Morphology of the Folktale

by Vladimir Jakovlevic Propp

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This book is the classic work on forms of the European folktale.

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6 reviews
Very, very dry but interesting. The book describes how to study or breakdown folktales into components using quasi-mathematical formulas to reveal their morphology or form. This digestion of the folktale and the fairy-tale subset can allow for new plots and stories to be revealed or formulated by simply substituting the values (occurrences) in the variables representing the components though the formula itself may change depending on the general "shape" of the tale itself. I found it interesting but a little hard to read fortunately the text is short at around 100 pages. If this really is your thing then this book will be interesting if not then stay far away!
Extremely 'important,' brilliant, dry as dust structuralism. It pleasingly falls into place in the history of literary theory (structuralism as a better way of understanding literary form than pure historical reconstructions), and is as detailed as you'd expect. It should also be helpful for those who read or write fairy tales, which, for the uninitiated, is a very hip thing to do at the moment. For those who don't want to do history of theory, or fairy tales, this book will be fairly unhelpful. It might even be painful. It should probably be avoided.

That said, the cover is astonishingly well designed. Well done to whoever did that.
Për mundësinë e termit morfologjia e përrallës nuk ka menduar kush. Ndërkaq në sferën e përrrallës folklorike popullore shqyrtimi i formave dhe përpunimi i ligjësive të ndërtimit është i mundur me po atë përpikmëri, sa ç'është e mundur morfologjia e formacioneve organike.
Për mundësinë e termit morfologjia e përrallës nuk ka menduar kush. Ndërkaq në sferën e përrrallës folklorike popullore shqyrtimi i formave dhe përpunimi i ligjësive të ndërtimit është i mundur me po atë përpikmëri, sa ç'është e mundur morfologjia e formacioneve organike.
Con Morfología del cuento, (publicado en 1928) Vladimir Propp se adelantó en muchos aspectos a los trabajos de su tiempo, pero se captó el alcance de su descubrimiento científico hasta el momento en que se introdujeron en lingüística y en etnología los métodos del análisis estructural. En la actualidad, Morfología del cuento es uno de los libros más conocidos y apreciados en el mundo de los estudios folklóricos.
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Canonical title
Morphology of the Folktale
Original title
Morfologija Skazki: Trasformacii volshebnikh skazok; Morfologija skazki; Strukturno-tipologicheskoe izuchenie skazki; Морфология сказки
Original publication date
1968 (English translation) (English translation); 1928
People/Characters
Baba Yaga; Iván; Koščéj; Swan-goose; Afánas'ev, Aleksandr
First words
INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EDITION

The subject of this study, the Rusian fairy tale (volšébnaja skdzka), is the most numerous and artistically the most elaborate of the Slavic folktales.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

The preparatio of this second English edition of Vladímir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale has two major objectives.
CHAPTER I

On the History of the Problem

Scholarly literature concerning the tale is not especially rich.
Quotations
A tale usually begins with some sort of initial situation. The members of a family are enumerated, or the future hero (e.g. a soldier) is simply introduced by mention of his name or indication of his status.
[Chapter III, ... (show all)The Functions of Dramatis Personae, 3rd paragraph; p. 25 in the 2nd edition.]
Original language
Russian

Classifications

Genres
Nonfiction, Literature Studies and Criticism, General Nonfiction
DDC/MDS
398.210947Society, government, & cultureCustoms, etiquette & folkloreFolklore & FolktalesFolk literatureFairy TalesFairy tales by placeFairy tales of EuropeFairy Tales of Russia and the Baltic States
LCC
GR550 .P7613Geography, Anthropology and RecreationFolkloreFolkloreBy subjectSupernatural beings, demonology, fairies, ghosts,
BISAC

Statistics

Members
940
Popularity
28,368
Reviews
6
Rating
½ (3.69)
Languages
11 — Bulgarian, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
31
ASINs
10