28th Annual Student Research Conference
A Grimm Realization: The Danger of Over-Analyzing Fairy Tales
Kristen M. Greif
Dr. David Partenheimer, Faculty Mentor
A large body of academic work is devoted to the analysis of the beloved Grimm collection of fairy tales. These works emphasize underlying themes and moral lessons of these tales. Sometimes, however, it appears that perhaps a story is simply that: a story. The literary fairy tale, as an imaginative and complex genre, can expose the dangers of misinterpretation that can arise when over-analyzing simple fairy tales. This project seeks to utilize the literary fairy tale to analyze the genre of a simple fairy tale. In order to make such an analysis, I will evaluate aspects of the creative and associative imagination. Such analysis will demonstrate that the literary fairy tale is purposefully complex in order to: add layers that an ordinary Grimm tale would lack; or to act as a parody of the traditional conventions of fairy tales.
Keywords: literary fairy tale, fairy tale, Grimm, imagination
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 404-2
Location: VH 1328
Time: 2:45