The Structure of the Fable

The Fable so far...

A fable is essentially a very short story with an explicitly expressed message. The first known author or orator that created the tradition of the fable was Aesop, a Greek storyteller/author who spread fables such as “The Tortoise and the Hare” by word of mouth (Rourke 23). Besides the lesson embedded within the fable, another thing that is essential to the specific structure of the medieval fable is that most fables written in the Middle Ages were fables about animal interaction. Going more in depth with the structure of the fable, however, the simple layout proves that what is lacking within the fable is just as important as the elements within the fable.   

Many authors including Rourke, Needler, and Spiegel talk about the things that are lacking in fables as a way of highlighting their importance in making fables stand out. Lee Rourke mentions in his book A Brief History of Fables that fables are “simple” and that fables do not “solely concentrate on simple things...their sheer range and scope is vast” (Rourke 23). Fables need a simple, minimalist structure in order to be a fable. This means that Harriet Spiegel’s comment about how the fable cannot have “historical people or events figure in them [fables],” reinforces just how important simplicity is to the structure of fables (Introduction 6). Lastly, Howard Needler mentions that the fable, unlike popular read and versed genres, does not include: “characterization, motivation, distinctions of foreground and background, circumstantial detail, narrative detail” and other things that larger literary works may have, that fables do not (The Animal Fable Among Other Medieval Literary Genres 428). The things that fables do not incorporate in their structure makes fables what they are.

Variations of the structure of fables mostly occur through the types themes and the message of the fable. For the most part the message of the story is expressed at the end of the story (Spiegel 6). This type of message and its placement is called an epimythium. Another way in which the message of fables can be placed is at the beginning of the fable; a message that begins fables is called a promythium. Lastly, the message can also be embedded within fables. This type of message is called an endomythium (Rourke 25-27). Sometimes there can be more than one message of fables and according to Rourke, the messages that are not clearly written out, which readers interpret for themselves, are presented as a contradiction to the actual message of fables (27). This type of structure of the message of fables helps audiences to see the morality of some messages to teach audiences that “not everything you hear is considered to be true” (Rourke 27). Understanding the different placements of the message of fables is just as important in understanding the abundance of themes that are dispersed within fables.

A common way authors make fables their own is by creating fables that twist the kind of themes typically interpreted in fables into a way that reflects their opinions on society and the world. According to Ruth Maharg, the themes of Aesop’s fables are “loyalty, patience, moderation, and industry” (The Modern Fable: Jame's Thurber's Social Criticisms 72). She also states that Aesop “warns against greed and pride” (Maharg 72).  Maharg compares Aesop’s fables to a modern author’s version of the fable, and that author’s different type of structure, focusing on the themes and tone of fables (72). The author she chooses creates fables that are more “humorous and fantastic”. The author creates themes that focus more on war, specifically World War II and destruction, which Aesop’s themes are more lighthearted and less about war (72). The themes that Maharg’s example writes are just one example of how the varieties of themes within fables are important in understanding the structure of fables in general.

Another author that incorporates themes that differentiate from Aesop’s fables is Marie de France. Speigel talks about Marie de France’s version of the fable and the types of themes that Marie de France weaves into her writing. Though Aesop was the possible originator of the fable before the Middle Ages, Marie de France perfected the fable for the Middle Ages. According to Speigel, Marie’s fables focused on feudal social structure and her ideas of justice (Introduction 9-10).  Marie also differentiates herself from the Aesopian fable by incorporating more human characters within her fables (Spiegel 6). Most of the characters that Marie incorporates focus on women’s roles in society, highlighting childbirth and presents women as the “clever tricksters playing a good joke on their silly husbands” (9-11). Marie’s variation on the themes and structure of the fable show the wide range of creativity of the fable.

So far with the research I have presented here, I have focused on the different types of themes and messages of the fable. I plan to go further in depth with the structure by getting more authors together that have different views of the structure of fables. I will specifically focus on a piece by Berel Lang, who says that the structure of fables relies on desire. I hope to also include how the structure has changed within today's versions of the fable which include flash fiction stories, and other types of works that i have yet to really look into. I will also add more when it comes to the manuscripts of the genre.

Works Cited

Maharg, Ruth A. "The Modern Fable: Jame's Thurber's Social Criticisms." Children's Literature Association Quarterly 9.2 (1984): 72-73. Journal Article. 

Needler, Howard. "The Animal Fable Among Other Medieval Literary Genres." New Literary History 22.2 (1991): 423-439. Journal Article. 

Rourke, Lee. A Brief History of Fables: From Aesop to Flash Fiction. Bulstrode Street, London, UK: Hesperus Press Limited, 2011. Print.

Spiegel, Harriet. "Introduction." France, Marie de. Fables. Toronto, Canada: Universtiy of Toronto Press, 1987. Print.