Narrative Structures in Burmese Folk Tales By Soe Marlar Lwin

Description
Folk tales of Burma (now known as Myanmar) have been
preserved for centuries as part of a long folk tradition reflecting
Burmese humor, romance, and wisdom. This book provides the first
indepth overview of the narrative structures in Burmese folk tales.
!arlier studies of Burmese folk tales have focused on the narrative
motifs or contents and the ethnic or geographical areas, but have left
out the study of the structural patterns that make up the storylines in
different types of tales.
Much of the literature on tales is based on the narrative motifs or
contents of the stories (e.g., animal tales, fairy tales, etc.), and such
thematic categori"ations, on the basis of a tale#s sub$ect matter or
content, can lead to some problems due to the inconsistency in the
choice of criterion. %t can be argued that the theme of an animal tale
can be the same as that of a fairy tale, and that animals can be taking
the narrative roles in a wonder tale. This study, therefore, focuses on
narrative structures and sets out to identify the different structural
patterns in the folk tales of Burma. Through a clear analysis and
e&amples of various types of tales, this study shows how the story
structure can be an alternative criterion in categori"ing tales, as well
as a means of gaining insight into the cultural determination of the
narrative motifs or contents within possibly transcultural forms.
The discussion of the structural study of tales is done with
consideration of 'ladimir (ropp#s analysis of )ussian folk tales in his
book Morphology of the Folk Tale. (ropp claimed that all tales had an
identical se*uence of functions or functional events and the same
basic structure, despite their differences in the dramatis personae.
%n this book, besides identifying the functional events in Burmese folk
tales, how these events are linked into various plot structures resulting
in different types of tales is e&amined. The functional events identified
in the tales are classified into different models, such as
reward+punishment, interdiction+violation, problem+solution, trickster
tales, and fairy tales. The degree of linearity in terms of the temporal
and+or causal relations between functional events of a tale is also
e&amined. ,rawing on the concept of se*uential meaning, this study
aims to e&plain how a linear coherent storyline is developed for a well
organi"ed narrative structure, even though the se*uence of events in
a tale may not be identical to that of the other. %n cases where a
se*uence of events does not follow a familiar tra$ectory, the analysis
in this book e&plains how special effects, such as humor, are created.
The possibilities of using a structural analysis of folk tales as a means
of understanding the commonalities as well as the uni*ueness in the
structural patterns, narrative contents, and social purposes of folk
tales from different cultures are also e&plored in this book. -
comparison between the two prominent structural patterns identified in
the analysis of Burmese folk tales and those proposed by the studies
of folk tales from other cultures shows how tales with similar social
purposes (e.g., a didactic moral purpose) contain similar structural
patterns (e.g., a contrastive narrative structure). %t suggests that
certain structural patterns are used commonly (if not universally) by
various cultures for similar social purpose of storytelling, while the
narrative contents (e.g., elements taking up the narrative roles) will
remain culturespecific. This observation points to several interesting
issues, such as the (im)possibilities of finding a universal grammar of
folk tales and the viability of claims about commonalities among folk
tales.
This book contributes not only to the appreciation of Burmese folk
tales and the Burmese culture, but it also aids in the understanding of
the relationship between the form (narrative structure), function (social
purpose), and field (narrative content) of folk tales with oral storytelling
in general. %t also highlights a structural analysis of folk tales as a
means, rather than an end, by identifying the areas in which further
research can be done.
Narrative Structures in Burmese Folk Tales is an important and useful
reference for anyone working in the fields of narrative studies,
classification of tales, folklore, and oral storytelling.
About Marlar Lwin
.oe Marlar /win is an assistant professor in the !nglish /anguage
and /iterature -cademic 0roup at the 1ational %nstitute of !ducation
at 1anyang Technological 2niversity in .ingapore. .he holds a (h,
and an M- from the 1ational 2niversity of .ingapore and an M- and a
B- (3ons.) from the 2niversity of 4angon, Myanmar. 3er main
research areas include narrative structures, folktales, oral storytelling,
and oracy development. .he has also published in $ournals such as
The Buckingham Journal of Language and Linguistics and Language
and Literature.