. VLADIMIR PROPP

Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp was a Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest narrative elements. He came to the conclusion that they were all made up of 31 plot elements, which he called functions. He also found that there were 8 main character types. The emphasis was on looking at characters not as representing real people but as functions whose role was to move the narrative forward.