The Folktale

Stith Thompson of Indiana Univerrsity was one of the founders of academic folklore studies in the United States, and "The Folktale" is his best-known popular work. It's a massive (at times lumbering) survey of the different varieties of folk tales found in different parts of the world. Thompson was a classifier, and his major academic works, "The Motif Index of Folk Literature" and (with Aarne) "The Types of the Folk Tale," remain standard reference tools for the field. Reading "The Folktale," you can see the impact of his classifier's eye in the text. He very carefully identifies major groups of related stories and their variants and gives brief plot summaries and histories for most of them. He includes material on Native American tales as well as Old World tales. The last section of the book gives the reader a good overview of then-current approaches to the theory and study of folklore. At times, the amount of information Thompson provides can be overwhelming, and the book drags. But much of the work is fascinating, and, on balance, "The Folktale" remains an important--if dated--work of folklore scholarship.

The Folktale is an interesting book, although one which is uneven in quality. Most of it consists of quick sketches of particular tale types or motifs. These presentations are too voluminous and repetitive to make really interesting reading, but are too brief to be very insightful about any particular topic. The best part of the book is Part IV, Studying the Folktale, which presents a synopsis of the history and status of folktale studies (as of 1946). Even those who are skeptical of Thompson's general historic-geographical methodology may find this discussion valuable and provocative.

Stith Thompson comprises one half of the team responsible for the Stith-Thompson classification system for folklore. This book is great reading for understanding his approach to his classifications in a verbal text. Although some of the book is dated since it was originally published in 1946, most makes for interesting and helpful reading. The book also contains helpful information about the histories of tales and the breadth of their coverage across Europe and onto other continents. I have used this book extensively in my research and studies. While the classification comes under attack sometimes, it is still one the greatest influences in folklore studies today.