What are the tales? Types and genres of fairy tales

A fairy tale is an integral part of childhood. It is unlikely that there will be a person who, as a child, did not listen to many different stories. Growing up, he retells them to his children, who understand them in their own way, drawing in the imagination the images of existing characters and experiencing the emotions that the tale conveys.

What is a fairy tale? What are the tales? We will try to answer these questions further.

Definition

According to the scientific definition in the literature, the fairy tale is "an epic literary genre, a narration about some magical or adventurous events that has a clear structure: the beginning, the middle and the ending." From any tale the reader must learn some lesson, morality. Depending on the type, the fairy tale performs other functions. There are many classifications of the genre.

The main types of fairy tales

What are the tales? Each of us will agree that in a separate kind it is necessary to single out tales about animals. The second kind is fairy tales. And, finally, there are so-called everyday fairy tales. All species have their own characteristics, which become clear by a comparative analysis of them. Let's try to understand more in each of them.

What are the tales of animals?

The existence of such stories is justified, because animals are creatures that live with us in the immediate vicinity. It is this fact that has affected the fact that folk art uses images of animals, and the most diverse: both wild and domestic. At the same time, it should be noted that animals found in fairy tales are not represented as typical animals, but as special animals endowed with human features. They live, communicate and behave like real people. Such artistic techniques make it possible to make the image understandable and interesting, filling it with a certain meaning.

In turn, fairy tales about animals can also be divided into fairy tales involving wild or domestic animals, objects or objects of inanimate nature. Often literary scholars, speaking about what kind of genre of fairy tales happen, classify them into magical, cumulative and satirical. Also in this classification is the genre of fables. You can divide tales of animals into works for children and adults. Often in a fairy tale there is a person who can perform a dominant or secondary role.

Usually with fairy tales about animals the children get acquainted even at the age of three to six years. They are most understandable to small readers, as they meet with regular characters: a cunning fox, a cowardly hare, a gray wolf, a clever cat and so on. As a rule, the main feature of each animal is its characteristic feature.

What are the stories about animals? The answer is very different. Cumulative tales, for example, are selected according to the principle of story communication, where the same characters meet, just in different circumstances. Often the heroes of fairy tales have names in a diminutive form (Lisichka-Sestrichka, Zaychik-Pobegaichik, Frog-Kvakushka and so on).

The second kind is a fairy tale

What are the literary tales of magic? The main characteristic of this species is a magical, fantastic world in which the main characters live and act. The laws of this world are different from the usual ones, everything is different in it, in fact, what attracts young readers and makes this kind of fairy tales, undoubtedly the most beloved of children. The magical environment and the plot allow the author to show all his imagination and use as much as possible appropriate art techniques, with the goal of creating a work specifically for the children's audience. It's no secret that the child's imagination is unlimited, and it is very, very difficult to satisfy it.

In most cases this kind of fairy tales has a typical plot, certain heroes and a happy ending. What are fairy tales about magic? It can be narratives about heroes and fantastic creatures, tales of unusual objects and various tests that are overcome by magic. As a rule, in the final the heroes marry and live happily ever after.

Note that the heroes of fairy tales embody many positive qualities. Among the main themes of this literary genre is the struggle between good and evil, the struggle for love, truth and other ideals. Must be present a negative hero, who in the finals will be defeated. The structure of the fairy tale is the usual - the beginning, the main part and the ending.

Household Tales

Such stories tell about the events of ordinary life, illuminating various social problems and human characters. In them the author ridicules negative human qualities. Such tales are social and satirical, with elements of a fairy tale and many others. Here, the negative qualities of rich and vain people are laughed at, while representatives of the people embody positive features. Household tales show that the main thing is not money and strength, but kindness, honesty and intelligence. Literary critics say - and this is a fact - that they were written at a time when people were experiencing social crises, sought to change the structure of society. Among popular artistic techniques, satire, humor, and laughter stand out here.

What types of fairy tales are there?

In addition to the above classification, the tales are still divided into copyright and folk. Already from the names it is clear that the author's - fairy tales, which were written by a certain famous writer-storyteller, and folk - those that do not have one author. Folk tales are passed from mouth to mouth from generation to generation, and the original author is not known to anyone . Let's consider each type separately.

Folk tales

Folk tales are rightly considered to be a powerful source of historical facts, information about everyday life and the social structure of a certain people. Each of the peoples for their history came up with a huge number of instructive stories for adults and children, conveying their experience and wisdom to the next generation.

Folk tales reflect human relations and the change of moral principles, show that the basic values remain unchanged, they teach to draw a clear line between good and evil, joy and sorrow, love and hatred, truth and lies.

The peculiarity of folk tales is that in a simple and easily readable text the deepest social meaning is hidden. In addition, they preserve the richness of the national language. What folk tales are there? They can be both magical and domestic. Many folk tales tell about animals.

Often the question arises as to when the first Russian folk tale was invented. It certainly will remain a mystery, and one can only guess. It is believed that the first "heroes" of fairy tales were natural phenomena - the Sun, the Moon, the Earth and so on. Later they began to obey the man, and the images included people and animals. There is an assumption that all Russian folk narratives have a real basis. In other words, an event was retold in the form of a fairy tale, changed over the centuries, and reached us in the form to which we are accustomed. What are Russian folk tales, figured out. It's time to talk about fairy tales, whose authors are well known to readers.

Author's tales

Typically, the author's work is a subjective processing of the national plot, however, new stories are found quite often. Characteristic features of the author's tale - psychologism, sublime speech, vivid characters, the use of fabulous cliches.

Another feature of this genre is that it can be read at different levels. So, the same story is perceived differently by representatives of different age groups. Children's tales of Charles Perrault to the child seem an innocent story, while an adult person will find in them serious problems and morals. Often books that were originally intended for the young reader are interpreted by adults in their own way, as well as fantastic stories for adults are to children's liking.

Who are they, the authors of fairy tales? Surely everyone has heard about the "Tales of My Mother Goose" by Charles Perrault, the tales of the Italian Gozzi, the works of the German writer Wilhelm Hauf, the brothers Grimm and the Danish fairy tale Hans Christian Andersen. You can not forget about the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin! Their stories are loved by children and adults around the world. Entire generations are growing on these tales. At the same time, all author's works are interesting from the standpoint of literary criticism, they all fall under a certain classification, have their own artistic features and authorial techniques. By the most famous and favorite fairy tales films and cartoons are made.

Conclusion

So, we figured out what fairy tales are. Whatever the fairy tale is - author's, folk, social, magic, or narrating about animals - it is sure to teach something to the reader. The most interesting is that it does not matter who reads the story. Both adults and children will certainly learn something useful from it. Everyone's tale will make you think, pass on the wisdom of the people (or the author) and leave an indelible good impression in the minds of the readers. The effect is not at all exaggerated. There are even so-called therapeutic tales, which are able to re-educate and wean from a variety of bad habits!