A Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System

by D.L. Ashliman

Students of folklore and storytellers will find this new guide useful. Ashliman has followed the Aarne-Thompson classification system fairly closely in his geographical classification and his tale type headings. . . . Ashliman's main aim is to `help readers find reliable texts of any given folktale, not only in its best-known version, but also in less familiar variants.' There are cross-references from one tale type to another, a complete listing of Grimm's 200 tales with type classifications as an appendix, and an index of best-known titles and key words from typical plots. Choice

A Guide to Folktales in the English Language is designed to assist both the folklore specialist and the general reader in locating the texts of folktales published in collections. Author D.L.Ashliman follows the widely accepted type classification established by folklorists Annti Aarne and Stith Thompson and last revised in 1961, organizing more than 5,000 stories and episodes under some 1,000 basic plots. Each plot is presented in capsule form, followed by the titles and essential bibliographic data of published variants. The result is a comprehensive overview of all major European folktales that will be invaluable for students of folklore, literature, and popular culture.

Genres: Reference

384 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 1987

About the author

Emeritus professor of folklore, mythology, comparative literature, and German at University of Pittsburgh.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing exciting on an emotional or a reading for simple pleasure level, D.L. Ashliman's Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System is basically and mostly an extensive and intensive bibliographical index, listing the famous and still standard Aarne-Thompson Classification System, as well as also presenting a detailed record of mostly and yes very specifically English-language folktale examples for each of the classification types (and of course their corresponding numbers, as the Aarne-Thompson index is for all intents and purposes primarily numerical in set-up).

Now in the introduction, Ashliman states that the main, that the primary aim of his Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System is to help potential and interested readers locate reliable primary texts, to find English language narratives of any given, presented Aarne-Thompson folktale type and indeed of both the familiar and the less familiar variants, and as such, Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System has most certainly and more than adequately adequately achieved this goal. And although unfortunately, the index at the back of the book does not seem to list all of the presented and featured examples by title, it is nevertheless extensive enough and thus a great starting point for further folk and fairy tale research (and the sections, the lists on relevant secondary literature sources and main primary folktale collections are an added bonus and appreciatively substantial as well). However and personally, I do wish that D.L. Ashliman had also chosen to include in his Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System specific and dedicated English language children's literature examples and collections of fairy and folktales, as well as at least some of the many picture book variations/adaptations of the former in his otherwise oh so massively extensive lists (as this would definitely make it much easier to classify picture book variants of folk and fairy tales by the Aarne-Thompson Classification System).

Finally, and this pertains mostly to and for readers actually intending to use Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System for serious academic research and study, it must be noted that since this book was published in 1987, secondary literature and primary texts published post 1987 will, of course, by necessity, not be included (but with all such tomes, with any primary and/or secondary reference manual literature guide, that is the unavoidable nature of the academic beast).

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classification systems for fairy tales amuse me more than they probably should.