Andrew Lang and The Fairy Tale

Abstract

<p>This thesis concerns itself with identifying Andrew Lang's theories on the fairy tale and the ways in which he applied these theories to his collections and his own fairy tales. The first chapter will deal with the traditional tale, offering a sampling of the many contradictory opinions about its origin and definition, and attempting to illustrate the problems involved in a discusion of this genre.Then it provides a history of the traditional fairy tale and the attitudes in England towards it. The second chapter surveys Lang's fairy tale collections, The Twelve Colour Fairy Books, and explores the conception of the fairy tale reflected in the selection and editing of the tales and in the prefaces to the separate volumes. It will then offer a definition of the fairy tale that fits Lang's collections in the light of the several working definitions established in Chapter I. Chapter III will investigate the characteristics of this genre and Chapter IV will address itself specifically to Lang's own fairy stories and atempt to see them in relation to the traditional and the literary fairy tale.</p>