Introduction

I chose the class “Once Upon a Time – Folk and Fairy Tales Around the World” basically because I thought it would be a very fun and interesting class. In English class I would get so bored reading books that lacked excitement and were rather dull. To me reading and analyzing fairy tales will be much more enjoyable and amusing. From this seminar I hope to gain a lot more knowledge about the origins of fairy tales and am very interested in how different fairy tales from around the world compare with each other, discovering how each origin differs in style, context and form. I want to analyze fairy tales as a whole genre and discover how they were developed and how they have been kept alive for such a long time. Additionally, just about all of the fairy tales I know are the most commonly known ones, such as Snow White, the Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. I know there are hundreds of fairy tales and I would like to expand my knowledge of them and to learn about many that are not as widely known and recognized. As of right now I honestly do not have a favorite folktale or fairytale but hopefully after taking this class I will discover one.