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Although nearly everyone has heard a Faerie tale at some point in his or her life, most people cannot distinguish between a Faerie tale and merely a work of fantasy. Certain criteria exist to help you determine whether a story can be classified as a Faerie tale or not. All Faerie tales assume a basic plot story, are told from a single view point, and contain similar messages.

Contrary to the name, Faerie tales do not need to include fairies, or even a single fairy. Little Red Riding Hood is an example of one Faerie tale without a fairy in it. However, all faerie tales include some form of fantasy, magic, or distorted reality. One example of distorted reality can be found in Little Red Riding Hood when the wolf manages to consume a full grown woman whole and then have her removed from his stomach, completely unscathed, with a woodcutter’s saw. Often, they also include magic animals – magical in the sense that they can speak, or can walk upright, or write.

Usually, a single, omnipotent voice narrates Faerie tales with a focus on a single character, usually the protagonist. Sometimes, the narrator will allow the reader to enter the mind of the main character but only for the purpose of explicating the underlying good versus evil theme and its effect on the mind of the character. Basically, the Faerie tale will focus on a single story line on a problem that the main character, or protagonist, needs to overcome. Popular obstacles include poverty, a sinister character, an unfair law, or controlling authority.

All faeries tales take place in the past and the narrator has the duty of “setting the scene” and explicating any history on the area that the reader will need to know in order to understand the tale. Sometimes, the author will present the story in a historical fact style where the narrator pretends that all events in the story happened in real life (like Beauty and the Beast). This technique allows the Faerie tale to come to life by linking the abstract world of the author’s mind with the concrete world we live in, which helps to vivify the reader’s mental image of the Faerie tale world.

The most important part of all Faerie tales is the message the tale delivers. Nearly every Faerie tale ends with a moral – a basic lesson the tale attempted to teach. It is usually revealed near the end of the story and relates to the undertakings and outcome of the main character’s actions.

 

 

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