A fairy tale is a short story belonging to the folklore genre, typically featuring magic, enchantments and mythical or fanciful beings such as dragons, giants, fairies, witches and talking animals. In most cultures there is no firm line separating myth from folk tale or fairy tale, and together they form much of the literature of preliterate societies. Fairy tales are usually distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends and explicit moral tales like beast fables.
Facts
Place of Origin Notable ExampleSleeping Beauty and Cinderella, fixed by Charles Perrault (1697) 1 Defining TraitFeatures magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings 1 Defining Trait FAQs
Who gave Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella the forms most readers know?
Charles Perrault fixed both forms in 1697.
The French writer Charles Perrault, who in 1697 fixed the forms of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Wikipedia's account of the genre's history places him in the Salon Era, and it also says the roots of the genre lie in oral stories passed down in European cultures, so Perrault shaped older tales rather than inventing them.
Connections
Features Author
Source Charles Perrault (Wikipedia)
Source Grimms' Fairy Tales (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Jacob Grimm
Source The Little Mermaid (Wikipedia)
Source The Snow Queen (Wikipedia)
Source The Ugly Duckling (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Wilhelm Grimm
Form Of Genre
Subgenres
Source Literary fairy tale (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Fairy Tale (Wikipedia)tier 2
Sources
1. Fairy Tale (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph, second sentence
Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings.
History of the genre section, Salon Era paragraph, Perrault sentence
Charles Perrault (1697), who fixed the forms of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.
History of the genre section, second paragraph, opening sentence
Roots of the genre come from different oral stories passed down in European cultures.
Lead paragraph, defining sentence
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre.
View the Source Wikipedia: Wilhelm Grimm
Features Author: Wilhelm Grimm, BiographyQuote, Features Author: Wilhelm Grimm, Biography
A collection of fairy tales was first published in 1812 by the Grimm brothers, known in English as Grimms' Fairy Tales.
Charles Perrault (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Charles Perrault, Lead, opening paragraphQuote, Features Author: Charles Perrault, Lead, opening paragraph
He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale
Literary fairy tale (Wikipedia)
Subgenres: Literary Fairy Tale, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the parent genreQuote, Subgenres: Literary Fairy Tale, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the parent genre
A literary fairy tale is a fairy tale that differs from an oral folktale in that it is written by "a single identifiable author", as defined by Jens Tismar's monograph.
The Little Mermaid (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: The Little Mermaid, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Little Mermaid, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Fantasy, fairy tale
The Snow Queen (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: The Snow Queen, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Snow Queen, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Fairy tale
The Ugly Duckling (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: The Ugly Duckling, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Ugly Duckling, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Literary fairy tale
Grimms' Fairy Tales (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Grimm's Fairy Tales, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Grimm's Fairy Tales, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Fairy tale Folklore
Wikipedia: Jacob Grimm
Features Author: Jacob Grimm, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Jacob Grimm, Lead section
He formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the Deutsches Wörterbuch, the author of Deutsche Mythologie, and the editor of Grimms' Fairy Tales.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.