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University of Newcastle

Fairy Tales: Meanings, Messages, and Morals

University of Newcastle via FutureLearn

Overview

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Discover the fascinating circumstances and meanings behind fairy tales

On this course, you will look deeper into the enchanting and surprisingly dark themes of several well-known European fairy tales.

What were the authors thinking? What were the cultural and personal concerns that have shaped these stories? What are the readers being asked to believe?

By considering the historical context of fairy tales and examining the characters, styles, and plots, you will discover that the intended morals of the original stories may not be exactly what you first thought.

Recommended for learners age 15+

This course is for anyone interested in fairy tales and literary analysis, including reading enthusiasts, storytellers, and creative writers.

Syllabus

  • Reading “Little Red Riding Hood”
    • Once Upon a Time...
    • Red Riding Who?
    • Authors and Readers
    • Wearing a Different Hat
    • The Moral of the Story
  • The Idea of Beauty
    • Have You Seen?
    • The Forming of Beauty
    • Virtues
    • An Enchanting Ending
  • The Enigma of "Blue Beard"
    • There Once Was...
    • The Horrors Within
    • Whose Fault Is This?
    • Ever After

Taught by

Caroline Webb

Reviews

4.7 rating, based on 3 Class Central reviews

Start your review of Fairy Tales: Meanings, Messages, and Morals

  • Excellent course without too many technicalities, easy to understand and comment. It shows little window in ways how we can analyze fairy tales and surprises you with origin of tales. As a result students really write and read comments, and were engaged.
  • Videos were excellent, fellow students really made comments and whole experiance was just something else. Educators put so much effort!
  • Profile image for Max Chau
    Max Chau
    The materials are easy to understand and the videos are quite good for understanding. It is really good to enhance my understanding in fairy tales and English literature.

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