Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propps theory examined 100s of examples of folk tales, to see if they shared any structures.Propp looked at 100s of folk tales andidentified 8 character roles and 31 narrative functions.

The character roles and the functions identified by Propp can be applied to allkinds of narrative. In TV news programmes we are often presented with'heroes' and ‘villains'

The 8 character roles are:

• The villain(s)


• The hero


• The donor - who provides an object with some magic property.


• The helper who aids the hero.


• The princess (the sought for person) - reward for the hero and object of thevillain's schemes.


• Her father - who rewards the hero.


• The dispatcher - who sends the hero on his way.


• The false hero