Can Carol Ann Duffy’s “Little Red Cap” Be Classified as a Fairy Tale? Anjali Vallikkat College

Most of us have a clear perception of what fairy tales are, or what we assume them to be. Over the past century, these tales have been burdened with so many clichés, such as evil queens’ curses and damsels-in-distress, that we tend to identify them based on the presence of such clichés. The fairy tale scholar Kate Bernheimer suggests that when trying to determine what a fairy tale is, clichéd themes play an insignificant role. According to her, a fairy tale’s most distinctive qualities are its underdeveloped characters, nonsensical logic and lack of description. Her aesthetic and unrestricted definition allows broad interpretation of what constitutes a fairy tale. However, since most popular fairy tales do seem to consistently share certain formal characteristics, such as a narrative structure, simple imagery and superficial characters, it is easy to assume that if a tale does not follow a similar outline then it is not a fairy tale. “Little Red Cap” is an autobiographical poem, by Carol Ann Duffy, which presents a female perspective on Little Red Riding Hood whilst outlining Duffy’s relationship with an older man. Often, people do not identify it as a fairy tale because it lacks several features that fairy tales are commonly...