How To Read Literature Like a Professor "Hanseldee and Greteldum" Blog

When looking for inspiration for their writing, canonical sources such as works of Shakespeare or T.S. Elliot are common sources of text that writers may references. However, sources of literature are not the only places writers tend to reference. In fact, many people are less familiar with literature and therefore might fail to recognize the reference. While some readers might recognize the authors’ influence from literature, they may be turned off by the formal style, see it as trying too hard, or find it too complex to comprehend. When searching for text to reference that is well known, well written, and somewhat canonical, “kiddie lit,” as Foster puts it, is a perfect place for writers to look.

 Everyone knows the stories of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. We read the books and watched the movies on repeat as kids. We know the characters, which ones are bad. We know the story lines. How it began. How it ended. They are the most recognizable stories for everyone, and people would surely be able to identify exactly which fairytale the reference came from. With more complex stories from literature however, it is more difficult for the reader to understand the motives behind certain characters, the literal meaning behind certain symbols, or the reason for the plot structures. One might not recognize these elements in a story they read if they’re not very familiar with the literature it came from. With fairytales however, we have all pretty much memorized the stories so well that they’re carved into our minds. Therefore we will be able to immediately point out a reference to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or Snow White in a movie or book we read. When writers borrow these plots, characters, or symbols, they don’t identically recreate the fairytale as their own, but they simply use small portions and use it in their own writing to create a subtle parallel to a certain story. The most common elements that may be borrowed from fairytales include a young girl who is probably innocent and naïve, a young woman who will serve as the love interest (usually forbidden), an evil antagonist who creates difficulty for the main character, some sort of task or journey, and usually an indication of poverty or royalty.

 One example of how a fairytale was used to create ‘inter textuality’ within another text is Phantom of the Opera’s influence from Beauty and the Beast. This fairytale, originally written in 1746 by Jeanne-Marie Leprine de Beaumont, has since been made into a Walt Disney classic in 1991. There are obvious similarities between the two texts such as characters, plots, and symbols. In both texts, there are men with physical imperfections who are ashamed with their outer appearance, so they attempt to shield themselves from the outside world. They are both angry because of the way they are conceived to be as by others due to their appearance, of course they both have beautiful women for which each deformed man falls in love with, and despite the hideous outer appearances from these deformed men, the woman is never afraid. They both end with reassurance from the woman that she loves the man regardless of his appearance. Although there are many differences in the details of the text, the basic elements are the same. The reason for the writers use of ‘inter textuality’ in this case was to highlight the theme that is substance before beauty, and perhaps the reason a person could be so cruel is an extension from the initial issue of not being loved. Showing kindness and love towards that person can transform bitterness into affection. Although there is some irony in the fact that a fairytale was used to inspire such a sophisticated opera, it affectively achieved its purpose of using ‘inter textuality’ from fairytales to highlight an overall theme of a story.