What are folktales
A question storytellers are often asked, and one not so easily given a quick yet satisfactory answer. A discussion on the Storytell listserv led me to compile this short list of leads you might like to follow.
In Search of the Folktale
Storyteller Doug Lipman offers a helpful and practical start to finding out more.
Tim Sheppard, storyteller, trainer and maintainer of the Storytelling FAQ, suggested the following sites and gave these comments:
Folktales: Origins and Diffusion of Folktales
This very useful page sets out brief explanations and descriptions of many terms and theories used in studying folklore: Origins and Diffusion of Folktales; Elements of Folktales; and the various categories of tales, including myth etc. A good introduction to anyone exploring the range of tales or beginning to wonder about all the connections between them.
Legend & Fairytale, Discipline & Media
A doctoral essay giving a useful overview and comparison, in part B, of the various approaches of some folklore theorists: Marshall McLuhan, Walter Ong, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Vladimir Propp, Stith Thompson, Max Lüthi, Bruno Bettelheim, Maria Tatar and Jack Zipes.
Folktale Category History Rant
Of course, everyone should know Tim Jennings' irreverent and vigorous introduction to the various approaches folklorists have taken to theorising about folktale origins and categories.
Two glossaries of terminology:
From Swapping Stories, folklore terms - related to Louisiana tales but also folktales in general.
A more academic list of terms: Studies in Folklore.