Fairy Tale In Popular Culture

"Once upon a time" were just four words used separately and had held no particular or distinct importance in the daily lives of people. They then came to popular use in oral tales passed down from generation to generation and as stories told sitting around a hearth or fireplace, after a long day. This was followed by the written word, and all that had been discovered, created or said started to be recorded and immortalised in ink, for future use. The tales of the olden days were called traditional stories and included various genres of writing like creation myths, fables, fairy tales, folklore, ghost stories, legends, mythology, parables, urban legends, etc. All these stories were separate yet not that far removed from fiction and non-fiction

A fairy tale is defined as a type of short story that features "folkloric fantasy creatures such as giants, dwarves, elves, fairies, gnomes, goblins, mermaids, trolls or witches, and usually magic or enchantments." Fairy tales are rooted in the oral traditions of European cultures. The works of Renaissance writers followed by authors like Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm established this genre more solidly in popular culture. Their works were almost completely different from the way that they are told, printed, painted, manufactured, recorded, and filmed today. This form had its own origins which lay in a darker place and were actually suitable more to an adult audience. The fact that they were still associated with children was disturbing to some due to the explicit content of the

Sleeping Beauty's birth brings joy throughout her father's kingdom. The feast held in her honour, unfortunately, ends in tragedy when a scorned Lady who had not been invited curses the newborn girl to certain death on the eve of her fifteenth birthday. The story goes on and Sleeping Beauty pricks herself with a poisoned splinter leading her to lie in eternal sleep. Her father, driven by his grief, abandons his castle and daughter as is and leaves. A few years later, a passing King finds the Princess' body and rapes her where she lies. He leaves and forgets about her. Meanwhile, Sleeping Beauty gives birth to a pair of twins, fathered by the King, and wakes up when one of the babies sucks on her finger, pulling out the poisonous splinter. The King remembers them a while later and, discovering his family, keeps visiting them. This enrages the King's wife, when she finds out the truth of the matter, and she orders for the children to be butchered and made into dinner while their mother should be burnt alive. The cook saves the children and the King arrives just in time to save Sleeping Beauty. The story ends with the King burning his wife alive in front of everyone and then proceeding to marry Sleeping