The Tell-Tale Hat: Surfacing the Uncertainty in Folklore Classification

Abstract

Classification is a vexing problem in folkloristics. Although broad genre classifications such as “ballad”, “folktale”, “legend”, “proverb”, and “riddle” are well established and widely accepted, these formal classifications are coarse and dolittle more than provide a first level sort on materials for collections that can easily include tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of records.