Fairy Tale Glossary

The attribution of human characteristics, emotions, or behavior to animals, objects, or natural phenomena.

The Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index is a catalog of international folktale types used by folklorists to identify and compare story patterns across cultures.

A mythological figure who introduces important knowledge, technology, or customs to humanity, often through trickery or sacrifice.

In Propp's morphology, the character who provides the hero with a magical agent or essential knowledge needed to complete their quest.

In Australian Aboriginal mythology, the foundational period when creator spirits shaped the world and established the laws of existence.

A short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral lesson.

A female character with magical powers who acts as a mentor or protector to the protagonist.

The traditional beliefs, customs, stories, songs, and practices of a community, passed through generations by word of mouth.

A traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated, often featuring real or supposedly real people and places.

A chase sequence in which the hero escapes by throwing magical objects behind them that transform into obstacles.

A recurring element, such as an object, character type, or plot point, that appears in many different stories.

A traditional story concerning the early history of a people or explaining natural or social phenomena, typically involving supernatural beings.

The practice of passing down stories, history, and culture from one generation to another through spoken word rather than written text.

Vladimir Propp's structural analysis of Russian fairy tales identifying 31 narrative functions that appear in a fixed sequence.

A character with the ability to transform from one form to another, common in folklore worldwide.

A prohibition against a specific action, often serving as a plot device in fairy tales when characters violate forbidden rules.

A character (often an animal or spirit) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwise disobey normal rules and conventional behavior.

A modern folktale circulated as true, typically involving humorous, horrifying, or cautionary elements set in contemporary contexts.

A version of a folktale that differs from other tellings in details while maintaining the same core narrative structure.

A cruel maternal figure who mistreats the protagonist, one of the most common villain archetypes in fairy tales.