PROSE NARRATIVE
For verse in prose narrative, and for prose narratives in verse, see C820.
For verse in prose narrative, and for prose narratives in verse, see C820.
Relation of events significant in the establishment of the natural order of the universe. This classification follows the divisions of chapter A in Stith Thompson's motif index. For dance or belief concerning the materials of mythology, see C432 or P200.
Story based on specific persons, places, things. For dance or belief concerning the materials of legend, see C432 or P400.
Jesus, the Virgin, Biblical characters, saints, etc.
Charlemagne, Vergil, Cid, John Henry, etc.
Robin Hood, Jesse James, Captain Kidd
Giant, ogre, dwarf
Mentally diseased or defective, hunchback, cripple, blind, deaf mute, lunatic, etc.
B438.1 | Head, physiognomy, face
B438.11 | Forehead
B438.12 | Eyes, evil eye
B438.13 | Nose
B438.14 | Mouth, teeth, lips, tongue
B438.15 | Ears, noise in ear
B438.16 | Chin
B438.2 | Upper body, arms, neck
B438.21 | Hands, palms, fingernails
B438.3 | Lower body, legs
B438.31 | Feet, toes, toenails
B438.41 | Specific distinguishing characteristic
Dimple, wart, mole, scar, freckle, birthmark, strawberry mark, bruise, spot (on any part of body)
B438.44 | Hair, on head, mustache, widow's peak
B438.45 | No hair, baldness
Plain, swamp, forest, mountain, valley, cave, island, peculiar formation, etc.
Haunted house, street, cemetery, vanished city, ruins, hidden treasure, phantom ship, cross, sneeze, forgetting, remembering, talking
B477.13 | Product or Activity of Man or Animal
Haunted House, Street, Cemetery, Vanished City, Ruins, Hidden Treasure, Phantom Ship, cross, Sneeze, Forgetting, Remembering, Talking, etc.
Story of a person, place (Lover's Leap, Devil's Kitchen), group (Yankee, Hoosier). For folk etymology or dictionary of proper names see S226 or S580.
B482.2 | Large body. Ocean, sea....
B482.4 | Small body. Lake, pond....
B482.6 | Man made container. Well, pool....
B484.2 | Large current. River, stream....
B484.4 | Small current. Brook, spring....
B484.6 | Man made current. Canal, fountain....
Simple or complex episodic structure concerning events not dependent upon very specific elements of person, place, or time. This classification follows the divisions of Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson
A story in which the manner of telling is more important than the subject matter. Such tales are usually humorous. Subdivisions of the formula tale include the Cumulative tale, Chain tale, Catch tale, Unfinished tale, Endless tale, Round tale filled with contradictions, Shaggy Dog Story, See Jan Harold Brunvand, "A Classification for Shaggy Dog Stories," 76 (Jan. March, 1963), 42 68.