FABLESFolk Storytelling

By Marisa Fidalgo

It is a literary genre: a fictional story, in prose or verse.

The fable is one of the most enduring forms of folk literature with a long tradition of storytelling in all ages.

The characters are animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are given human qualities, such as verbal communication

It contains a moral lesson (a "moral") useful to life. They are usually short and might begin with a contextual introduction, followed by the story, often with the moral underlined at the end

Sometimes the titles have become proverbs, as in the case of 'killing the Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs’ or ‘The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse’.

In Greece and Rome the fable was the first of the progymnasmata (training exercises in prose composition and public speaking) The students had to learn fables and invent their own, so collections, like those of Aesop were very common.

There are connections between Aesop’s fables and Indian tradition: as represented by the Buddhist Jataka Tales and the Hindu Panchatantra, they share a dozen tales in common.

People who tell or write fables are called “fabulists”

AESOP lived during the sixth century BC, his birthplace is unknown

He was born a slave for two different masters: Xanthus and Ladmon

He was freed as a reward for his wit and intelligence. He travelled a lot—telling his fables along the way.

King Croesus of Lydia offered him residency and a job at his court.

On a mission to Delphi for the king, he was accused of stealing a golden bowl from Apollo’s temple.

He was condemned to death by being hurled off a cliff

There are many fables attributed to Aesop that, for a variety of reasons, couldn’t possibly be his own.

Many details have been lost or altered because of the storytelling tradition.

The first printed version of Aesop's Fables in English was published on March 26, 1484, by William Caxton.

Links: Aesop’s Fables / BBC fables

OTHER FAMOUS FABULISTS

Samaniego (1745-1801) Alava

La Fontaine (1621–1695) France satirized the court, the church, the rising bourgeoisie, indeed the entire human scene of his time.

John Gay (1685–1732) England