clarifying my uses-of-folklore question

[Pendergast, John J CIV USA USMA]

Perhaps Roman Jacobson's essay on "Russian Fairy Tales" would be helpful?
It has appeared as a commentary on Afanas'ev's collection of Russian fairy
tales, but you can also find it in Michael Lane's Introduction to
Structuralism, New York: Basic Books, 1970.

-John Pendergast
Assistant Professor of Russian
West Point, NY

-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Jules Levin
Sent: Thursday, August 01, 2013 3:48 PM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] clarifying my uses-of-folklore question

On 8/1/2013 9:20 AM, Anne L Lounsbery wrote: 

	 

	Hello again,

	 

	To clarify: I'm not looking for, e.g., a list of authors who have drawn on folklore, but rather for some theoretical reflections on how and why authors in general have used folklore--what the implications are of doing so, which periods have encouraged/discouraged this practice, etc.  I'm teaching Gogol and I know the scholarship on his use (and invention!) of folkloric sources, but right now I'm looking for something a bit different.

There is an unusual article by Alfred Senn, not the historian son, but the deceased Balticist, that you should try to find.  It was published in an obscure journal (at least obscure for Slavicists) in the 40's I believe.   In it Senn argues that folklore/folk music, etc., were largely the creation of known artists inspired by the romantic movement from the 18th century.  Stories written by known persons, e.g., Aesop, were retold by ordinary folks to the intellectuals who scoured the country trying to "recover" disappearing folk culture.   [The old illiterate peasant woman who supplied a Grimm with his folk tales turned out to be a very literate middle-class woman in town.]  As for traditional European folk music (e.g., the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle) turns out to be 18th Century waltzes played in the big estate homes and overheard by the peasants, speeded up so much as to be unrecognizable.
It is a short article, and might add a little spice and controversy to a general course on folklore, and it is different!
Jules Levin
Los Angeles
 PS I tried to find the reference but could not get past links to his prominent historian son with the same name.  I even wanted to send an email thru linkedin to the son, but am not willing to pay so much for an upgrade.


------------------------------------------------------------------------- Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription options, and more. Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at: http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------