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(3.64) | None | "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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To the memory of Arthur Beatty Who first showed the way | |
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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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▾References References to this work on external resources. Wikipedia in English (7)▾Book descriptions "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 ▾Library descriptions No library descriptions found. ▾LibraryThing members' description
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
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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. ( )