The plot of a fable seeks to transmit a lesson.
Fable is a word that comes from the Latin term fabŭla . As the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) explains, it is a fictional story that lacks great length, can be developed in verse or prose and has as its main characteristic its didactic intent . The usual thing is that the fable teaches through a moral that closes the story in question.
For example: "Do you know the fable of the ant and the grasshopper?" , "As a child I was fascinated by fables" , "Grandpa Tomás told me a fable about the importance of taking care of nature" .
Fables can present human beings, animals (with anthropomorphism) and other types of creatures as protagonists. As a literary genre , it is a short story that ends with some teaching.
Origin of fables
Historians affirm that fables arose when Greco-Roman slaves dedicated to pedagogy sought to transmit ethical notions to children. These instructions respected pagan morality and indicated that the natural virtues of things could not be changed. With Christianity , on the contrary, the narrative of fables began to include the possibility of change within human behavior.
There are many authors who, over the centuries, have created fables with the aim of entertaining, teaching and showing their literary qualities. Among them, without a doubt, the Frenchman Jean de La Fontaine stands out, who produced a large collection of works framed in this type of genre during the 17th century .
However, we cannot ignore the role played by other writers of great relevance in this area, such as Boisard , Jean Pons Guillaume Vennet or the Polish Ignacy Krasicki , who acquired great fame in the period of the Enlightenment .
A fable can be a popular story with educational value that is part of the oral tradition of a town.
Main features
In a similar way to parables , fables use allegories and symbolism to transmit their teachings. Fabulists often appeal to the personification of animals , attributing human traits to them.
The characterization of the characters is central in fables. Through their attitudes and the behaviors they develop in the plot, the narrator shows the different consequences of the actions. Thus, in the structure of the story, whoever acts correctly is rewarded, while those who do not respect conventional values receive some type of punishment. That is why the fable is a didactic story and a moral tale .
Examples of fables
Many fables are part of folklore and popular wisdom. "The Tortoise and the Hare" (or "The Hare and the Tortoise" ), for example, is a well-known fable that proposes a reflection on pride, arrogance, respect, humility and perseverance.
"The Wolf and the Lamb" , meanwhile, shows that those who wish to do evil are not willing to reason. The application of history can be linked to what happens when there is a tyrant: dialogue is not possible, all that remains is to resist and fight for freedom as a survival mechanism.
In a classic fable, the moral appears in the ending.
Samaniego's contribution
To the aforementioned fables we should add the work of a Spanish writer whose name is clearly identified with the genre because he managed to create a wide collection of works that have managed to survive the passage of time and that have been passed from generation to generation. We are referring to Félix María Samaniego .
This author, born in Álava in 1715 , was characterized because he used verse to create his fables and because they were loaded with great criticism of certain customs or moral norms, of the attitudes carried out by the politicians of that time and of characters from society who were not exactly a paragon of virtues.
Among his best-known fables, which, as we said before, have survived very actively to this day, are "The Grasshopper and the Ant" and "The Fox and the Grapes" , two classics of children's literature.
Fable as an adjective
The term fable is also used in some countries as a colloquial adjective that highlights something as very good or extraordinary .
Something that "is fabulous" , in this sense, is wonderful, surprising, of great quality, etc.: "Last night's party was fabulous" , "Yesterday I saw a fable movie about three dragons that traveled the world in search of of adventures" , "What a fabled game! There were three goals in five minutes .
As can be seen, in these cases there is no allusion to a didactic issue. What is mentioned as "fable" is not intended to convey a teaching, but is simply something that stands out positively.
Going back to the examples mentioned, a "fable" party is very fun, just as a film with this adjective is extremely entertaining. The same can be said regarding a football match: if three goals were scored in five minutes, the spectators had a lot of emotions and were able to enjoy a match with unusual characteristics.