The Forest in Folk and Fairy-Tales - 3104 Words

It has been said that in literature a forest is a place where you can both lose and find yourself. Explore the use of the forest theme in fantasy literature and discuss its relationship to the forest of folk and fairy tales. * Word count: 2700 words excluding quotes The forests of legends, myths, fantasy and fairy tales have become laden with cultural and psychological symbolism: The ancient trees in dark, uncharted places symbolise the refuge of magic and mystery beyond man’s dominion. They represent the unknowable dangers and challenges of life, a forbidden place that nevertheless yields up reward for the intrepid trespasser, a place where tests integral to personal growth are met and overcome. The fairy tale genre and cautionary†¦show more content†¦This forest is particularly deadly, mentor Gandalf thrice reminding the group to stick together and not leave the path: ‘Don’t stray off the track†¦you will never find it again and never get out of Mirkwood’ (Tolkien: 1966: 125) However this admonition merely serves to foreshadow that Bilbo’s coming ordeal will be faced off the path and alone. * ‘The entrance to the path was like a sort of arch leading into a gloomy tunnel made by two great trees that leant together, too old and strangled with ivy and hung with lichen to bear more than a few blackened leaves.’ (Tolkien: 1966:133) * Bilbo notices ‘dense cobwebs with threads extraordinarily thick’, in the ‘stabs’ of sunlight that penetrate the dark and gleams of bulbous eyes appearing when the darkness becomes stifling and absolute. In this nightmare reality, Bilbo’s allies are mysteriously spirited away and he is ‘left alone in complete silence and darkness.’ (Tolkien: 1966: 145) This solitude performs a dramatic narrative function: It enhances Bilbo’s desperate sense of being lost and marks the moment before the hero must find his strength and prove his autonomous control and competence. * The forest of the fantasy now provides a dire landscape and peril from which Bilbo must emerge having proven himself without anyone’s help. The life and death challenge meted out to Bilbo comes in the form of a hideous giant spider. AsShow MoreRelatedThe Brothers Grimm s Fairy Tales1459 Words   |  6 PagesIn the 19th century the Brothers Grimm fairy tales gave us , sex, vengeance, cruelty, crime and murder. When the Brothers Grimm wanted to get across their morals, they used the sex, vengeance, cruelty, crime and murder. For example, in Cinderella the step sisters, cut off parts of their feet to fit into the golden slipper, and The Little Mermaid died at the end of her story. In the 20th Century, we have more of a sugar coated approach to fairy tales. For example, in Cinderella her step sisters, simplyRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Fairy Tale 810 Words   |  4 Pagesrobes. In usual time, the black robes they wear usually use red sash and trim to decorate as a symbol of the willingness to sacrifice for faith. (Dilloway, 2006) 2.2 The definition of fairy tale and nonsense literature Fairy tale is a kind of short story that transfers from folkloric and fantasy characters. Fairy tales are based on the thoughts of ancient society. They take places in a magical world and the time and space are differing from reality. 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Between the clever design of the plot – which allows several stories to surface within a seeming individual tale – and multiple layers underneath the literal actionRead MoreInfluence Of The Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales Essay1734 Words   |  7 PagesThe Influence of the Grimm Brother’s Fairy Tales in Modern Society Imagine a young girl playing â€Å"dress up† in reenacting her favorite fairy tales such as Cinderella, who marries the prince who rediscovers her by her small shoe size because of this plot they lived â€Å"Happily Ever After†. However, not all fairy tales are innocent like Walt Disney created them to be for modern society. In fact, most original fairy tales have gruesome and tragic plots such as the Gimms Brothers version of Cinderella.Read MoreThe Influences of the Brothers Grimm Essay1415 Words   |  6 PagesThe Brothers Grimm were academics best known for publishing collections of folk tales and fairy tales, which became massively popular. (Zipes p. 7) Born in Hanau, Germany, a year apart, with Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm born the oldest, on January 4, 1985, and Wilhelm Karl Grimm on February 24, 1786. Their family consisted of nine other siblings, six of which survived infancy, and their parents. (Zipes p. 9) Their early childhood was described as idyllic with the m living in a beautiful countrysideRead MoreGrimms Fairy Tales1300 Words   |  6 Pagesto research the genre of fairy tales, specifically the ones written and told by the Grimm brothers. Fairy tales took shape in sixteenth century Italy as literature for adults. They are known to be children’s stories about magical and imaginary beings in wonderful lands. They can also be described as a fabricated story, especially one intended to deceive the mind. It typically features European fantasy characters. The characters may be distinguished from other folk tales such as legends. TheyRead More The Grimm Brothers Essay1152 Words   |  5 PagesThe Grimm Brothers Any good fairy tale may captivate a child’s (or adult’s) mind, but few could argue that, to be truly enchanting, a tale needs great illustrations. Two of the most influential fairy tale tellers in history were the German Grimm brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm. Both very intelligent scholars, they knew how to spin a tale in the most effective way possible. However, they had plenty of work just dealing with the tales’ text, so in the area of illustration, they let their younger brother