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Tutor Pilar Barrera 's Column

Once upon a Time: The Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tales

Jul 25, 2021

A glass slipper, a poisonous apple and a magic mirror, a prince who is a frog, a house made of gingerbread, cookies, and candy… These are just a few of the famous elements that appear in the fairy tales that the Grimm brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm, collected.

The Grimm brothers loved tales, legends, and words. They were also interested in philology and medieval German literature, and they worked in a life-long project: a German dictionary.

But the life of these brothers is more than words and tales: they suffered extreme poverty, and Jacob, the eldest of the brothers, worked tirelessly to provide for his mother and siblings. They worked as librarians and as university professors.

These tales belong to us all; they’re everywhere: from countless movies to daily expressions (such as "and they lived happily ever after’, ‘prince charming’, etc.). The tales are continuously being reshaped, assimilated, and reinvented. Fairy tales take us to a world of wonder where magic unquestionably occurs and rules.

Discover the magic of the Grimm brothers’ fairy tales with my lesson “Introduction to the Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tales: Timeless Stories”. We’ll discuss questions such as: what is a fairy tale? What elements are important in a fairy tale? We’ll also read and analyze one of the tales. This lesson is for ALL levels because I’ll adapt it to your specific needs!

https://cafetalk.com/lessons/detail/?id=451126&lang=en

https://cafetalk.com/lessons/detail/?id=451126&lang=ja

Can you guess the stories from the pictures below? They were all collected by the Grimm brothers:

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