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The Folktale (1946)

by Stith Thompson

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"Thompson believed the folktale to be an important and living art, underlying all literary narrative forms. Most of all he wanted to acquaint readers with most of the great folktales of the world, not only for their own interest as stories, but as elements of culture. He writes about the nature and form of the folktale, gives an account of tales from Ireland to India, devotes a special section to the North American Indian tales and myths, and another to the methods of collecting, classifying, studying folktales as a living art. He found them rich and varied sources of entertainment and wisdom. So much is to be found in them, he said, that the talents of literary critics, historians, anthropologists, psychologists, linguists are all necessary. Study of the folktale involved 'more talents than one man can easily possess.' Stith Thompson came close to possessing them."  --Los Angeles Times   "Thompson's work in their field has shaped the study of this form of literature for the past three decades. In this classic work Thompson discusses a wide range of story motifs and retells their basic patterns. His classifications and descriptions of the huge mass of folk literature are extremely enjoyable reading. He also discusses the background to his own study of the folktale. He includes an index to tale types classified according to the main story motifs which can be used for reference. This outstanding book is very highly recommended as fascinating reading." --Kliatt Paperback Book Guide   "The Folktale will appeal to a wide public: the student of sociology of literature, the professor of comparative literature, the general reader interested in folklore. Thompson's book is a scholarly masterpiece." --Studies in Short Fiction  … (more)
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Thompson was a pre-eminent folklorist, and one of the chief architects of the Aarne-Thompson Type of the Folk-Tale classification scheme. This is a classic work first issued in 1946, and not, as far as I know, updated. As such it is a bit dated, but for the most part what is here is probably still good. I presume that a good bit of the research that Thompson hoped for has been carried out. I sure that Thompson would be delighted to see the increase in international folktales retold into English. It is intended for a fairly serious student of folklore; I must admit that I might not have read it if I had realized what it is, but having gotten it on interlibrary loan, I found that I enjoyed it. He discusses the process of collecting folktales, when it apparently involved recording on wax disks. Oh, what our ancestors would have given for a video camera, or even a light-weight recording machine! It is staggering to reflect on the amount of work



Thompson first discusses the contested terminology for various types of tales. This is one part that I suspect may be dated. He then discusses the folktale in its many forms (simple, complex, legends, animal tales, etc.) from "Ireland to India", roughly tales within the Indo-European languages, although he does not use this as a strict boundary. Perhaps one should say that they are his starting point, but if the story or motif is also found anywhere else in the world, as it often is. he follows it, and discussed distribution and differences. He does not include any actual stories, but he does briefly recount the basic tale or motif. He points out that the same motif may be cycled through many different stories, and some distinct motifs don't exist as a tale, but only reusable piece. Thompson was not a purist: he rather enjoyed seeing folktales made into movies.



Thompson then contrasts this with the tales of "primitive" (that's one word that would probably be considered dated) cultures, i.e. the North American Indians, which I believe was a specialty of his. I don't know that the contrast demonstrates any particular truths, but this is quite interesting in its own right. I was amused when he told the tale of a collector among the Zuni who reciprocated by telling them tales. One tale was repeated back to him a year later, so thoroughly refashioned to Zuni sensibilities as to be barely recognizable.



He ends with a discussion of the study of the folktale: theories on origins and meanings, international organizations, major collections, etc. Again, I am intrigued by the sheer amount of intellectual work that all this requires.



Personally, I love reading folktales, especially when they are accompanied by gorgeous drawings as they so often are. This has given me a real appreciation for the diligent, even heroic efforts of folklorists. The book has an index of tale types and a regular index. ( )
  PuddinTame | Apr 30, 2010 |
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Arthur Beatty
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The teller of stories has everywhere and always found eager listeners.
PREFACE -- The past half century has seen an ever increasing interest in the folktale.
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"Thompson believed the folktale to be an important and living art, underlying all literary narrative forms. Most of all he wanted to acquaint readers with most of the great folktales of the world, not only for their own interest as stories, but as elements of culture. He writes about the nature and form of the folktale, gives an account of tales from Ireland to India, devotes a special section to the North American Indian tales and myths, and another to the methods of collecting, classifying, studying folktales as a living art. He found them rich and varied sources of entertainment and wisdom. So much is to be found in them, he said, that the talents of literary critics, historians, anthropologists, psychologists, linguists are all necessary. Study of the folktale involved 'more talents than one man can easily possess.' Stith Thompson came close to possessing them."  --Los Angeles Times   "Thompson's work in their field has shaped the study of this form of literature for the past three decades. In this classic work Thompson discusses a wide range of story motifs and retells their basic patterns. His classifications and descriptions of the huge mass of folk literature are extremely enjoyable reading. He also discusses the background to his own study of the folktale. He includes an index to tale types classified according to the main story motifs which can be used for reference. This outstanding book is very highly recommended as fascinating reading." --Kliatt Paperback Book Guide   "The Folktale will appeal to a wide public: the student of sociology of literature, the professor of comparative literature, the general reader interested in folklore. Thompson's book is a scholarly masterpiece." --Studies in Short Fiction  

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Book description
First published in 1946, this is a classic work in the field of folktales, discussing types of tales of Native Americans of North America, and also Eurasian folktales centered roughly around Indoeuropean stories, although the tales are followed through other cultures in which they are also found. Thompson was a pre-eminent folklorist, and one of the chief architects of the Aarne-Thompson Type of the Folk-Tale classification scheme.

Thompson generally gives a brief account of the tale or motif, and traces its occurance: some are general throughout the area, some are limited to a very small area, although they may be very popular there.

Thompson also discuss collecting the tales (oh, what he probably would have given for a video camera, or at least a light-weight recorder), theories about their origin and meaning, folklorist organizations, and major collections.

CONTENTS:

Part One: Nature and Forms of the Folktale

Chapter I: Universality of the Folktale

Chapter II: Forms of the Folktale

Part Two: The Folktale from Ireland to India

Chapter I: Ireland to India: Peoples and Lands

Chapter II: The Complex Tale

Chapter III: The Simple Tale

Chapter IV: The Folktale in Ancient Literature

Chapter V: European-Asiatic Folktales in Other Continents

Part Three: The Folktale in a Primitive Culture: North American Indian

Chapter I: The North American Indian Tale

Chapter II: Creation Myths

Chapter III: The Trickster Cycle

Chapter IV: Test and Hero Tales

Chapter V: Journey to the Other Worlds

Chapter VI: Animal Wives and Husbands

Chapter VII: Miscellaneous American Indian Tales

Part Four: Studying the Folktale

Chapter I: Theories of the Folktale

Chapter II: International Organization of Folk-Tale Society

Chapter III: Collecting Folktales

Chapter IV: Classifying Folk Narrative

Chapter VI: The Folktale as Living Art

Appendix A: Important Works on the Folktale

Appendix B: Principal Collections of Folktales

Index of Tale Types

Index of Motifs

General Index
Haiku summary

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