1820's To Modern Simple Lexis example essay topic

Comparison of fairytales Focus I have chosen to compare and contrast the differences in language between two fairytales. Cinderella an art deco love story was written in 2001 by Lynne Roberts and is a modern take on the classic " Cinderella". Cinderella an art deco love story although written recently the accompanying pictures are very 1950's chic. Incorporating the glamorous popular style that is at once serious and playful, art deco is like no other, recognised for its style and glamorous structure. It has been incorporated into the modern fairy tale to reflect the issues of modern day Britain. From a young age British children are becoming evermore fashion conscious gone are the days where you can dress your children in what you like they have become more opinionated and materialistic.

This is reflected in the book through the art deco style and the fashion conscious fairy godmother. My other fairytale The fisherman and his wife by Brothers Grimm is a classic and old fairytale written in 1820 during the reign of queen Victoria when society was often very mixed and only the very rich were educated. The story is aimed at the lower class families of the time giving a strong message that all the luxury's in the world won't make you any different or any more content with yourself. This motto can be adapted to modern times e.g. what do big lottery winners do with their terrifying amount of wealth? Does it actually make them happy? The answer is always NO!

I hope to discover how language has changed over time and why these changes may have occurred. Similarities Both of the fairytales are designed to read allowed, to children, and possibly by children, which is why the stories although teaching life lessons are upbeat and use frequent rhyme. "Flounder, flounder in the sea, prithee harken unto me" and "magic, magic work on all get Cinderella to the ball". This rhyme helps to captivate its child audience. In 1820 storytelling was virtually the only form of entertainment for a child so the story's are full of lively rhyme.

Today rhyme is used for very different reasons, children are increasingly turning to TV or computer games for entertainment instead of sitting down for a nice story for this reason the story must be upbeat enough to compete with the play station. Both books use no contractions e.g. don't is written as "do not" making the sentence very wordy. This simplifying of text is common in modern children's books as contractions would confuse children learning to read at age four or five in mass educated Britain. However in 1820 no contractions are used as the standard of the English language at the time was very high all written books used formal English and all upper class families spoke very well using no colloquialisms. The contraction don't from do not surfaced around 1925 around the war years when life was pretty awful and standards in Britain had fallen. Typical fairytale beginnings are used in both.

Cinderella begins "In a time not too long ago and in a land much like our own, there lived a beautiful girl" which adds the immediate sense of a fantasy story "in a land" meaning not reality. This gives the reader entry into a fantasy world allowing the child to escape reality when reading the fairy tale. It also however emphasises the need to be beautiful using the stereotypical "beautiful girl " as the heroine. The need to be beautiful is becoming an increasing obsession in Britain not only in children but in adults too the book subconsciously shows how important beauty is in 2001. On the first page a time adverbial "In a time not too long ago" adds to the Childs placing of the story in time. The Brothers Grimm fairytale also begins with a time adverbial "there once was a fisherman" which immediately enables the child to place the story in time while also indicating a fantasy story.

This typical style beginning has become almost clich'e being used frequently from 1820 to modern day times. Lexis There are many visible differences between the lexis in both books, this is due to the development of language from formal middle English used in the 1820's to modern simple lexis used today in 2003. The modern fairytale uses mainly high frequency monosyllabic lexis " he, his, set, had, shall" this is used as the books are aimed at children of around five years of age who would have only recently learnt to read. There is however some low frequency polysyllabic lexis "particularly" and "endearment" which are placed to broaden the Childs vocabulary as today children of four will have a fairly limited low frequency vocabulary. The old fairytale has many disyllabic lexis "hovel" and "looking" making the book harder to read this was necessary in 1820 as at the age of five the few rich enough to be educated were educated to a very high level. This changed after the education act in 1867 when the reform act was passed it vas drafted by William Foster it stated that school boards were elected and that schools could make their own by-laws allowing them to charge fees of if they wanted to let children in free.

The older book also has many archaic phrases and words "prithee"unto" and "harken" these would not be understood today by children or some adults showing how language has changed dramatically over the years. The modern fairytale uses some almost archaic phrases "frock and finery" these are added as art deco is the theme of the book art deco is associated with fancy clothing and "frock and finery" are typical 1925-50 phrases adding to the authenticity of the book and to make it more like an original fairytale. Syntax Cinderella an art deco love story is full of large colourful illustrations by David Roberts in pen and ink with hot pressed, heavy weight paper, which is a technique associated with the art deco period adding to the originality and authenticity of the art deco designs and pictures. In creating the characters Robert looked at 1950's movie stars, magazine covers and art. The paintings in the background on the walls of the house are based on those by Augustus John a famous art deco artist incorporating everything possible into the art deco theme. Art deco is considered to be one of the most exciting chapters in the history of arts.

Conceived in France before the First World War in a period of creative ferment, it spread through Europe. Art deco style is a mixture of cubism, constructivism and futurism, which is why it is still accessible today. These illustrations are closely related to the text, which helps the child with understanding. However in the old fairytale by Brothers Grimm there are only two pictures which are all black and of no great size.

This shows that today visual images are key to children's enjoyment where as ion 1820 it was not due to greater descriptive detail and imagination. There are visible differences in the writing between the two books. The old fairytale has considerably more writing, which is visibly smaller compared to the large writing of the modern. This could be due to the fact that in 1820 only the rich were educated and those that were, were educated highly from a young age. After the education act in 1867 the standard of ability at such a young age has fallen, meaning books that are easier to read.

Grammar In the modern fairy tale there are lots of simple sentences "her name was Greta" and "Greta's father was a kind man" and compound sentences "he could be quite forgetful and could not see anything without his glasses" this is due to the book being aimed at young children who find simple sentences easier to read, yet there are a few compound and complex sentences adding to the interest and helping the child to broaden reading ability. In the old fairytale the sentences are mainly compound "there was once a fisherman who lived with his wife in a hovel, close to the sea" and complex "the fisherman did not much like the business however he went to the sea, and when he came there, the water looked all yellow and green" This makes the book more complicated to read reflecting the high level of ability of those that were educated. There are a lot of archaic sentence structures "there was once a fisherman" which would now be there once was a fisherman. "You need not make so many words about the matter would today simply be don't make such a fuss this shows how the English language has simplified over the years. Conclusion I can conclude from my findings that both new and old fairytales have many similarities, typical settings such as fantasy starts" In a land not too far away" and rhyme which adds to the excitement of the text making the story appealing to children in both 1820 and 2001. However there are many differences formed over time in the lexis, the old fairytale is considerably harder due to the fact that education was at a high standard to a select few in 1820.

The modern lexis is very simple high frequency adding to the books compatibility with modern children of school age. There are also noticeable differences in size of text and length of text per page with the old being considerably longer also reflecting the level of education in 1820.