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Description:
Folk tales are all about conveying a deeper meaning—no banjos required. Arabian Nights is one of the most famous collections, so get ready to learn some lessons.
Transcript
- 00:03
Arabian Nights, a la Shmoop. Arabian Nights, or as it is known by its official
- 00:10
title, One Thousand and One Nights, is chock-full of folk tales.
- 00:15
Okay, great... but what is a folk tale?
- 00:18
Well, let's take a look at one in Arabian Nights...
- 00:21
...and see if we can figure out exactly what makes a folk tale, well...a folk tale.
Full Transcript
- 00:29
"The Fisherman and the Jinni."
- 00:32
Right off the bat, the title clues us in to one common aspect of a folk tale... stock
- 00:39
characters.
- 00:40
These fictional characters exhibit common characteristics or mannerisms. They are drawn
- 00:45
from cultural stereotypes, and they keep popping up in multiple stories.
- 00:50
So... it's almost as if they are "in stock."
- 01:02
In this particular story, we've got a poor fisherman who is struggling to feed his family...
- 01:07
...and the Jinni... which is just an old-timey way of spelling "genie"...
- 01:13
... grants him a wish.
- 01:14
In other words...
- 01:16
They're stock... predictable... expected. They don't offer any unexpected surprises;
- 01:22
instead they look and sound exactly the same every time they appear in a text.
- 01:27
However, these predictable characters meant to be simple and easy to understand because...
- 01:32
they're meant to represent something else.
- 01:35
Maybe a human trait, like kindness, treachery or forgiveness.
- 01:39
So if you're reading about cookie cutter characters who seem to be popped out of a mold...
- 01:43
...and the story uses those characters to send a message or teach a lesson...
- 01:47
...your folk tale antennae should be up and wiggling.
- 01:51
Okay, what else?
- 01:53
Folk tales are about the folks of a particular culture.
- 01:56
So in a folk tale about the American South, you might come across such vocab as grits,
- 02:01
country music, and cowboys.
- 02:04
In this story, we've got fishing, references to Allah and Solomon, coppersmith, vizier
- 02:11
<<vi-zeer>>, and Last Judgment... all cultural references that fit "Western and Southern
- 02:18
Asia."
- 02:18
So... we can check another box in the "folk tale" column.
- 02:22
We should also be on the lookout for very simple language.
- 02:25
Folk tales don't generally get too flowery or abstract... instead, the language is concrete,
- 02:30
basic and straightforward.
- 02:31
You would see something like this:
- 02:34
"On a day he went forth about noontide to the seashore, where he laid down his basket
- 02:39
and, tucking up his shirt and plunging into the water, made a cast with his net and waited
- 02:44
till it settled to the bottom."
- 02:45
Makes it easy to understand and follow... as long as it isn't written in Arabic.
- 02:51
Folk tales also don't tend to stick to reality.
- 02:54
The world of the unlikely or implausible is totally fair game.
- 02:59
Humans being visited by otherworldly or divine beings? Sure, why not?
- 03:04
Somebody just catch a shooting star in their hand? We don't see why that couldn't happen.
- 03:09
Need a genie to come out of a bottle? Might be lookin' at a folk tale, ladies and gents...
- 03:14
Even the smallest details will often be exaggerated or unrealistic in a folk tale.
- 03:19
Like the smoke in this story that... "almost touches heaven."
- 03:22
Really? Might explain why all those angels are running for the emergency exits.
- 03:29
Finally, folk tales will usually deal with universal themes...
- 03:31
...like the power of love, the battle between good and evil, or... the deliciousness of
- 03:39
pizza.
- 03:39
You know... stuff you just can't argue. So here's a quick recap for all you soon-to-be
- 03:46
folk-a-philes. Look for:
- 03:48
Stock characters...
- 03:49
...the teaching of a lesson or moral...
- 03:51
...language and terminology specific to a particular culture...
- 03:55
...simple, concrete language...
- 03:58
...supernatural or unrealistic events...
- 04:00
...exaggerated details...
- 04:02
...and universal themes.
- 04:04
If you're reading something that checks most of those boxes, chances are good you're reading
- 04:08
a folk tale.
- 04:09
Take us out, magic carpet.
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