? Adventure? Romance ? Fantasy? Is the title ironic? Does it imply a tame love story or a traditional piece of children’ literature? Explain your answers.

15. Literary Analysis Questions
Goldman constantly interrupts the narrative to note that he has cut out a section of the Morgenstern. He then tells the reader what that section involved, how he feels about it, the argument he had with his editor over cutting it, and then returns the reader to the story. How do you feel about these interruptions? What purpose do they serve within the story?
What may be confusing to a reader of The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure?