Vladimir Propp - Morphology of Folklore

Vladimir Propp

Introduction

Types of Structural Analysis

• Syntagmatic - Strauss
• Paradigmatic - Propp

Structure of narrative related to the ideal success story in a culture? (p4)

Chapter I: The Method and Material

"a description of the tale according to its component parts and the relationship of these components to each other and to the whole." (p7)

Propp discusses folklore from a systematic point of view. Narrative components are recombinant and interchangeable:

1. A tsar gives an eagle to a hero. The eagle carries the hero away to another
   kingdom.
2. An old man gives Súcenko a horse. The horse carries Súcenko away to
   another kingdom.
3. A sorcerer gives Iván a little boat. The boat takes Iván to another kingdom.
4. A princess gives Iván a ring. Young men appearing from out of the ring carry
   Iván away into another kingdom, and so forth.
(p7)

"The user's ability to query this database and form “recombinations” of images illustrates the mutability – or the “manipulation value” - of the database structure. The manipulability of the database is an increasingly political act, as it involves the moderating of information, states De Mul. He references the political campaigns of George Bush and Geert Wilders as examples of digital recombinations and mediated displays of information." (from annotation of Jos De Mul's Art in the Age of Digital Recombination) Do politicians construct a recombinant folklore?

Folklore and computer science: Functions, Variables, Constants Repetition and Multiformity

noun_expressing_action();

Identical acts can have different meanings (p8)

1. Functions of characters serve as stable, constant elements in a tale,
   independent of how and by whom they are fulfilled. They constitute the
   fundamental components of a tale.
2. The number of functions known to the fairy tale is limited.
3. The sequence of functions is always identical.
4. All fairy tales are of one type in regard to their structure.

Chapter II: The Functions of Dramatis Personae

//Exposition
Preparation(){
    Absence();
    Warning();
    Violation();
    Reconnaissance();
    Information();
    Deception();
    Submission();
    Villainy();
}
villainy = {"abducts", "seizes", "pillages", "spoils", "plunders", "harms", "disappearance",
            "demands", "expels", "orders", "casts_spell", "substitutes", "orders_murder",
            "murders", "imprisons", "forced_matrimony", "cannibalism", "torments", "war"}
//Propp states that the drama in these folktales arises out of the lack of an object, person, or state of being. This lack can result in a narrative focusing on the protagonist as a seeker of the lacking object, or the protagonists can be victimised - eg imprisoned - as a result of their desire to obtain the lacking object.

//Voyage
RisingAction(){
    hero.introduced();
    hero.leaves();
    hero.tested(); //Magical agents - reward of hardship suffered, demonstration of intellect
    hero.reaction();
    magicalAgent = {"animal", "container", "object", "qualities"};
    hero.acquireMagicalAgent(magicalAgent[randomInt(0, magicalAgent.length]);
    //Logic of donors: unwilling/stolen, willing/awarded
    hero.voyage(); //destination is an extreme - very high, very deep, very far etc
}

Climax(){
    hero.attack(villain);
    hero.branded();
    villain.defeated();
    hero.obtain(object);
    hero.pursued();
    hero.rescued();
}
//At this point, another act of villainy may be committed, triggering a narrative loop. After the hero returns home, he could be attacked and killed, with the object of his quest being stolen, or he could be sent into exile. In the case of banishment, the hero loses his infamy, his brothers portray themselves as false heroes. The hero has to undergo another 'task' - physical/intellect. The task is resolved, and the hero is recognised, with the false heroes exposed. 

happyEverAfter.begin();
/*
*Hero is given new appearance
*Villain is punished
*Hero marries and ascends the throne

"We see that not a single function excludes another. They all belong to a single axis and not, as has already been mentioned, to a number of axes." (p43)

Functions arranged in tension/release pairs.
*/