Stardust

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What genre elements do classic fairy tales have in common? Consider the broad components of stories in your response: plot, character, setting, theme, and point of view.

Teaching Suggestion: Once students begin their discussion, it may be beneficial to broaden the examples to include motifs common to cross-cultural stories and symbols that have become intrinsically connected with the fairy-tale genre (for example: magic mirrors, glass slippers, spinning wheels), including morals or values that are regularly communicated through fairy tales.

• Fairy and Faerie: Uses of the Victorian in Neil Gaiman’s and Charles Vess’s Stardust – Sponsored by the literary magazine of the University of Florida, this article might serve as an overview of common motifs between Stardust and fantastical works of Victorian literature.
• Library Research Guide for Folklore and Mythology – This introduction to the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index of common folk and fairy-tale motifs might be useful in extended discussion on connection points and ways to categorize and classify stories of different genres.

2. What is the “Hero’s Journey” story archetype? If you are not familiar with this idea, think about books and films you’ve experienced in which a hero figure plays a key role. Think about the path they follow in their respective stories, and brainstorm a list of general events and actions most or many heroes experience.

Teaching Suggestion: Explore Joseph Campbell’s monomyth and draw parallels between seemingly contrasting stories that follow this structure—for example, Star Wars and Harry Potter; ask students to consider why this particular structure resonates with us across generations.

• Writing the Hero’s Journey – This article shares detailed information on the history and application of Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” story archetype.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

What does the word “Faerie” mean to you?

Teaching Suggestion: Discuss the various iterations of faeries/fairies in literature and the way perception of them has changed, for example, fairies in films, darker contemporary characters such as those found in the works of Holly Black, and pre-Christian mythological representation. Also consider the significance of the word when capitalized and non-capitalized.

Differentiation Suggestion: Look beyond prose mediums to include film and TV (Fate: The Winx Saga is a popular 2021 Netflix series featuring a school for fairies); comic books (Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series contains faerie representation); traditional artwork such as that of Arthur Rackham; and sculpture and puppetry such as that made famous by Jim Henson and Brian Froud. Allow students who might benefit from visual and auditory options to free write, draw, or engage in group discussion.