The collection and study of the traditional prose narrative, or folktale, in Grady County, Georgia, turns on the premise that the entire artistic act--the performer, the tale, and the audience--should be studied in the context of the locale where the storytelling tradition survives. To provide a more composite vision of the whole storytelling continuum, therefore, this study utilizes several methodologies in analyzing the fifty tales collected by this author: the older comparative or historical method juxtaposed with the newer functional and contextual approaches. The purposes of the study are three-fold: (1) to present the folktale in larger perspective by tracing the evolution of the term "folklore" and by differentiating between the folktale and other types of prose narratives, (2) to collect and annotate folktales in Grady County, Georgia, and (3) to focus analytically upon a few of the tales, illustrating their linkage to both American and European traditions and their adherence to certain universal laws or combinations of laws in the storytelling process. The study consists of three formal parts or divisions. Part One, "Background for the Study," reviews various concepts of folklore by studying the metaphorical language used by folklorists; draws distinctions among three types of prose narratives--myth, legend, and folktale; establishes the subtypes of the fictional prose narrative and portrays graphically the predominant types found in the county; and gives historical perspective on Grady County. Part Two, "The Collection and Annotation of Grady County Folktales," comprises the core of the study. The first two chapters in this division deal with the methodologies used in collecting the tales and with the storytellers themselves. The study concentrates upon only white informants who are long-time residents of Grady County and whose heritage is rooted in the South, especially Southwest Georgia. The last chapter in the division contains the fifty Georgia tales, extensively annotated in headnotes preceding the tales. The stories are presented with very little editing so as to preserve textural accuracy and are classified according to type and motif wherever possible. Beyond the assignment of types and motifs, however, a modified comparative study is made of each tale utilizing obtainable variants from North America and England. The distribution of each tale is given in note entries in the back of the study rather than using headnotes for this information. Part Three, "Analytical Studies of Selected Grady County Folktales," accents three areas of folklore scholarship in its concentration on theoretical studies--function, form, and performance. The first chapter in this division analyzes the function of the folktale in Grady County, especially in the first half of the twentieth century. As the county is predominantly an agricultural community, most of the tales come from and reflect the rural area. The next chapter addresses the concept of form in the folktale, dealing with the following concerns: the relatively constant elements in one Georgia folktale, applying to the tale Axel Olrick's "Epic Laws of Folk Narrative," and the structural and stylistic changes which occur when the tale is transmitted through both oral and printed sources and through varying milieus. The final chapter explores another aspect of the storytelling continuum, the oral style of the narrator. The discussion centers around the artistic act, the performance of the great storyteller, by analyzing the repertories and style of two outstanding Grady County narrators. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-02, Section: A, page: 0755. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74075 |
| Creators | Hartsfield, Mariella G. |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 315 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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