"Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

s and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...

in the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

and has started many narratives since 1600. These stories sometimes end with "and they all lived happily ever after", or, originally, "happily until their deaths". The phrase is common in

s for younger children. It was used in the original translations of the stories of

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , , ; 12 January 162816 May 1703) was a French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales, published in his ...

as a translation for the French "", of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

as a translation for the Danish "" (literally "there was once"), the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

as a translation for the German "" (literally "it was once") and Joseph Jacobs in English translations and fairy tales. In ''More English Fairy Tales'', Joseph Jacobs notes that: The phrase is also used in retellings of

myths Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

fable Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a parti ...

s and

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

Other languages

The "story-starting phrase" is a common feature of many languages.

Modern variants

* The novel ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

opens with the line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” which has been reused and parodied in many modern works of fiction. * Don McLean's " American Pie" begins with the phrase "A long, long time ago...". * All of the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' films, as well as several of the

expanded universe The term expanded universe, sometimes called an extended universe, is generally used to denote the "extension" of a media franchise (like a television program or a series of feature films) with other media, generally comics and original novels. ...

novels, begin with the phrase "A long time ago in a

galaxy A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...

far, far away....". * The musical ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'' begins with the Narrator's line, "Once upon a time." The second act commences with his line, "Once upon a time... later..." The musical is a retelling of many famous fairy tales. * In the Singaporean comedy series '' Under One Roof'', Moses Lim's character Tan Ah Teck begins his stories with "Long before your time, in the southern province of China ...". * In the 2010 Edgar Wright film '' Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'', the opening scene narrates the words "Not so long ago, in the mysterious land of Toronto, Canada." * The opening line of the theme song to '' MST3k'' is: "In the not-too-distant future ... next Sunday, A.D." * '' Bionicle'' features the line "In the time before time...". * In '' Ninjago'', in-universe tales often begin "Long before time had a name...". * The opening line of the TV series ''

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

'' features the line "In a land of myth, and a time of magic..." * The first episode of '' Ivor the Engine'' opens with the line "Not so very long ago, in the top left-hand corner of Wales..."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Once Upon A Time English phrases Recurrent elements in fairy tales Traditional stories

Other languages

Modern variants

See also

References

External links