Parmida R. A. 's Reviews > On Fairy-Stories
On Fairy-Stories
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On Fairy-Stories is an essay by Tolkien that tries to answer three questions:
What is a fairytale?
What is their origin?
What is the use of them?
In this essay, Tolkien argues that all fairytales have four shared features:
They start with "Once upon a time..." - an unknown date
They are dealing with royalty or members of loyalty (e. g., Prince and Princesses, Queens and Kings, etc)
They have the element of magic - the most necessary feature in all fairytales
They finish with "...lived happily ever after." (the story gets dark and hopeless, but it will ultimately end happily.)
This essay is well-elaborated and -categorized.
What is a fairytale?
What is their origin?
What is the use of them?
In this essay, Tolkien argues that all fairytales have four shared features:
They start with "Once upon a time..." - an unknown date
They are dealing with royalty or members of loyalty (e. g., Prince and Princesses, Queens and Kings, etc)
They have the element of magic - the most necessary feature in all fairytales
They finish with "...lived happily ever after." (the story gets dark and hopeless, but it will ultimately end happily.)
This essay is well-elaborated and -categorized.
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Reading Progress
February 28, 2022
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Started Reading
February 28, 2022
– Shelved
March 5, 2022
– Shelved as:
essay
March 5, 2022
– Shelved as:
non-fiction
March 5, 2022
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Finished Reading
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Joe
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Mar 11, 2022 05:52PM
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Agreed, Joe. I think that the value of them is exactly for these reasons, and the message behind them is appreciable for that.