Most of us have a clear sense of what fairy tales are or what we assume they are. Over the last century, these tales have been burdened with so many clichés, such as curses of evil queens and damsels in distress, that we tend to identify them by the presence of such clichés. Fairy tale scholar Kate Bernheimer suggests that when trying to determine what a fairy tale is, clichéd themes play an insignificant role. According to her, the most distinctive qualities of a fairy tale are its underdeveloped characters, nonsensical logic, and lack of description. Its aesthetic and unrestricted definition allows for a broad interpretation of what constitutes a fairy tale. However, since most folk tales seem to consistently share some formal characteristics, such as a narrative structure, simple imagery, and superficial characters, it is easy to assume that if a fairy tale does not follow a similar pattern then it is not a fairy tale. . "Little Red Riding Hood" is an autobiographical poem, by Carol Ann Duffy, that presents a female perspective on Little Red Riding Hood while outlining Duffy's relationship with an older man. Often people don't identify it as a fairy tale because it lacks many characteristics that fairy tales are commonly associated with. In “Fairy Tale is Form, Form is Fairy Tale,” Bernheimer states that the four “formal components (though there are others) comprise the hard logic of tales” (64). By adding "although there are others" in parentheses, it allows its definition to be changed. By examining it through the lens of Bernheimer's ideas, I will show that Carol Ann Duffy's “Little Red Riding Hood” is a fairy tale. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Flatness is the first aspect that Bernheimer listed as an identifying characteristic of fairy tales, and Duffy also uses this technique, albeit in a limited way. Flatness refers to the “absence of depth” (Bernheimer 66) in characters that allows readers to interact with the text. According to Bernheimer, flatness is used so that the audience can be more involved and imagine certain attributes of the character. Duffy, however, uses flatness for metaphorical reasons. For example, the grandmother could be considered a flat character since she is only mentioned once: "I took an ax to the wolf while he slept, one blow, from the scrotum to the throat, and I saw the gleaming, virgin white of my grandmother's bones " (Duffy 4). It is a symbol rather than a personality; the phrase “white virgin of my grandmother's bones” is a metaphor for generations of women who have been oppressed by men. “The shimmering virgin white of my grandmother's bones” denotes that all oppressed women have been free and regained their pride. Therefore, Duffy's poetry uses flatness to allow people to interact with the text by allowing them to relate to it. Although “Little Red Riding Hood” does not use this technique exactly as described by Bernheimer, it successfully uses flatness to promote audience engagement. Although Duffy does not use the same approach described by Bernheimer, his poetry achieves the same goal as fairy tales. Bernheimer lists “flatness” as one of the key aspects of a fairy tale because it “allows for a depth of response in the reader” (67). The assumption behind his statement here is that one of the characteristics of fairy tales is that they allow for profound responses from readers, which Duffy's poetry also does. First, the allegorical nature of this poem allows readers to interpret the man the "wolf" is based on in their own way..... 3-4