English
Renaissance
Folklore
Joseph Kinsey
Honors English
Mrs. Dengler – Period 7-8
a
Early English Folklore
• Stories spread for centuries by word of mouth
• Carried over from Medieval times
• Full of dark and scary creatures
– Witches
– Boggarts
– Brownies
– Goblins
• During Renaissance folklore changed from oral
to written form
Early English Folklore
• Common Folklore Stories
– Robin Hood
– Jack in the Beanstalk
– King Arthur
• Lesser status during Renaissance
– Tom Thumb
• Set in Arthurian times
– Oberon & Titania
• Ancient King and Queen of the
Fairies
Shakespeare and Folklore
• Often changed folklore (and history) to meet
his needs / fit his plays
• Changed look and feel of folklore creatures
– Fairies were:
•
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Human sized
Gross
Clumsy
Bad
Shakespeare and Folklore
• “A Midsummer’s Night Dream”
– Used figures from ancient Celtic and Greek
mythology
– Included Oberon and Titania
– Fairies became:
• Tame
• Beautiful / Peaceful
• Small / Childlike
– Changed image of Fairies forever
Shakespeare and Folklore
• Other Shakespeare Plays Involving Folklore
– “Merry Wives of Windsor”
• Fairies / Magic
– “Romeo and Juliet”
• References Queen Mab – mythological figure
– “King Lear”
• Based on a Celtic myth
• Includes “Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum”
– “Macbeth”
• Witches
• Mention of fairies dancing in a ring
Renaissance Folklore Today
• Stories endure through:
– Nursery Rhymes
Renaissance Folklore Today
• Stories endure through:
– Movies
http://www.buckeyeag.com/blogs
/index.php/2010/03/16/kingarthur-s-prayer?blog=7
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-
http://www.mynewmovies.net/images/2009/10/robin-hood-movie-poster.jpg
Renaissance Folklore Today
• Images endure:
– Fairies
http://www.dragoart.com/popup/143/p.htm
English Renaissance
Folklore
• Built on Ancient Traditions
• Expanded upon by
Shakespeare
• Continues to be influential
Works Cited
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"Jack and the Beanstalk: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article."
AbsoluteAstronomy.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2010.
<http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Jack_and_the_Beanstalk>.
"English Fairies | Mysterious Britain & Ireland." Mysterious Britain & Ireland |
Mysteries, Legends & The Paranormal. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2010.
<http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/folklore/fairies/english-fairies.html>.
"Folk-lore of Shakespeare: Chapter I. Fairies." Internet Sacred Text Archive Home.
N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2010. <http://www.sacredtexts.com/sks/flos/flos03.htm>.
Howarth, Sarah. Renaissance Places (Information Books - History - People &
Places). Brookfield, CT: Mullbrook Press, 1992. Print.
"Scary Fairies." Baltimore Shakespeare Festival - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept.
2010. <http://www.baltimoreshakespeare.org/Muse/ScaryFairies.htm>.
"Shakespeare for Elizabethan England." MusesRealm.Net. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept.
2010. <http://www.musesrealm.net/writings/shakespeareengland.html>.
"The Elizabethan fairies; the fairies of folklore and the fairies of Shakespeare."
WorldCat.org: The World's Largest Library Catalog. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2010.
<http://www.worldcat.org/title/elizabethan-fairies-the-fairies-of-folklore- and-thefairies-of-shakespeare/oclc/219093>.
"Tom Thumb” Infoplease.com." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas,
Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus.. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2010.
<http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/brewers/tomthumb.html#axzz0zSyZjHJk>.
Thank
You!