When you're researching folklore, stories and characters you can consider the story or the fairytale as the primary source. Writings about that story (such as critiques, analysis, etc.) are secondary sources.
Secondary sources often contain primary source materials within them, such the text of a particular poem, fairytale, or story -- either complete or excerpted -- that's being discussed. If you're still unsure whether a source you're using is primary or secondary, check in with a librarian!
Primary Sources on Monsters by
Companion volumes Classic Readings on Monster Theory and Primary Sources on Monsters gather a wide range of readings and sources to enable us to see and understand what monsters can show us about what it means to be human. The first volume introduces important modern theorists of the monstrous and aims to provide interpretive tools and strategies for students to use to grapple with the primary sources in the second volume, which brings together some of the most influential and indicative monster narratives from the West.
Not sure where to start?
