Vladimir Propp. Morphology of the Fairy Tale. Historical Roots of the Fairy Tale. Folklore and Reality

The plots and heroes of fairy tales are familiar to us from childhood: Ivan Tsarevich, who constantly overcomes severe trials; Princess Nesmeyana, whose heart delights in nothing; Baba Yaga, who flies in a mortar and lives in a hut on chicken legs; Koshchey, the Sea Tsar, and the geese-swan... But do we know what lies behind these images?
«Vladimir Propp. Morphology of the Fairy Tale. Historical Roots of the Fairy Tale. Folklore and Reality» — is a collection of key works by the most famous domestic philologist-folklorist Vladimir Propp, who dedicated his research to finding answers to this seemingly simple question. To answer it, Propp suggests breaking down the fairy tale plots into their components — functions — and examining what exactly constituted the established and well-known plots of fairy tales.
A special place in the collection is occupied by «Morphology of the Fairy Tale» — a work that initiated the systematic study of the plots of fairy tales. «Historical Roots of the Fairy Tale» complements and expands the structural-typological approach of «Morphology». In this study, Propp returns the reader to the most ancient layers of culture and explores the origins of motifs related to rites, mythological representations, and the vanished social reality. The text reveals the role of ritual and collective experience in shaping plots, which makes it one of Propp's central works.
The edition concludes with a collection of articles entitled «Folklore and Reality». In these small works, Propp shows from various perspectives how folk art reflects life experience and historical memory, and how the artistic logic of folklore relates to reality.
The collection is addressed to a wide audience: students and teachers of humanitarian specialties, researchers of culture, as well as anyone interested in the origins of fairy tales, their internal laws, and the connection of folklore with the life of the people.