Fable

of these articles treats the epische form fable, further meanings under fable (term clarifying)

the expression fable designates one in verse or Prosa wrote narration with instructing intention, in that above all animals, in addition, plants, things or marvelous mixing natures human characteristics possess (Personifikation). The drama TIC of the fable action aims at a Schlusspointe, which usually a generally accepted moral follows.

history

antiquity

fables rank among the popular telling property. Admit are the old-Indian fable collection Panchatantram, as well as the fables of the Arab Lokman. When creator of the European fable applies for Äsop, whose work over Phaedrus, Babrios and Avianus entrance into medieval Europe found.

In the antique one the fable is regarded not as literary kind, it is rather associated to the low layers and at the most as rhetorical element is used. Thus Aristoteles in a rhetorical writing writes over examples in speeches and calls the fable (as fictitious examples) and the historical event. The oldest delivered fable is with Hesiod. Examples of the use in latin literature are: Horaz (serm. 2. 6. 79ff.): “The fable of the hood lark” and Livius (2. 32. 8ff.): “The fable of the stomach and of the members”.

Only Phaedrus writes fable books, which particularly by a Prosabearbeitung, which Romulus corpus, are spread.

German fables

as oldest fable poets in German language the medium high-German poet of the Stricker can apply, its works starting from center 13. Century to be defined. The oldest fable collection is probably Ulrich Boners jewel (about 1324). The fable literature is established particularly in the age of the human, then also Luther uses according to own statement the fable, in order to spread in “merry lie costume” truths, which do not want to hear humans normally. Important fable poets are Hans Sachs, Jean de La Fontaine, Jean Pierre Claris de Florian, Christian fear God Gellert or Magnus G. Light who. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing generally forms the conclusion of the classical German fable tradition. It uses the fable in the sense of the clearing-up, whereby it arrives by slight changes of contents at new practical applications. In Russia Iwan Krylow is a most important fable poet. The Frenchman La Fontaine (1621-1695) replaces the all too instructing Fablen and with it lost gone folds in and to naturalness by mental joke and spielerische beauty.

Into the 1950er years does above all James Thurber (Fabels OF Our Time, New York 1940; New Fables OF Our Time, New York 1956) much for the revival of the kind marginalisierten since the conventional Meier. In Germany hard TIG undertakes stone (IN DUBIO PRO LEOne. Fifty fables for growing together, north first EDT 2005) at present a similar attempt, by short circuit the classical animal circle with the economic crisis cycle, long-known Topoi and consistently modernized and culture-critically modifies conflicts.

characteristic characteristics of a fable

• in the center of the action often stand for animal, to which humans attributed certain characteristics.
• The animals act, think and speak like humans.
• The fable wants to instruct and maintained (fabula docet et delectat).
• After Lessing the fable is a general moral sentence in a special case to lead back and at this in form of a history to then represent.
• The Personifikation of the animals serves the author frequently as protection from punishment o.A., because he does not practice a direct criticism.
• Frequent fable topic are also condition orders.

Typical structure of a fable

1. Promythion - placed in front practical application /Lehre
2. starting situation of the action
3. release of the action (actio, speech, 1. Action part)
4. of reaction of the concerning (reactio, counter declaration, 2. Action part)
5. result of the action (eventus)
6. Epimythion - placed behind practical application /Moral

the individual parts are in each fable contained the teachings of not all, there and/or. Moral is not explicitly called at all sometimes, so that the reader finds it out or because it is so obvious. If it is called, then it can stand for the fable at the beginning (Promythion) or at the end (Epimythion). The fable serves teachings in the first case as plastic elucidation, in the more frequently occurring second case is it the history, which encounters the reader a problem. Then the same fable can have also different practical applications, for example with Aesop and Lessing.

animal fable

Reineke fox

animal fables are fables, in which animals act such as humans. Some animals quite often occur, as for example the wolf, the owl, the fox.

These animals have usually characteristics, which resemble themselves in nearly all fables. The fox is there the smart one, cunning one, which is considered on its advantage only. The owl is the wise and intelligent person. The goose is considered as stupid, the lion as courageous, the queue as hinterhältig, the mouse as small. The characteristics of the fable animals are exchangeable. Fable animals represent certain characteristics of humans.

In the animal fable the personifizierte character of the fable animal is underlined by a characteristic fable name.

fable names of the Germanic fable tradition

fable poet

• Äsop
• Phädrus
• Babrios
• Hyginus,
• Jean de la Fontaine
• Pierre Lachambeaudie
• Martin Luther
• Magnus G. Light who (1719-1783)
• Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
• William Hey
• Daniel trill
• Ignacy Krasicki
• Iwan Krylow
• Joel Chandler Harris
• Hans Christian Andersen one
• James Thurber

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Wiktionary: fabula - word origin, synonyms and translations