Traditional Slovak Folktales - Paperback

by David L. Cooper (Author)

This delightful collection makes the rich but little-known Slovak folk culture available for English-language readers. Most of the fifty tales assembled here from the collections of folklorist Pavol Dobsinsky are translated into English for the first time. The poetic qualities of the originals have been carefully preserved. The general reader will enjoy these tales immensely, and students will find an insightful introduction to the genres of the folktale and the specifics of Slovak tales. For expert readers, all of the tales have been classified according to the Aarne-Thompson index, and many include short commentaries that draw on the work of Viera Gasparikova.

Back Jacket

Popolvar may not be as well known as Rumpelstiltskin, or Brother Birdie as well loved as the Ugly Duckling, but the folktales that feature these characters are as rich in charm and piquancy as any in the world.

This volume makes the Slovak folk tradition available to English -language readers with fifty tales culled from the collections of master folklorist Pavol Dobsinsky.

For the reader's delight, the translations preserve the poetic qualities of the original tales: Slovak rhymes have been replaced by English ones, puns have been repunned, proverbs have been rendered with proverbial concision, and the flexible Slovak folk idiom has been captured in colloquial English.

All of which is to say, the reader will enjoy these tales immensely. And for those who wish to know more about Slovak folktales, the volume includes commentaries, tale classifications, an introduction to the Slovak tale tradition, and a concluding essay on tale collection.