Reading Notes: Celtic Fairy Tales Part A

This week I read some of the stories form the first volume of the Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. I really enjoyed these stories and in particular the story of Gold-tree and Silver-tree and the story of the Tale of Ivan. The Tale of Ivan was in Part B of the readings. I didn't know I had read on until it was too late!

I liked the story of Gold-tree and Silver-Tree because it mimicked the tale of Snow White. One thing that I have noticed from my readings is how tricky the characters are. This is interesting to me because in the Disney-version of fairy tales, which I am more familiar with, the characters are very black and white. There is a good character and a bad character. Within the Celtic Fairy Tales the characters are very deceiving. Whether it be from false promises or twisted words. For my story this week I will be contributing more to the plot of my storybook. One of the main characters in my story book is Fae or Fairy and the Celtic Fairy tales have a lot of stories about fae, however they call them shees. In the The Shee An Gannon and the Gruagach Gaire the clever fairy was able to figure out why the Gruahach stopped laughing. 

The Shee in this story seemed very carefree but determined in his approach to finding the information. This is something I want to bring into my character. Throughout my readings this week I want to learn more about the Celtic version of fairies and see the different elements I can incorporate into my storybook.

Bibliography: Joseph Jacobs, Celtic Fairy Tales in 1892

The Shee An Gannon. Web Source