Literary fairy tale

A literary fairy tale is a fairy tale that differs from an oral folktale in that it is written by "a single identifiable author", as defined by Jens Tismar's monograph.[1] They also differ from oral folktakes, which can be characterized as "simple and anonymous", and exist in a mutable and difficult to define genre with a close relationship to oral tradition.[2]

One of the earliest stories of this type is that of Cupid and Psyche, a story originally from Metamorphoses (also called The Golden Ass), written in the 2nd century AD by Apuleius.[3]

  1. ^ Tismar, Jens (1977). Kunstmärchen. Stuttgart: Metzler. doi:10.1007/978-3-476-99245-1. ISBN 978-3-476-10155-6.
    Mayer, Mathias; Tismar, Jens (2003). Kunstmärchen (4 ed.). Stuttgart/Weimar: J.B. Metzler. doi:10.1007/978-3-476-04122-7. ISBN 978-3-476-14155-2.
  2. ^ Zipes (2000), p. xv.
  3. ^ Lewis, C. S. (1956). Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. p. 311. ISBN 0156904365.