II Международный конкурс научно-исследовательских и творческих работ учащихся
Старт в науке
АНГЛИЙСКИЕ И РУССКИЕ НАРОДНЫЕ СКАЗКИ
Автор работы награжден дипломом победителя III степени
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1. Introduction.
It is well known that wisdom and spirit of the people, of the nation are shown in the traditions, especially in folklore, and the knowledge of folk tales promotes not only to know a language at best, but also facilitates best understanding of views and characters of the people.
Falk tales are the most amazing things in the folklore of the peoples all over the world. Not every imaginary story becomes a fairy tale. The most interesting and important folk tales passed from generation to generation. Storytellers used to express the wisdom of their people, their aspirations and dreams.
Tales are the part of culture, traditions, customs and history of people. Many generations of Russian children have been brought up by these glorious and magnificent tales.
Like Russian superstition, Russian Fairy Tales have their origins in the pagan beliefs of ancient Slavs. Grand tales of heroes and heroines, animals and "mystical" beings, were passed down through the generations. These folk tales, or skazki (сказки) as they are known in Russia, were eventually recorded - many in poetic verse. Today, as much as ever, Russian fairy tales remain an integral component of Russian culture.
I’m fond of folk tales. I know folk tales from my early childhood. My parents and my grandparents used to tell folk tales, they tried to show me the national wisdom and beauty of my mother tongue. I have been studying English for six years. I admire English, it is my favorite subject. We read a lot of English and Russian fairy tales. I noticed some peculiarities and differences in English and Russian folk tales.
So, the theme that we have chosen for the research is “English and Russian folk tales”.
Comparison of folk tales of different nations shows, how much these people have in common that, in turn, promotes their better mutual understanding. Folk tales show rich historical experience of the people, they reflect life and culture of people.
The aim of our research is to consider the peculiarities of the English and Russian folk tales, show differences of these tales through comparison.
According to the aim, we have allocated the following objectives:
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to define a fairy tale in English and Russian;
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to get acquainted with national folk tales;
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to establish the differences and similarities both in English and Russian folk tales.
Object of our research is peculiar features of folk tales in English and Russian.
Subject is researches on folklore, namely, fairy tales.
We have conducted research and the analysis of English and Russian folk tales.
Research methods:
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studying the literature and works of outstanding researchers on the given subject;
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the analysis of the studied literature;
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the comparative analysis of English and Russian folk tales.
2. What is a folk tale?
Folk tales are the most ancient creations of humanity. A folk tale is one of the popular and favorite genres in folklore and in literature.
A fairy tale is a wonder tale involving marvelous elements and occurrences, though not necessarily about fairies. Folktales have received literary treatment from early times.
Some folk tales in Russian are epic narratives of people and events of the long past, also marked by terms history and story.
The majority of folk tales have local character.
Humboldt, Hannah Aitken, J.F. Casmpbell, Margaret Baker, W.H. Barrett and others played an important role in the fields of studying English folk tales.
Afanasyev A, Kostokhin E, Propp V, Buslaev F and others had a great contribution to the study of Russian folk tales.
Comparing English and Russian national folk tales can make it clear that they contain much in common. All nations lived and developed under general laws of history. At the same time, it should be noted that folk tales show the national originality of folklore.
An English recording of the tales told by the storytellers of the past provides only a pale shadow of the original narration. The voices, with their many modulations, fall silent on the printed page; the audience is absent. Only the pattern of narrative and the procession of motifs remain. This is especially true of translation.
Folklore ceased to be an everyday force in rural life. Once it governed the smallest act in every home, farm and village, giving rules and rituals for the performance of daily work, the safeguarding of family, farm and possessions. Families lived in the same country parishes for generations, spent their lives watching the plough transform the soil, the growing wheat that followed and, at the end, the richness of their harvest. Rural population could neither read nor write, their memories were very keen, and when heard a story they often remembered it almost word for word for the rest of their lives. In this way legends were passed on for hundreds of years with the main points of the tale remaining unaltered, but often gaining a wealth of colorful detail.
3. Differences and similarities in English and Russian folk tales.
A rich mixture simmered in the folklore cauldron. History and pre-history went into it; the doings of druids, giants, fairies, saints, soldiers, shepherds, mines, fishermen and kings; the shape of the land, the prevailing weather, the rhythms of speech, the country humor. Added to this local brew are bits and pieces from far afield, brought by Flemish and German traders, Norwegian and Danish adventures, Dutch delvers who came to drain the Fens, and the intermixture of Irish and Welsh, Cornish and Scots, Yorkshiremen, Geordies, Hogs and the rest. As times went on, the tales multiplied, weaving themselves into daily life and thought, adapted to local conditions and the listeners. A study of the tales can shed valuable light on the development of language and the history of human ideas; few sources can bring the past so spontaneously to the present.
The tales of the British and Irish people contain no splendid palaces or pretty, elegant fairies; no handsome princes and aspiring peasant brides; no wicked stepmothers and ugly sisters, no noble knights and decorative beldames waiting to be saved; no rich merchants and no bears, camels, dragons or griffins. Everything is popular and from the familiar lore of these islands. Heroes and heroines are as wild, unkempt, simple, hardworking and superstitious as they probably were in fact.
“Tom Tit Tot” is taken from Lois A. Fison, Merry Suffolk. It is the English version of Grimm’s tale “Rumpelstiltskin”, was originally published by Anna Walter Thomas in “Suffolk Notes and Queries”, Ipswich Journal, 15 January 1878. It was said to have been told to the author as a child by an old servant. I’ve read it in West Suffolk dialect. I should point out, that it was rather difficult to understand the folk tale in Suffolk dialect.
“Lutey and the Merrymaid”, “The Tulip Pixies”, “Cap o’rushes”, “Jan Coo” and other English folk tales were analyzed.
Russian folk tales “Baba Yaga”, “Father Frost”, “Ilya the Murom”, “The Humpbacked horse” and others were under analysis.
While reading English folk tales I paid attention to their beginnings: “Down in the West, somewhere by the boarders of the Tavy, there once lived a kind old woman”; “Well, once upon a time there were a woman, and she baked five pies”; “Well, there was once a very rich gentleman and he’d three darters”; “In the days of the great King Arthur”. As we see, the beginning English folk tales is concrete; it may contain the names of national heroes or kings.
Traditional formula at the beginning of narration in Russian folk tales: “Жили-были муж с женой, и была у них дочка”, “Жил-был старик, и было у него три сына”, “В некоем городе жил-был купец, у него было три сына: первый — Федор, другой — Василий, а третий — Иван-дурак”, “ В некотором царстве, за тридевять земель - в тридесятом государстве жил-был сильный, могучий царь”, “Жили были старик да старуха”, “В некотором царстве жил-был купец.” This means that they were rather abstract, as there weren’t such places or such real times.
While describing the way of a hero in English folk tales I found: “She went away, on and on, till she came to a fen”, “and then she went on and on till she came to a house”.
In Russian folk tales I found such descriptions: “Василиса прошла всю ночь и весь день, только к следующему вечеру вышла на полянку, где стояла избушка Бабы-яги”, “Шла она, шла и пришла в лес”, “Долго она бегала по полям, по лесам. День клонится к вечеру, делать нечего - надо идти домой”. It means that in English folk tales the way is not so long and difficult, on the contrary, Russian folk tales have a long way of a hero. It should be noted that numbers seven and three are often met in folk tales.
English folk fairy tales mainly have a realistic plot. World is described rather realistically, heroes try to reach something real and usual.
Russian folk fairy tales also have a realistic plot. It means that they were taken from real everyday life, or perhaps, changed with time.
We can see mostly concrete kingdoms, towns, places in English folk tales such as “Cornwall, Farmhouse of Rowbrook, somewhere near Lizard Point”.
In Russian folk tales the places are not concretely denoted. Usually they are connected with nature, for example: “Стоит в лесу за высоким тыном избушка на курьих ножках, на бараньих рожках”, “Ехал казак путем-дорогою и заехал в дремучий лес; в том лесу на прогалинке стоит стог сена”.
English folk tales describe heroes in details, trying to give us complete image, for example: “her golden-colored hair, falling over her shoulders, and floating on the water, shone like sunbeams on the sea”, “the daughter was lazy and plain, and pampered by her mother”, “her eyes shone like the brightest of stars on a gloomy night”, “a short, elderly man, dressed in a very old Dutch style”.
Heroes in Russian folk tales are not described in a concrete way. There is little information about their appearance, more information can be found about hero’s mental abilities.
While describing heroes in both languages stylistic devices, such as metaphors, epithets, similes are used.
English folk tales usually end with happy ending. “Well, when that hard her, that shruck awfull, an’awa’ that flew into the dark, an’she niver saw it noo more”, “And she goes up to him, and puts her arms round him. And so they was happy ever after”, “That evening there was a wedding in the palace. The Prince and the Princess got married and lived happily ever after”; “I cannot tell how the truth may be. Isaythetaleas ‘twassaidtome”.
Russian folk tales end with: “Свадьба была богатая; на той свадьбе и я был, мед-вино пил, по усам текло, во рту не былó”, “Я на том пиру был, мед-пиво пил, по усам текло, а в рот не попало”, “И стал он жить вдвоем с дочкой, дружно да хорошо. Здесь и сказке конец”. Happy further life and edification for younger generation often can be traced in Russian folk tales.
4. English folk tale “Cap o’Rushes” and Bashkir folk tale “A daughter,who loved her father more than salt”
Nowadays we can find a number of fairy tales in different languages that are alike. I mean, the plot, characters, beginning and endings. I read a Bashkir folk tale “A daughter, who loved her father more than salt” and an English folk tale “Cap o’rushes”.
These two tales are very interesting and I liked them. Let me compare and contrast them.
A tale under analyses is “Cap o’Rushes”. It is about a daughter of a rich gentleman. He didn’t like her third daughter’s answer to his question “How much do you love me, my dear?” She went away; on her way she gathered a lot of rushes, made them into a cloak, kind of with a hood, to cover her from head to foot, and to hide her fine clothes. She came to a house and asked for any work without wages. She agreed to wash the pots, and scrape the saucepans and did al the dirty work. And because she gave no name they called her Cap o’Rushes. One day there was to be a great dance and the servants was let to go, and to look at the grand people. Cap o’Rushes was tired but when everybody went she cleaned hererself and went to dance. She was the most beautiful and finely dressed. But before the dance was gone, Cap o’Rushes slipped off, nobody noticed her. So, dances lasted three days. The cook’s son fell in love with her; he didn’t dance without her and gave her a ring. After three days cook’s son got worse and worse for the love. Cap o’Rushes made some gruel for him and dropped the ring. They were to be married, invited guests. Her father was also invited to the wedding. Before the wedding Cap o’Rushes asked the cook to dress every dish without a mite of salt. When guests began to eat meat, it was so tasteless. Cap o’Rushes’ Father burst out crying. He said “I had a daughter, and I asked her how much she loved me, and she answered as much as fresh meat loves salt”. Only that time her father understood how much Cap o’Rushes loved him.
The Bashkir folk tale is called “A daughter,who loved her father more than salt”. A king had three daughters and asked them how much they loved him. The king didn’t like the third daughter’s answer “I love you as much as salt”. Because of that the king married her third daughter to a bad man. An old woman had a twenty-year-old son, who was in a baby bed all time long. The girl was so hardworking, she wasn’t afraid of any kind of work: she sew, knitted, crocheted, embroidered and wove. Her mother-in-law sold everything in the market. One day the girl asked her mother-in –law to buy a switch with thorns. Her mother-in-law brought it home and the girl bit her husband with that switch. After that her husband jumped out the bed and began working. He was so hardworking, and they lived happily. Once the girl decided to invite her parents to her place. They didn’t want to come but at last agreed. The table was full of dishes. Guests began eating, but the girl’s father couldn’t eat, because his food had no salt. Only after that the father understood his mistake and asked for pardon. They all lived happily after that.
These two folk tales have the same beginning. Rich fathers asked questions and didn’t like third daughters’ answers. In English tale father closed the door in front of her, which means a concrete reaction. In Bashkir tale father thinks about taking revenge, which means he was thinking of making her daughter’s life harder. (So he drove her out there and then, and shut the door in her face)
In English tale the girl found a place to live herself. It means she is independent. (I haven’t nowhere to go, and I’d ask no wages, and do any sort of work)
In Bashkir tale the girl is sent by her father. It means her father feels himself responsible for her future. I think, we can notice traits of national character in these actions. English are concrete and independent, Bashkir people always need somebody to take care of and give advice.
In both tales girls did their best, they worked hard. In both cultures women are supposed to be modest, kind, neat, smart. These two characters overcame all difficulties due to their patience, good nature and wisdom.
In both tales we can see mothers; they are not as active as fathers, they help the girls and they help their sons. Mothers are rather weak in these tales, fathers are strong and angry.
In both tales sons need help; only these girls could help them.
The development of the plot is different in two languages. English tale is complicated, Bashkir tale is simpler.
English folk tale is rich in repetitions.
Tales have happy end, fathers understand everything and they all live happily.
The language of these folk tales constitutes the genuine oral poetry of the common people, dating from a time, when poet and peasant were one. The beauty and wealth of the language is important in folklore.
5. Conclusion.
Folk tales are a real heritage; we can improve our knowledge in history of languages. They have aesthetic value.
I came to a conclusion that folk tales are akin to people’s life, their history, beliefs, mentality. Various stages of nation’s development are reflected in them in a peculiar way. The folk tales show little interest in a structured religion. On the contrary, there is an abiding faith in the people and their capabilities in confronting the wonders of everyday life.
English and Russian folk tales have similarities in developing the plot, they end happily. Russian folk tales have edification, trying to teach readers. The structure of folk tales is different: English – concrete, Russian – abstract. Methods of describing the way in English are concrete, while in Russian – it’s rather a fantastic view, not real. Detailed characteristic of heroes is common in English folk tales, in Russian much attention is paid to mental abilities of heroes.
Russian folk tales praise honesty and generosity, respect of old people.
The main motive of English folk tales is avoiding of failure.
In conclusion I’d like to say that I got a great pleasure reading English and Russian folk tales.
6. Bibliography.
1. Русские народные сказки. – Москва, Русское слово, 2011.
4. Folktales of the British Isles. – Moscow: Raduga Publishers, 1987.
5. My favorite fairy Tales. – Москва: Издательства «Иностранный язык», 2007.
6. The New Encyclopedia Britannica. – Volume 4. – Р.660.