Fairy tale, it's story elements, and quality characteristics
Fairy tale is an imaginative story or piece of literature told in a variety of media. Stories, which are based on magic and fantastical settings, plots, characters, and happy endings.
A quality fairy tale tells a compelling story with a time less theme. It can further be characterized by looking at the story elements (characters, plot, setting, theme, style, tone, and point of view) with quality characteristics and how they are combined to tell a story.
Quality Characteristics of fairy tales
- Plot drives the story with action and suspense.
- Characters are involved in a conflict or problem that is universal and relatable to real life.
- Problems are resolved with happy endings (fairy tale ending).
Quality characteristics by story elements
Characterization
- Characters and objects can have special powers. Magical objects, magical spells, fairy godmothers, wicked witches, ...
- Animals act like people (anthropomorphism).
Setting
- Place is imaginary or of another world or universe.
- Time is anytime or no time.
- Fantasy time (Once upon a time sets the stage and They lived happily ever after closes the tale.) any time or any place, timeless or placeless, or long long ago.
Plot
- Repeating patterns. Often in threes.
- Varied, but usually surprising twists or developments.
- Involving situations not possible in our realistic world.
- Simplistic actions in specific and simple patterns.
- Starts right out with Once upon a time ... Fast moving action that grabs the listeners interest and keeps it.
- Conflicts are usually resolved with great deeds or acts of human kindness related to good and bad/evil.
Theme
- Usually a moral. Rags to riches, trust and everything will turn out okay,
- Good versus bad or evil, right versus wrong.
- Uses magic or other ideas to achieve the extremely impossible.
- Problems of children and young adults
- Security
- Fear of leaving home
- Fear of not having a family
- Fear of not being loved or giving love
- Reflect basic values and concerns of different cultures
- Good and evil
- Right and wrong
- Justice and injustice
- Happiness, kindness, friendship, loyalty
- Good triumphant over evil
- Love and loyalty
- Love and loyalty can transform ...
- Discuss basic values of people
Style
- Use of magic or possibly powers that have no scientific bases yet verified by repeatable evidence.
- Use of mental powers that are not possible.
Tone
- Love, fear, justice, greed, jealousy, perseverance, punishment, retribution, kindness, mercy, justice,
- Feel that in a magical world the story is plausible.
- Despite the availability of magic the struggle of the characters seems authentic and failure an option.
Point of View
- Could be any. Often third person narrative.
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