Retelling a folk tale

Nope, it's perfectly legal. You can't copyright an idea. Copyrights protect expression and creativity--not innovation.

A good example is the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which was based on Homer's poem The Odyssey.

Just don't use any of the original text, and you'll be okay.

Not a problem at all. I have a short story collection taking fairy/folktales and adapting them to my secondary world and I'm now developing a novel with a new set of legends and folktales (same MC - he has the worst luck running into all these odd situations).

It's all a matter of being respectful to the source material and still putting your own spin on it.

Is it considered plagiarism if you retell a folk tale, putting your own little spin on it?

Click to expand...

No, because plagiarism is for academic research, where you're expected to cite other peoples' research instead of passing it off as your own.

What you're thinking of is copyright infringement, where you use somebody else's art without their permission. Since that is supposed to ensure they're fairly compensated for their work, and folk tale authors are all long dead, it's 100% alright.

Auteur said:

Nope, it's perfectly legal. You can't copyright an idea. Copyrights protect expression and creativity--not innovation.

A good example is the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which was based on Homer's poem The Odyssey.

Just don't use any of the original text, and you'll be okay.

Click to expand...

Actually, you're perfectly welcome to use the original text if it's in the public domain (which varies by country, granted). Since the authors would be long dead and these folk tales predate the idea of corporate copyright, there's no harm whatsoever.

Translations, however, are a different story. Those might be covered by copyright.

Elenitsa said:

Is it considered plagiarism if you retell a folk tale, putting your own little spin on it?

I am thinking more about old legends, like Loreley the siren, or the sunflower's legend, or something like this. And of course each storyteller since early Medieval times, when telling it, added or changed something, because this is why it is called folklore. And I guess this is why Charles Perrault's stories are different from Brothers Grimm's, even if some are quite similar. And I am tempted to do this, with a few legends less known in my country, if it isn't plagiarism. (I intend to mention that I was inspired from a folk tale/ legend of the Germans, for Loreley, e.g.)

Click to expand...

Writers do this all the time. There are any number of examples out there. I just finished one--Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik--a stunning retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, but woven with allusions to and motifs from any number of other fairy tales, folk tales, and myths (Persephone, for instance).

Can you say Shrek?
They didn't just borrow from classics, they incorporated them.
Tho a few of the Disney characters may have required licensing.

How many times have the Epic of Gilgamesh been retold?

Margrave86 said:

No, because plagiarism is for academic research, where you're expected to cite other peoples' research instead of passing it off as your own.

Click to expand...

I think you're defining the term too narrowly. I hear plagiarism allegations in fiction all the time. Back to academic research, from my experiences with peer review, there is plagiarism (copying word for word, even with attribution, is plagiarism), and there is unattributed information (presenting results without citing the source, even with rewording and no plagiarism). The former is a huge no-no and most journals can ban all contributing authors from future submissions at least for a time, if not forever, while the latter will get the manuscript sent back to the author asking for attribution.

I think of plagiarism as the act of copying, while copyright infringement is the legal charge that is made. "Burglary" is the act that is committed, but "breaking and entering" is the charge that is brought. I don't know if all examples of plagiarism technically result in copyright infringement, though.

How many renditions of Romeo & Juliet have there been.

There are dozens of novels currently in print (or possibly hundreds) that are retelling or riffing on folk tales, fairy tales, mythology, etc. You could fill entire libraries just with Arthuriana or variations on Robin Hood. There's absolutely no problem with doing so. Go forth and write!

There's no issue, however, make sure you're using the original source material and not a newer version that may have copyrighted elements that don't exist in the original. I'm specifically thinking of Disney, as mentioned above, but other details in newer works could also be copyrighted, so just be a little cautious with any borrowed details. Otherwise, write like the wind! I love retellings.