Fables
- brief fictional narrative illustrating a maxim- a general truth- of basic principles.
maxim is the “moral,” of the story. They typically make use of either animals, natural objects and forces, or members of low status as characters.
popular in the middle ages.
used for entertainment and schooling.
cited in sermons, and they are included in books of examples that were prepared for preachers in the later Middle Ages. influenced literature.
DIFFERENCES - different from anecdotes in being of fiction, not historical.
different from parables in avoiding systematic allegory
different from myths and from folktales of marvel or adventure in emphasizing practical shrewdness.
different from proverbs in providing an illustrative narrative, although allegorical proverbs like "the mountain was in labor and brought forth a mouse" can be counted as mini-fables.
The earliest known fables in verse are the 1st century A.D. They were the production Phaedrus, in Latin, and of Babrius, in Greek. During the Renaissance, these productions were emulated and the poetic fable was done close to perfection by Jean de La Fontaine in the 17th century France. In 1759, G. E. Lessing endeavored to return to ancient simplicity in his novel, Fabeln. A modern fable is James Thurber's humorous Fables for Our Time (1940). Another one is George Orwell's Animal Farm (1945), which adapts the fable to the novel form.
The earliest fable in Greek literature is a story in Works and Days by Hesiod, where the Hawk reprimands the Nightingale for fighting with his elders. As early as 5th century B.C., many fables were common property. The Greek philosopher Socrates practiced turning some fables into verse while waiting for his execution. However, most fables were likely to be linked with the semi-legendary 6th century slave Aesop. Around 300 B.C., Demetrius of Phalerum (a port of Ancient Athens) gathered a collection of Aesopic fables, mainly for the benefit of speakers. Similar collections of fables are still in existence.