Morphology of the Folktale
Book Review
"Morphology of the Folktale" by Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp is a landmark in the history of literary studies and folklore. With masterful precision, Propp exposes the inner workings of the fairy tale, like a jeweler dismantling a complex mechanism into its tiniest parts. His method is not mere classification, but a poetic unveiling of the essence of narrative, where each function of the hero becomes a building block in the elegant architecture of the plot. Critics note that Propp's work not only opened new horizons for the analysis of fairy-tale texts, but also influenced generations of scholars, writers, and screenwriters. The book impresses with its clarity, rigor of thought, and at the same time—the author's artistic intuition, which allows us to see the living breath of folk creativity behind the dry scheme. There is no room for chance in this work: every function, every character is inscribed in a single system, where magic becomes the subject of scientific analysis, and science—the art of penetrating the mysteries of the tale. Propp created not just a scholarly work, but a book in which strict logic coexists with a poetic vision of the world, and critics to this day admire his insight and depth in uncovering the essence of folk narrative.
