Folklore as a Means of Expressing National Identity: The Image of the Serpent in British Literature of the XXI century
The issue of national identity remains one of the key topics in contemporary literary studies, especially in the context of globalization and cultural interaction. Over the past fifteen years, scholars have increasingly focused on analyzing the ways national self-awareness is represented in fiction, with folklore motifs playing a particularly important role. As a vital part of the cultural code, folklore enables authors to draw on collective memory and reinterpret traditional imagery within contemporary contexts.
The article examines the depictions of serpents and dragons in three contemporary British novels: The Last Dragonslayer (2010) by Jasper Fforde, The Buried Giant (2016) by Kazuo Ishiguro, and The Essex Serpent (2017) by Sarah Perry. The study aims to determine the extent to which these images draw upon British national folklore and to explore how their interpretation contributes to the expression of national identity in 21st-century literature. The study primarily employs a cultural-historical approach and V. Propp’s typology.
The analysis reveals that the serpents and dragons in the novels by Sarah Perry and Kazuo Ishiguro exhibit the most distinct folkloric traits, which are deeply rooted in the British mythopoetic tradition. In The Buried Giant, the dragon serves as a symbol of collective memory and historical trauma, echoing motifs from medieval legends. In The Essex Serpent, the reptilian creature is interpreted through the lens of English folk beliefs, enhancing the sense of local color. Meanwhile, in Jasper Fforde’s novel, the connection to national folklore is less explicit: the dragon here becomes part of a playful postmodernist style, though this does not negate its cultural allusions. Thus, the study confirms that the use of folkloric imagery remains a significant tool for constructing national identity in contemporary British literature. At the same time, the authors employ traditional motifs in different ways, ranging from direct borrowing to transforming them in new artistic contexts.
Rybin T. V., Zueva E. V., Nesmelova O. O. (2025). Folklore as a Means of Expressing National Identity: The Image of the Serpent in British Literature of the XXI century, Research Result. Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, 11 (4), 170–183.
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