Outside of the technical definition of format defined
above, a fairy tale contains many elements which make it different from other
texts.
Differing from the folk tale, which depicts a
societies reasoning for why things exist as they do (myth/legends), the fairy tale
examines morality. Therefore, a fairy tale's purpose is to
educate.
Outside of this, a fairy tale encompasses
characteristics typically not found in the real world. Filled with talking animals
(personification), symbolism (Red Riding Hood's cape), and imagery (far-off castles and
Lewis Carroll type environments, the characters usually shown are ones children tend to
idolize and dream about: fairies, gnomes, giants, and
trolls.
Given they are not religious by nature, the tale is
not criticized based upon its use of witchcraft and the
supernatural.
Therefore, the stories, passed down through
time by word of mouth (mirroring the Anglo-Saxon epics, and through literature, have
stood the test of time. It seems that there has been no other way to use literature to
teach morals to the young than the historically famed fairy
tale.
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