 | |||
 6  1  3  |
 |
 |
 |
The Craft of a Storyteller
 |
| Nothing is so laughable that it does not find worshippers (German). |
Contents
| Supporting reservations are presupposed throughout: |
The Craft of Storytelling
The Endearing Storyteller
THE GOOD storyteller reflects the need to be steadily cautious in front of his audience, or in the face of unwanted disturbances. Traditional social gatherings in earlier centuries included storytelling, for people were fond of stories, then as now. Storytelling was for all, and common throughout many countries.A Good Storyteller
 |
| The best is far from getting outsmarted. Baron Munchchausen never was. |
Greater-than-usual responsibilities could need some fresh air.
While it can be appropriate for a good storyteller to demand little for himself while he is at it, he needs to detect how to loosen up and what strings to play on for the sake of the spell of a good story.
Old tales that no one needs to take very seriously at first glance, can help child and juvenile imagination within limits. It affords it something to work with, that is.
Delicate tales may preserve Lustigkeit, or a child's gladness. We all have a Child (good TA term) inside us - or if not, we could be at death's door. [Cf. Gregory Boyce's professional "Short Lessons" on TA, for example]
In a book of the Bible a prophet named Balaam owned a remarkable donkey. The animal grasped vital matters better than the prophet, and saved his life by it. The donkey even talked unaided and ininstructed. This conversation took place:
So "There are tales and there are tales". As in the Bible, tales furnish a frame of reference that may serve some comment. They may trigger some understanding, and we learn lessons that hopefully serve us, if not now, then later. We may learn a lot and many different things from one story, for our perspectives may differ too. If we consider a tale to be figurative, not only tricky, we may see things through that approach. It may not be so silly.The donkey said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"
Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now."
The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day?" [Numbers 22:28-30]
Munchausen - remarkably clear in one respect: Vegetables may grow on trees
It can be fun to look into heritage stuff, and also to dress appropriately and carefully - well.Having fun and looking silly may go along well together for a while. Having fun is vital for health and well-being. Thus, where people do not dare to seem silly to someone else, bad things could happen. Being prestigous and solidly fit is hardly all there is to a good life.
The apostle Paul says divine wisdom looks like folly in the world of men. Some of Baron Munchausen's exploits may seem foolish enough. But do they contain substantial wisdom? If we read it into them, by searching for clues to operate on if we treat the tales as figurative. Such a literary approach needs no study, the children of the Comenius group has documented very well.
One Munchausen tale speaks of vegetables on trees. A relative brought him with him in a voyage to Sri Lanka. On the way there was a storm where an old couple were caught when they were high up in the branches of a tree, "gathering cucumbers (in this part of the globe that useful vegetable grows on trees)." [Raspe, ch 1, p 24-25]
A Norwegian woman once made a tiny study of how confused the people are in the matter of vegetables and fruits. What is regularly sold as vegetables, may be fruit or berries. For example, the banana is a berry, and so is the eggplant. A botanist may tell such as, "Among fruits there are vegetables, and some vegetables are really fruits, as if it matters."
Aligned with folklore too, here and there
SOME OF the Munchausen tales contain folklore motifs as classified in the international Type Catalogue for folk tales. For example, in one story the hero is assisted by funny-looking, miracle-working helpers. In the folk tale catalogue this theme is allotted the number 513 and the heading "The Extraordinary companions". The theme is aboutfive extraordinary companions: one could eat huge quantities of bread, another had a great thirst, the third could throw stones across the sea, the fourth could hear wool being spun in the center of the earth, and the last could make thirty-six windmills turn with the air from his behind. . . . The extraordinary companions helped the boy overcome every difficulty. [Agha 111]In one tale Munchausen is served by remarkable workmen too. He enters a wager with the sultan of Istanbul about fetching a bottle from the wine celler of the Austrian emperor in an hour. He has a helper run to get it, but the runner falls asleep under an oak by Belgrad on the way back. Then, with five minutes left, the baron asks another helper to listen where the belated runner is, so that his outstanding marksman can take aim, fire at the oak and wake up the runner by the branches and nuts falling over him. Thereby the runner wakes up and comes so fast to Istanbul that the baron wins the wager. [Raspe, Rudolf. Baron Münchhhausens märkverdiga resor och &aulm;ventyr till lands och vatten. Tr. V. E. Øman. Drawings by Gustave Doré. Stockholm: C. E. Fritzes Bokhandel, 1875, ch. 11, (The sixth sea adventure), p. 119-129. On-line: a Runeberg edition, based on the 1862 English edition].
Speaking of fantastic helpers, a very old Greek tale is about the culture-hero Jason and his helpmates on board the Argo. They included Orpheus, the twin sons of the north wind, the hunter Arcas, and Theseus. Some folklore themes are found in ancient Greek stories. [See part 1, chapter 4: LINK A. LINK B]
A little handy imagination and fine pranks wo not kill us all.
Parables for Education
Storytelling Mentions
Some fantasy tales with deep lessons are called parables. They may not be true to fact in every respect, yet they are said to be fit for deep edification.
 |
| "I will open my mouth: Many tales of whim and fancy can work all right among fit humans. |
There is a sort of tales that are called parables. They are rich in figurative (metaphoric) mentions. They may talk across the ages. Buddha said, "I have taught the truth . . . But simple as it is, the people cannot understand it. . . . I must adapt my thoughts to their thoughts . . . Therefore, I will tell them stories." Several parables seem to stem from Gautama Buddha. Centuries later Jesus spoke in parables too [Matthew 13:34-35]. [MORE]
What about tales of fiction that are put in the mouth of Baron Munchhausen? To what degrees can they serve and inspire folks? It is hard to find out of that, so "It remains to be seen". We must add: "There are many valid interpretations of what is worth while," as John J. Sparkes writes [Tpd 135]. Much depends on interpretation. and much on interpenetration -
Some Standards for Living
Through seemly interpretations and understanding we may arrive at lessons and standards for living. Helpful lessons do not mar or offend young ones. Lessons may be exemplified by tales, as Buddha says. He often told stories to get his message across. Stories were also told about him. The Jataka Tales is a collection of hundreds of tales about the sort of life one should lead to become a Buddha and thus get great happiness. Buddhism as a path out of misery and into happiness, contains more than suggestions; it offers some useful regulations for living as well [MORE].And in the Bible "The prophets . . . searched intently and with the greatest care," says 1 Peter [1:10]. And Paul also goes into good standards by his, "Teach what is in accord with sound doctrine," and "Teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that none will malign the word of God." [Titus 2:1, 3-5] A savoury story may influence young ears deeply.
Not every welcomed tale is found to be good and decent
In Scandinavian folklore, as in the Bible, the "heroes" that human id likes to identify with, or half-identify with, as the case may be, are seen to be murderers, thieves, and so on. there is a long list of folk tales that show this point well. For starters, these serve: folk tale type AT 328 is called "The boy steals the giant's treasure"; AT 1525 A-F is called "The master thief"; and AT 1525 R "The robber brothers". In the Bible we see that Moses was a murderer in Egypt, Joshua had genocide carried out at God's command, David had Uriah killed, and Paul helped in killing Christians before he was converted and became an apostle.Prophets of the Bible often spoke in flowering, figurative speech. They are interpreted this way and that way still. A tip is that one has to search a whole lot in more than one field or arena to get a foundation of one's interpretation-linked opinion-making. However, to give finer hints through allegory can be fine and work well.
To deprive children of savoury tales is far from good. One question is: "What is a good tale? "Good" is such a baffling word." And "handy" and "welcome" are not exactly linked to "bad", but they can be. If we wince from handy goodness, from very welcome goodness, and outfit that serves our prestige and so on, it is not good at all. See a skeletal survey of what "good" can be here: [LINK]
There is no good reason to let others sneer at you if you are OK for most part. Shared concern or respect can work well. Thus, traditionally handed over respect may serve long life. But even respect may serve bad things, and it should pay to be aware of it. Through respect many duped, conform puppets are made. Not a few of them go on to lie on their bellies for shallow glamour and the famous - and that is a danger in a life. We should try to be worthy of respect, not just hanker after recognition, fame, or whatever. One way to get a measure of respect is by welcome developments of skills or talents. Another way is discipline.
The ability to interpret, evaluate and re-evaluate can be greatly developed through steps and stages in a long, on-going process called maturation. [See Erikson's life stages].
Expect and encourage evolving maturation that is there: Some tall tales that relate to contemporary culture, reflect aspects of id (libido) functions around, maybe shared by many. Fame reflects it too. It is given to some people from many others. A study and interpretation of them may be needed to understand the narcissistic folks they look up to and want to be like - However, good and useful tips depend on and may stem from cosy folks too. What is more, most often there is something better to do than to play a hollow and narcissistic Game.
Amused by Miracles
Men and Women May Amuse Themselves if Safe
STORIES of miracles - whether real or made up - abound in the Church, where such tales of saints and martyrs have had a very strong grip on people for hundreds of years. Tall tales are exactly like tales of miracles. Let us say you can levitate and fly in the air, as many famous men and women of the Catholic Church are reported to have done. One source says a few hundred Christian saints have levitated - risen up into the air:"Some of them were able to stay aloft for several hours at a time and others were able to travel many miles (...) Unfortunately, there seems to be little documentation". [Check] [Also check John 14:12 etc.].
We would like to share an older painting with you:
 |
| St. Joseph levitating. He is the patron of test-taking and of students, and of pilots and air passengers. |
"Seeing is believing (Proverb). There are two main groups of fools: Those who naively agree without proof, and those that disagree naively yet vehemently without solid proof. An American saying, "Twin fools: one doubts nothing, the other everything [Ap 166]." Able individuals may be found in between those two - between the credulously-blind and the gross-disbelief-blind, and are able to study and research things on their own. Even monkeys do that.
Sound reservation (qualifications) may be schooled and trained. Good schooling is for that, and against being taken in too.
Baron Munchausen recounts he once rode on a cannon-ball. Another time he lifted himself and the good horse he sat on, out of a quagmire by pulling his own hair till he saved himself and his horse. Some might say it paid very well - the tale, that is. The tale seems too good to be true, but see if not Catholic saints and others - like Milarepa - have done some feats that compete with it. a little more about the Franciscan Joseph of Cupertino:
St. Joseph - in one basilica [church] he rose near the vaulted ceiling to kiss a picture of [Mother Mary] . . . Sometimes he even took passengers with him. Once, for example, inspired by a choir's hymns, Joseph caught up a confessor in front of a singing group of nuns and spun the man around in the air. - When the saint saw several friars struggling to lift a 36-foot cross for a Calvary they were building, he jetted 70 yards to their aid, picked up the cross "as if it were straw," and put it into place. [Source: Catholic Digest, "stories/9605102a"]A way of life where men and women spend more time a day in their cars than with their spouses and children, is not a sign of great culture.
Miracles are either real or fancied
A concerned mother once visited Albert Einstein to get his counsel on how to help her son become really good in maths. Exactly what was she to read for him to help him evolve into a prominent scientist?Can endearing, ennervating and fanciful tales give children something of value? Consider it in the light of the Einstein story; it is purported to be true.
"Folk tales," said Einstein.
"Okay," said the mother, "and after that?"
"More folk tales," said Einstein.
"And after that?" the mother asked again.
"Still more folk tales," answered Einstein. [Brms 1]
Traditional tales often reflects or give hints about turbulent periods of our history. But are they funny enough? Munchausen's tales are not outmoded yet. Careful inspection of what makes them endearing enough to last, matters.
Munchausen may not have been a miracle-worker of the follower's type, the one that casts mountains into the sea in real life - but cultivated frivolity helps. And many years after Munchausen, people did walk on the moon, did have transportation means to travel swiftly through the air and on land, and so on. Such feats and features were first kindled in the fancy, or imagination, presumedly. The French author (or rather: "author factory") Jules Verne too wrote of getting men to the moon and into large submarine "Nautilus" long before anything like it had taken place.
By refusing to stiffle fancy and tall tales, modern "miracles" of technology may come about in time. Let a gladness-helping baron inspire those who care, and they are many. However, getting out of step with nature, the natural and handy, and nature's significant happenings is not good. Man seems better adapted to good life on this planet than most other known planets, and should really go for improving life on the only planet where it is feasible so far.
The Danish poet Piet Hein in the first "Kumble's Gruk":
"The one who thinks joking is merely joking
and seriousness is only serious,
- has in fact understood both poorly."
It tends to help to search for the fit clues for solvent living. Tables and figures can present them well
The clou to look out for in very many contexts (settings and even situations) can be the handy and useful hints assembled. They may assist healtful, savoury living if they have what is called transfer value. Or the clou may show future developments in the wake of more or less enigmatic "things" (phenomena) that often happen and often come to no good end. For many people it can be a whole lot easier to get nasty than upright, a lot easier to attain to than evolving oneself, and so on. It seems it never was easy to stand up morally and as an individual - so delicate tact could be needed.In order to preserve uprightness or bulwark against future decay, and downfalls, very many European stories are much scaring, much warning. One could say that half of the tales of European folklore have warning values - gainst being dumbfounded, against being naive, taken in and losing somehow. Thus there is much to learn apart from how to build up a lot. What comes next is how to manage or preserve it by savoury, fit and fair management, for example.
General, good statements are often laden with moral values, or tied in with them somehow. Many values differ and change with time. And much depends on what side you are on.
Enabling standards can be told plainly, and they may be "baked" into odd stories of many sorts, to be harvested by listeners later, for example fifteen years later. These strides and many others can help young ones by carefully or humorously giving expert nudges as to how one is to live to one's benefit. Such nuggets or standards can be gathered and arranged to work even better. In Waldorf education such principles are made use of, and ways of using these half-norms were made plain by Rudolf Steiner.
|
 |
 |
 |
Adjoined
Dp: Fergusson, Rosalind: The Penguin Dictionary of Proverbs. Penguin. Harmondsworth, 1983.Dpa: Folsom, Steven R. Dictionary of Proverbs in American Country Music Hits (1986-1996). On-line: [www.utas.edu.au/docs/flonta/DPbooks/FOLSOM/cmdictionary.html]
| Literature | Layout | SITE MAP | First Page |
CLICK on 'Literature' for the references of about 2000 works.
ANNOTATIONS: Acronym letters in square brackets in the text refer to works. Click on 'Literature' above for examples. Page references are put right after reference letters. The abbreviation cf. means "compare". [MORE].
SEARCH THE SITE: Click on the rose in the upper left column for site searches, access to dictionaries, and further.
REFER to the page by its 'location' address (above).
PILOTING: Some pictures and texts on top of the pages are clickable, to ease navigation. [MORE]
| Model | Well's | Disclaimer | |
| © 1998-2006, Tormod Kinnes — Updated in summer 2006 | |||