LITR 4533:
TRAGEDY

Genre Presentation 2000

Shannon Chamberlain

The Fable

Definition:

"Fable, is a brief, allegorical narrative, in verse or prose, illustrating a moral thesis or satirizing human behavior. The characters in a fable are usually animals who talk and act like humans while still maintaining their physical animal traits." The Definition of Fable, http://www.Encyclopedia.com/articles/04342.html The fable is both a written and oral form of literature that reveals some type of moral or lesson that the audience is expected to learn from.

Not much is known about the exact origins of the fable except that it is a form of literature that was probably developed during times when men were in constant contact with animals through either hunting or shepherding. Extracting these common objects and behaviors, the lessons and morals arose. Fables, New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1863. It is believed that the fable began over 3000 years ago.

The first known fables originate from ancient India in the Sanskrit Panchatantra. Western versions of the fable turned up in Greece around the 6th century BC, supposedly written by Aesop. (Aesop was said to have been a slave, and there is not much information on him except that he was terribly ugly, yet a wonderful storyteller.) They were oral forms of story telling that were told to children as well as adults. These fables eventually found their way into European culture and were considered to play a critical role in children’s reading-matter. Throughout time the fable has remained an important part of literature. The fable has surfaced in every culture or religion in some form or another at different time periods.

Related genre: Fairy tales, parables, beast epic.

Course Objective: 2a, representation of values in culture.

Representational genre: narrator or "single voice".

Narrative genre: Fable, tragedy.

Example: Aesop, "The Parrot and His Cage" (6th century BC).

Highlights of the Example: human characteristics, social interactions, morals, values

Additional Examples of Genre: Jean de La Fontaine, "The Hare and the Tortoise" (17th century); Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland (1865); George Orwell, Animal Farm (20th century).

Research Sources: See above, plus web sites: The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature (1984).

Questions:
  • Do you believe that fables are still an important part of our history and culture? If yes, do you think that they will continue to be an important part of our culture?
  • Considering the opinions that there is a lack of morals and values in our society today, do you think that fables should be told more often to school-age children and adults?