![]() ![]() Metafolklore and metafictional uses of folkloric material provide direct insight into what people think about folklore. We suggest two primary modes of engagement with folklore in Rowling’s work, which we see replicated in many works of popular media: one, the use of existing folklore to enrich a world of a fiction through intertextual reference (an aspect of the folkloresque mode of integration) and two, the metafictional use of created folklore (folkloresque portrayal) to comment on her perceptions of the genre. ![]() This commentary not only reflects Rowling’s views but also indicates a larger pattern of social thought about fairy tales: they are apparently silly, irrelevant texts with little meaning beyond their obvious moral messages, and yet they hint at obscure truths that modern readers would do well to root out. In writing her own fairy tales, Rowling both makes conscious use of the fairy-tale genre and advances explicit commentary on that genre. Her treatment of fairy tales in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in particular, represents a complex portrayal of folklore that both resonates with and challenges folklorists’ understanding of the genre. Rowling’s Harry Potter series serves as a case study of the folkloresque. ![]()
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January 2023
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