Fable  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

(Difference between revisions)
Jump to: navigation, search
Revision as of 17:22, 9 November 2008
Jahsonic (Talk | contribs)
(Classic fabulists)
← Previous diff
Revision as of 15:18, 13 June 2009
Jahsonic (Talk | contribs)

Next diff →
Line 6: Line 6:
Fables can be described as a [[didactic]] mode of literature. That is, whether a fable has been handed down from generation to generation as [[oral literature]], or constructed by a literary tale-teller, its purpose is to impart a [[lesson]] or [[Value (personal and cultural)|value]], or to give sage [[advice]]. Fables also provide opportunities to [[laughter|laugh]] at human [[folly]], when they supply examples of behaviors to be avoided rather than emulated. Fables can be described as a [[didactic]] mode of literature. That is, whether a fable has been handed down from generation to generation as [[oral literature]], or constructed by a literary tale-teller, its purpose is to impart a [[lesson]] or [[Value (personal and cultural)|value]], or to give sage [[advice]]. Fables also provide opportunities to [[laughter|laugh]] at human [[folly]], when they supply examples of behaviors to be avoided rather than emulated.
-Fables frequently have as their central characters ''[[animal]]s'' that are given [[anthropomorph]]ic characteristics such as the ability to reason and speak. In [[antiquity]], [[Aesop]] presented a wide range of animals as [[protagonist]]s, including ''[[The Tortoise and the Hare]]'' which famously engage in a race against each other; and, in another classic fable, a fox which rejects grapes that are out of reach, as probably being sour ("[[sour grapes]]"). [[Old French|Medieval French]] ''[[fabliau]]x'' might feature [[Reynard|Reynard the Fox]], a [[trickster]] figure, and offer a subtext mildly subversive of the [[feudal]] social order. Similarly, the [[18th-century]] Polish fabulist [[Ignacy Krasicki]] employs [[animal]]s as the title actors in his striking verse fable, "[[Fables and Parables#The Lamb and the Wolves|The Lamb and the Wolves]]." Krasicki uses ''[[plant]]s'' the same way in "[[Fables and Parables#The Violet and the Grass|The Violet and the Grass]]." +Fables frequently have as their central characters ''[[animal]]s'' that are given [[anthropomorph]]ic characteristics such as the ability to reason and speak. In [[antiquity]], [[Aesop]] presented a wide range of animals as [[protagonist]]s, including ''[[The Tortoise and the Hare]]'' which famously engage in a race against each other; and, in another classic fable, a fox which rejects grapes that are out of reach, as probably being sour ("[[sour grapes]]"). [[Old French|Medieval French]] ''[[fabliau]]x'' might feature [[Reynard the Fox]], a [[trickster]] figure, and offer a subtext mildly subversive of the [[feudal]] social order. Similarly, the [[18th-century]] Polish fabulist [[Ignacy Krasicki]] employs [[animal]]s as the title actors in his striking verse fable, "[[Fables and Parables#The Lamb and the Wolves|The Lamb and the Wolves]]." Krasicki uses ''[[plant]]s'' the same way in "[[Fables and Parables#The Violet and the Grass|The Violet and the Grass]]."
[[Personification]] may also be extended to ''[[inanimate|things inanimate]]'', as in Krasicki's "[[Fables and Parables#Bread and Sword|Bread and Sword]]." His "[[Fables and Parables#The Stream and the River|The Stream and the River]]," again, offers an example of personified ''[[Nature|forces of nature]]''. [[Personification]] may also be extended to ''[[inanimate|things inanimate]]'', as in Krasicki's "[[Fables and Parables#Bread and Sword|Bread and Sword]]." His "[[Fables and Parables#The Stream and the River|The Stream and the River]]," again, offers an example of personified ''[[Nature|forces of nature]]''.

Revision as of 15:18, 13 June 2009

Related e

Wikipedia
Wiktionary
Shop


Featured:

A fable is a brief, succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized (given human qualities), and that illustrates a moral lesson (a "moral"), which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.

A fable differs from a parable in that the latter excludes animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as actors that assume speech and other powers of mankind.

Contents

Characteristics

Fables can be described as a didactic mode of literature. That is, whether a fable has been handed down from generation to generation as oral literature, or constructed by a literary tale-teller, its purpose is to impart a lesson or value, or to give sage advice. Fables also provide opportunities to laugh at human folly, when they supply examples of behaviors to be avoided rather than emulated.

Fables frequently have as their central characters animals that are given anthropomorphic characteristics such as the ability to reason and speak. In antiquity, Aesop presented a wide range of animals as protagonists, including The Tortoise and the Hare which famously engage in a race against each other; and, in another classic fable, a fox which rejects grapes that are out of reach, as probably being sour ("sour grapes"). Medieval French fabliaux might feature Reynard the Fox, a trickster figure, and offer a subtext mildly subversive of the feudal social order. Similarly, the 18th-century Polish fabulist Ignacy Krasicki employs animals as the title actors in his striking verse fable, "The Lamb and the Wolves." Krasicki uses plants the same way in "The Violet and the Grass."

Personification may also be extended to things inanimate, as in Krasicki's "Bread and Sword." His "The Stream and the River," again, offers an example of personified forces of nature.

Divinities may also appear in fables as active agents. Aesop's Fables feature most of the Greek pantheon, including Zeus and Hermes.

Classic fabulists

Modern fabulists

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Fable" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

Personal tools