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Legacy of Hans Christian Andersen
If you want children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read more fairy tales. Albert Einstein
Biographical Background- Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author who is best known for his children's stories, many of which have become archetypes of popular culture and, in the 20th century, made into iconoclastic films, musicals, and ballets. While he was concerned about his legacy, he need not have worried for his poetry and stories have been translated into more than 150 languages and even spurred a whole generation of children's names (Bredsdorff 1975).
Andersen did not start off as an author, instead he moved at age 14 to Copenhagen to become an actor. While he had a great voice, and was accepted into the Royal Danish Theater, once his voice changed he had to find other work. A fellow student at the theater told him that he should focus on his writing because he works were quite poetic. Although he first published in 1822, it was not until he was 24 that he published something that would begin his professional career. In 1835 he published the first installment of his Fairy Tales, with more following in 1836 and 1837. However, these did not sell well, and with the feelings of nationalism...
By 1845 he had published three volumes of the Tales, which were slowly gaining popularity all over Europe, in particular after his meeting with Charles Dickens (Wullschlager 2002).
What is a Fairy Tale? A Fairy Tale is a type of short story or poem that usually features magical or folkloric characters like elves, gnomes, goblins, etc. Only a small number of the stories actually refer to the mythical Faerie. Usually, we can distinguish a Fairy Tale because of its strong sense of moral character and teaching of ethics and culture through entertainment. Legends, on the other hand, involve stories that are meant to be true. Fairy Tales likely began as oral tradition, and after generations were written down and then retold, often for as much of the delight of adults as for children. Fairy Tales have fantastic, talking animals who epitomize human stereotypes, "The Brass Pig raised himself gently, and the boy heard him say quite distinctly, 'Hold tight, little boy, for I am going to run'" (Andersen 1842). Interestingly, there is something quite powerful about the genre; it is global in its appeal, and we notice that the basic themes in many of the classical Fairy Tales are quite similar from culture to culture, even when geography…
Analysis -- Dilemmas and Dichotomies of the Artist- In the world of art, music and literature it is sometimes the truth that the genius of the artist comes before its time, and not until after the artist is dead is the work given the appreciation it is due. We can certainly see this in characters like Mozart, artists like Van Gough, and in some ways, Hans Christian Andersen. Art is difficult, it is a calling, and there are dilemmas and dichotomies that have plagued artists for years:
Art as a profession -- As much as we might want to romanticize artists, the life of the artist is usually far from luxurious. Andersen, for instance, did not support himself nor was he primarily known for his Fairy Tales until somewhat his later years, not globally until after his death (Life Timetable 2011).
Art as social norms -- For the artist, at least the inspired, there is the dichotomy of whether
Hans Christian Andersen How Andersen's Writings Mirrored his Life One of the most beloved writers of fairly-tales is Hans Christian Andersen. He was a Danish author who searched his past and that of his native Denmark for ideas that could become children's stories. The fact is though that Andersen was writing for a large audience. Though his stories may have been told in the fairy-tale genre, he was relating morals that applied
Tales Are Not Just Children's Play -- The Importance Of Folklore In College Education Although fairy tales are often considered to simply exist as palatable and easy to understand tales for children, this has more to do with the modern legacy of Disney cartoons than the actual genealogy of this literary tradition of oral narrative. In fact these stories did not originate as tales to ensure that young people behaved
Katherine Mansfield Early Works Later Works and Themes Kathleen Mansfield Murry, commonly known by her penname Katherine Mansfield, was born in the late nineteenth century and only lived to be thirty-four years of age. Her early death was due to the effects of tuberculosis on her body. During her lifespan however, she was able to write a variety of short fiction stories in the modernist genre. Her works gave her a great deal