Folktale examples in literature
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In the remoter parts of the world, whither any adequate study must lead us, the European tale-types are applicable to very few stories. 'Outside of Europe, however, Aarne's index is of little use. Thompson also intended the Motif Index to cover motifs from all over the world, as the following quote from his introduction demonstrates: The Motif Index strives to cover all motifs, whether they show up in Märchen, legends, or myths. The entire volume number 6, the index volume to all of the motifs is also contained in this section.Īs you will notice, each section can be either searched or browsed by clicking the appropriate link below the search area. However, We have included in the database all of the motifs, descriptors, cross references, along with the general outline and detailed synopsis for each alphabet used. We have OMITTED the introductory material included by Thompson, his bibliography, and all of his abbreviated bibliographic references that appear in the printed volumes accompanying the majority of the motifs.
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We have entered most of the contents of the motif index into this section of the database. In 1966 he published a revised version of this index. Folklorists call these details motifs, and in 1955 Stith Thompson compiled a five volume list of these narrative elements, and a one volume index, into the Motif Index. Some of these details were characters, such as the wicked stepmother or the wicked witch, while others were plot details, such as the importance of the number three, or the fact that trolls turn to stone when they are caught by the sunlight. Just as the early publications of folktale collections led folklorists to realize that the same tales existed in different times and in different countries, it also led to the realization that there were certain details in folktales that showed up in many different tales.
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When you have completed entering a motif, click "search" and if an appropriate tale(s) is available, it or they will appear on the "search results" page(s). Many tales will have a number of motifs depending upon the involvement of the story. The entire descriptor and explanation are entered, as occurs in the "tale type". When entering the motif letter and number, there is no space between the letter and the accompanying number.Also, only the first letter of the descriptor is capitalized. There is no motif that indicates a god with nine eyes, so an analyst might use c A123.3.1.1 Three-eyed god to indicate that the god isn't actually a three-eyed god but is close.Ĭlick on the motif section to begin entering the motifs enclosed in the analyst's work. For example, consider motif A123.3.1.1 Three-eyed god. Unless otherwise indicated, numbers given by Tales Online are taken from Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Traditional Folk Literature, Bloomington, Indiana, University Press, 1955, 6 vols.Ĭ: a small c in front of a motif indicates that the tale includes a motif similar to, but not identical to, the listed motif.
#Folktale examples in literature series
Motif number: a letter and a series of numbers that are a shorthand way of referring to specific details found in folktales. For example, the descriptor for motif A1010 is "Deluge", meaning that motif A1010 describes world floods such as the one survived by Noah. A motif may refer to a character, action, setting, or object.ĭescriptor: a short verbal explanation of what each motif is about. Motif: a term used by folklorists to describe individual details within a tale. We have also assigned relevant keywords to each tale words that are not contained in the short summaries, or descriptors.Īll tale motifs have been linked to the entire Thompson Motif Index.As a result, entering an appropriate Motif number or descriptor or word within a descriptor will bring up all of the tales in the database which contain either the exact number or descriptor word if such a term(s) or number has been used. All tales in the database have been analyzed and assigned relevant Tale Type numbers along with their accompanying descriptors, Motif numbers along with their accompanying descriptors, characters and character roles have been indicated, and settings identified along with the genre and age appropriateness. One use of the Tales Online Thompson Motif Index search is to facilitate access to the tales contained in Tales Online which have been assigned relevant motifs.