The first fables. "fable as a literary genre"
The fable genre is a fictitious incident, a fiction told for embellishment, for the sake of a catchphrase, an allegorical, instructive narrative, a fable, a fable, a parable, where it is customary to depict animals and even things in words.
Fable is the oldest genre of verbal art, a small work in volume. But this does not detract from its merits. The moral given by the author at the beginning of the work helps readers tune in to the right mood and immediately and unmistakably understand the author’s thoughts expressed in Aesopian language. It is important to understand why the fable was written, what its main meaning is. With its help, a person, just barely feeling like a human, was looking for an answer to the question: how to behave in this huge, complex world?
The main instructive idea of the fable is morality. This is what makes it similar to the parable. The characters in the fable are animals, plants, birds, fish, and things. The heroes behave humanly and are endowed with human qualities. We learn the character traits and behavioral characteristics of a person, which the author disapproves of, ridicules or condemns.
The language of fables is easy, simple, they are remembered well, especially the beginning and the end, in which the most important thing is most often said.
A special place in the formation and development of the genre belongs to Ancient Greece. Scientists believe that the first fable that has come down to us belongs to Hesiod (VIII - VII centuries BC) - this is the parable of the nightingale and the hawk, addressed to cruel and unjust rulers.
If something can be proven by deeds, then there is no need to waste words on it.
Whether the evil is great or small, there is no need to do it.
The true treasure for people is the ability to work.
Aesop, who lived in Ancient Greece on the island of Samos in the sixth - fifth centuries BC, was the first to compose and tell fables. His fables were prosaic.
The syllable was simple and only slightly rose above everyday speech.
Aesop, unable to directly express his thoughts, spoke in fables about the lives of animals, referring to the relationships between people. Aesopian language, understandable to a sophisticated reader, made it possible to avoid persecution and express forbidden thoughts using various techniques. First of all, silences and omissions were used. Irony was also widely used for Aesopian purposes.
Aesop is of Phrygian origin. He was ugly, but wise and had literary talent. Aesop was the slave of the wealthy Samian citizen Iadmon. He was later released and spent some time at the court of the Lydian king Croesus. Aesop was accused of sacrilege by the Delphic priests and was thrown from a cliff.
Aesop's name later became a symbol. His works were passed on from mouth to mouth. And in the third century BC, his fables were recorded in 10 books. There is reason to believe that at the end of the fifth century a written collection of Aesop's fables was known in Athens, which was used to teach children in schools. “You are ignorant and lazy, you haven’t even learned Aesop,” says one character in Aristophanes.
Later, Aesop's fables were translated, often revised, and translated into verses into many languages of the world, including by the famous fable writers Jean Lafontaine and Ivan Krylov. Some of Aesop's fables were retold in prose for children by L. N. Tolstoy.
In Russian, a complete translation of all Aesop's fables was published in 1968.
There's nothing more dangerous than an ignorant friend
More flies drown in food than in vinegar.
J. Lafontaine
Aesop's traditions were continued in the works of other authors. In the 17th century, the ancient genre was exalted by the French writer La Fontaine.
Lafontaine Jean is a famous French poet and fabulist. Since childhood, he had a rebellious disposition and was sent to study law at the Parisian Oratorian Seminary.
La Fontaine's literary fame is based entirely on his fables, which he composed exclusively for the highest Parisian society, for the court aristocracy.
When writing his fables, La Fontaine drew inspiration from primary sources: Aesop, Phaedrus. Aesop's fable had a practical purpose, illustrating a lesson. In La Fontaine, the center of gravity gradually shifts to the story.
Lafontaine's task is to tell an old fable in a new, fresh and original way. He introduces a lot of new, real-life material into the traditional plot framework. La Fontaine's Fables show a broad picture of contemporary French life.
The features of La Fontaine's style are closely related to his worldview. It is based on clarity, sobriety and accuracy of observation of reality at the same time - an acute sense of the contradictions of this reality, which gives rise to a humorous, mocking interpretation of events.
The fables of Jean La Fontaine had a tremendous influence on the development of all European literature. In Russia, all the prominent Russian fabulists followed in the footsteps of La Fontaine: Sumarokov, Izmailov, Dmitriev, Krylov.
I love, where there is an opportunity, to pinch vices.
It's good to be strong
It's twice as smart to be smart.
A helpful fool is more dangerous than an enemy.
I. A. Krylov
For the true glory of his talent and for the history of Russian literature, the famous Russian fabulist Ivan Andreevich Krylov was born only when he was forty years old. He realized his destiny and dedicated his work to the fable. In 1808 the first edition of his Fables was published.
The book was sold out in great demand and brought Krylov enormous success. It was published a lot. Although Krylov often used the plots of Aesop and La Fontaine, his works are absolutely independent. There are only 30 fables based on borrowed plots, the rest belong to him, both in fiction and in story. Krylov inherited the tradition of identifying people with animals from his predecessors.
But the skill of Krylov, the fabulist, does not lie in imitation of this tradition. The fables of I. A. Krylov are perfect in the power of expression, in the beauty of form and liveliness of the story, subtle humor and purely folk language. The famous fabulist mercilessly executed with laughter all sorts of shortcomings of the human race, all kinds of evil, various types of stupidity and vulgarity, attributing these shortcomings to animals, and did it brilliantly.
The fact that folk expressions have dissolved in the language of Krylov’s fables is one of its peculiarities.
Zhukovsky wrote that Krylov’s fables taught readers to “love the Russian language.” This is living folk speech, which Krylov boldly introduced into Russian poetry. This is a feature of I. A. Krylov’s fables. The great fabulist made a huge contribution to the formation of the Russian literary language.
And vice versa, many expressions began to be perceived as proverbs: “And Vaska listens and eats,” “But the little chest just opened,” “I didn’t even notice the elephant.”
Krylov's smart and caustic fables raised entire generations of progressive people, and Krylov himself in each new era found himself among the best progressive writers.
Krylov's fables are a special world that comes to us in childhood, but unlike many children's books, then it does not go anywhere, but remains with us forever.
I. A. Krylov was one of the best writers. Derzhavin himself highly appreciated his talent. Foreigners, as well as Russians, revered Krylov’s talent. His fables, especially those with more national flavor, were translated into various European languages.
And people carry through life what they learned from such seemingly simple Krylov fables. Everyone knows that “an obliging fool is more dangerous than an enemy”, that “the strong are always to blame for the powerless”, that “it’s a disaster if a cobbler starts baking pies, and a pie-maker begins to sew boots”, that “flattery is vile and harmful”, but “there is always a flatterer in the heart”. will find a corner."
Having reached such a brilliant flowering in Krylov’s work, the fable almost disappeared from Russian literature for more than a century.
In Soviet times, the fable was presented in the works of Demyan Bedny. Nowadays, fable traditions are continued by S. V. Mikhalkov and S. I. Oleinik.
The fable genre is still relevant today, so we decided to try our hand at this field.
Thanks to this project, we learned a lot about the fable as a literary genre and its features.
We got acquainted with the work of famous fabulists: Aesop, Jean La Fontaine, I. A. Krylov, and tried our creative powers in this genre.
We love reading Krylov's fables since childhood. Krylov’s images are stored in our memory, which often pop up in our heads in various life situations; we turn to them and each time we never cease to be amazed at Krylov’s insight.
It happens that I remember the Pug, who barks at the Elephant in order to give the impression of being brave and fearless, or suddenly the Monkey pops up before my eyes, who mocked himself, not recognizing the reflection in the Mirror. Laughter, and that's all! And how often do encounters occur that are involuntarily compared to the Monkey, who, out of her own ignorance, not knowing the value of the Glasses, broke them on a stone. Krylov’s little fables are short in size, but not in meaning, because Krylov’s word is sharp, and the morals of the fables have long turned into popular expressions. Krylov's fables accompany us through life, have become close to us and at any time will find understanding in us and help us re-realize our values.
Krylov is a famous writer. Of all the children's poems and fables, Krylov's works are always the best, they are etched in the memory and emerge throughout life when encountering human vices. It is often said that Krylov did not write for children, but isn’t the meaning of his fables clear to children? Usually the moral is clearly written, so even the smallest child can read Krylov’s fables with benefit.
On our website we post the best works of the author in their original presentation, and also highlight morality separately for convenience and better memorization of sometimes philosophical thoughts. Both children and adults will find a lot of meaning in these little life stories in which animals symbolize people, their vices and ridiculous behavior. Krylov's fables online are remarkable because they contain not only text, but also a remarkable picture, easy navigation, educational facts and reasoning. After reading, the author will probably become your favorite, and his life essays in the form of humorous fables will be remembered for many years.
The fabulist led an absolutely open life, communicated a lot, published books one after another and did not shy away from his obesity and laziness. The oddities that happened to Krylov were expressed by him in instructive scenes, the simplicity of which is deceptive. He was not a fabulist, he was a thinker-philosopher, capable of, with childish unobtrusiveness and ease, comically describing the shortcomings of people in a stunning form accessible only to him. There is no need to look only for satire in Krylov’s fables; their value does not end there. The content and meaning are more philosophical than humorous. In addition to human vices, the truths of existence, the foundations of behavior and relationships between people are presented in a light form. Each fable is a combination of wisdom, morality and humor.
Start reading Krylov's fables to your child from an early age. They will show him what to watch out for in life, what behavior others condemn and what they can encourage. According to Krylov, the laws of life are natural and wise; he despises artificiality and self-interest. Morality, cleared of any impurities and trends, is clear and concise, containing the division between right and wrong. The remarkable manner of writing led to the fact that every moral became a folk proverb or a cheerful aphorism. The works are written in such a language that, although they look like literary forms, they actually carry intonations and ridicule inherent only in the great national mind. Krylov's little fables changed the general view of this genre. Innovation was manifested in realism, a philosophical note and worldly wisdom. Fables became small novels, sometimes dramas, in which the accumulated wisdom and cunning of the mind over centuries was revealed. It is remarkable that with all this, the author did not turn the fable into a satirical poem, but managed to preserve a deep meaningful part, consisting of a short story and morality.
Krylov's fable penetrated into the essence of things, the characters' characters, and became a genre practically unattainable by other authors. Despite the satire, the fabulist loved life in all its manifestations, but he would really like simple and natural truths to finally replace base passions. The fable genre under his pen has become so high and refined that, after re-reading the fables of other authors, you will understand that there is no other like it, and there is unlikely to be one.
In the section of Krylov's fables online, we invite you to get acquainted with folk wisdom. Short philosophical works will not leave either children or adults indifferent.
A person’s acquaintance with a fable occurs at school. It is here that we first begin to understand its deep meaning, draw the first conclusions from what we read and try to do the right thing, although this does not always work out. Today we will try to figure out what it is and find out what the form of speech of the fable is.
What is a fable
Before we find out what the fable’s speech form is, let’s figure out what it is. A fable is a short story written in a moralizing manner. Its characters are animals and inanimate objects. Sometimes people are the main characters of fables. It can be in poetic form or written in prose.
A fable is what form of speech? We will learn about this later, but now let's talk about its structure. A fable consists of two parts - a narrative and a conclusion, which is considered to be specific advice, rule or instruction "attached" to the narrative. Such a conclusion is usually located at the end of the work, but can also be given at the beginning of the essay. Some authors also present it as the final word of one of the characters in the fairy tale. But no matter how the reader tries to see the conclusion in a separately written line, he will not be able to do this, since it is written in a hidden form, as a matter of course in connection with the given events and conversations. Therefore, to the question: - you can answer that this is a reasonable and instructive conclusion.
Fable speech form
Continuing to study this, let us dwell on the next question. What is the form of speech of the fable? Most often, the authors of the work turn to allegory and direct speech. But there are also works in the genre of didactic poetry, in a short narrative form. But it must be a work that is complete in plot and subject to allegorical interpretation. There is definitely a morality that is veiled.
Krylov's fables are original. The Russian writer, of course, relied on the works of his predecessors - Aesop, Phaedrus, La Fontaine. However, he did not try to imitate their works or translate them, but created his own original fables. As a rule, he used direct speech and allegory, dialogues.
Famous fabulists
The fable came to us from the times of Ancient Greece. From here we know such names as Aesop (the greatest author of antiquity), the second greatest fabulist - Phaedrus. He was the author not only of his own works, but also was involved in translations and adaptations of Aesop's works. In ancient Rome, Avian and Neckam knew what a fable was. In the Middle Ages, such authors as Steingevel, Nick Pergamen, B. Paprocki, and many other authors were engaged in writing fairy tales with an instructive conclusion. Jean La Fontaine (seventeenth century) also became famous for his works in this genre.
Fable in Russian literature
In the 15th and 16th centuries in Russia, those fables that came from the East through Byzantium were successful. Although even before this time, readers had already formed some opinion about what it was. A little later, people began to study the works of Aesop, and in 1731 Cantemir even wrote six fables. True, in this he noticeably imitated the works of the ancient Greek author, but still Cantemir’s works can be considered Russian.
Khemnitser, Sumarokov, Trediakovsky, Dmitriev worked hard to create their own and translate foreign fables. In Soviet times, the works of Demyan Bedny, Mikhalkov, and Glibov were especially popular.
Well, the most famous Russian fabulist was and remains Ivan Andreevich Krylov. The heyday of his work occurred at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The heroes of the works were most often animals and inanimate objects. They act like people, but with their behavior they ridicule the vices of human nature. Many animals represent some kind of character trait. For example, a fox symbolizes cunning, a lion - courage, a goose - stupidity, an owl - wisdom, a hare - cowardice, and so on. Krylov's original, ingenious and perfect fables have been translated into many European and Oriental languages. The fabulist himself made a significant contribution to the development of this genre and literature in general in Russia. This is probably why his sculpture, among other outstanding personalities, took its place on the “Millennium of Russia” monument in the ancient city of Veliky Novgorod.
Summarize
So, we figured out the fable, how it happened, where they lived and what the creators of this genre were called. We found out who the best fabulists in the world were and studied the features of their works. We also know what the structure of this literary masterpiece is and what it teaches. Now the reader knows what to say when given the task: “Explain the concept of a fable.” The form of speech and the special language of these works will not leave anyone indifferent.
The emergence of the fable as a genre dates back to the 5th century BC, and its creator is considered to be the slave Aesop (VI–V centuries BC), who was unable to express his thoughts differently. This allegorical form of expressing one’s thoughts was later called “Aesopian language.” Only around the 2nd century BC. e. fables began to be written down, including Aesop's fables. In ancient times, a famous fabulist was the ancient Roman poet Horace (65–8 BC).
In the literature of the 17th–18th centuries, ancient subjects were processed.
In the 17th century, the French writer La Fontaine (1621–1695) again revived the fable genre. Many of Jean de La Fontaine's fables are based on the plot of Aesop's fables. But the French fabulist, using the plot of an ancient fable, creates a new fable. Unlike ancient authors, he reflects, describes, comprehends what is happening in the world, and does not strictly instruct the reader. Lafontaine focuses more on the feelings of his characters than on moralizing and satire.
In Germany in the 18th century, the poet Lessing (1729–1781) turned to the fable genre. Like Aesop, he writes fables in prose. For the French poet La Fontaine, the fable was a graceful short story, richly ornamented, a “poetic toy.” It was, in the words of one of Lessing's fables, a hunting bow, so covered with beautiful carvings that it lost its original purpose, becoming a drawing-room decoration. Lessing declares literary war on La Fontaine: “The narrative in a fable,” he writes, “... must be compressed to the utmost possible; deprived of all decorations and figures, it must be content with clarity alone” (“Abhandlungen uber die Fabel” - Discourses on a Fable , 1759).
In Russian literature, the foundations of the national fable tradition were laid by A.P. Sumarokov (1717–1777). His poetic motto was the words: “Until I fade into decrepitude or death, I will not stop writing against vices...”. The pinnacle in the development of the genre were the fables of I.A. Krylov (1769–1844), which absorbed the experience of two and a half millennia. In addition, there are ironic, parody fables by Kozma Prutkov (A.K. Tolstoy and the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers), revolutionary fables by Demyan Bedny. The Soviet poet Sergei Mikhalkov, whom young readers know as the author of "Uncle Styopa", revived the fable genre and found his own interesting style of modern fable.
One of the features of fables is allegory: a certain social phenomenon is shown through conventional images. Thus, behind the image of Leo, traits of despotism, cruelty, and injustice are often discerned. Fox is a synonym for cunning, lies and deceit.
It is worth highlighting such features of the fable:
a) morality;
b) allegorical (allegorical) meaning;
c) the typicality of the situation being described;
d) characters;
d) ridicule of human vices and shortcomings.
V.A. Zhukovsky in the article “On the fable and fables of Krylov” indicated four main features of the fable.
First feature of the fable - character traits, the way in which one animal differs from another: “Animals represent a person in it, but a person only in certain respects, with certain properties, and each animal, having with itself its own integral permanent character, is, so to speak, ready and clear for everyone the image of both a person and the character that belongs to him. You force a wolf to act - I see a bloodthirsty predator; bring a fox onto the stage - I see a flatterer or a deceiver..." Thus, the Donkey personifies stupidity, the Pig - ignorance, the Elephant - clumsiness, and the Dragonfly - frivolity. According to Zhukovsky, the task of a fable is to help the reader, using a simple example, understand a complex everyday situation
Second The peculiarity of the fable, writes Zhukovsky, is that “transferring the reader’s imagination into new dreamy world, you give him the pleasure of comparing the fictional with the existing (of which the former serves as a likeness), and the pleasure of comparison makes morality itself attractive." That is, the reader may find himself in an unfamiliar situation and live it together with the heroes.
Third feature of the fable - moral lesson, a moral that condemns a character's negative quality. "There is a fable moral lesson which you give to man with the help of animals and inanimate things; presenting to him as an example creatures that are different from him in nature and completely alien to him, you spare his pride“, you force him to judge impartially, and he insensitively pronounces a strict sentence on himself,” writes Zhukovsky.
Fourth peculiarity - instead of people in the fable, objects and animals act. “On the stage on which we are accustomed to seeing man acting, you bring, by the power of poetry, such creations that are essentially removed from it by nature, a miraculousness that is just as pleasant for us as in an epic poem the action of supernatural forces, spirits, sylphs, gnomes and the like. The strikingness of the miraculous is in some way communicated to the morality that is hidden beneath it by the poet; and the reader, in order to reach this morality, agrees to accept the miraculousness itself as natural."
A fable is a short story, most often in verse, mainly of a satirical nature. The fable is an allegorical genre, therefore moral and social problems are hidden behind the story about fictional characters (most often animals).
The emergence of the fable as a genre dates back to the 5th century BC, and its creator is considered to be the slave Aesop (VI–V centuries BC), who was unable to express his thoughts differently. This allegorical form of expressing one’s thoughts was later called “Aesopian language.” Only around the 2nd century BC. e. fables began to be written down, including Aesop's fables. In ancient times, a famous fabulist was the ancient Roman poet Horace (65–8 BC).
In the literature of the 17th–18th centuries, ancient subjects were processed.
In the 17th century, the French writer La Fontaine (1621–1695) again revived the fable genre. Many of Jean de La Fontaine's fables are based on the plot of Aesop's fables. But the French fabulist, using the plot of an ancient fable, creates a new fable. Unlike ancient authors, he reflects, describes, comprehends what is happening in the world, and does not strictly instruct the reader. Lafontaine focuses more on the feelings of his characters than on moralizing and satire.
In Germany in the 18th century, the poet Lessing (1729–1781) turned to the fable genre. Like Aesop, he writes fables in prose. For the French poet La Fontaine, the fable was a graceful short story, richly ornamented, a “poetic toy.” It was, in the words of one of Lessing's fables, a hunting bow, so covered with beautiful carvings that it lost its original purpose, becoming a drawing-room decoration. Lessing declares literary war on La Fontaine: “The narrative in a fable,” he writes, “... must be compressed to the utmost possible; deprived of all decorations and figures, it must be content with clarity alone” (“Abhandlungen uber die Fabel” - Discourses on a Fable , 1759).
In Russian literature, the foundations of the national fable tradition were laid by A.P. Sumarokov (1717–1777). His poetic motto was the words: “Until I fade into decrepitude or death, I will not stop writing against vices...”. The pinnacle in the development of the genre were the fables of I.A. Krylov (1769–1844), which absorbed the experience of two and a half millennia. In addition, there are ironic, parody fables by Kozma Prutkov (A.K. Tolstoy and the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers), revolutionary fables by Demyan Bedny. The Soviet poet Sergei Mikhalkov, whom young readers know as the author of "Uncle Styopa", revived the fable genre and found his own interesting style of modern fable.
One of the features of fables is allegory: a certain social phenomenon is shown through conventional images. Thus, behind the image of Leo, traits of despotism, cruelty, and injustice are often discerned. Fox is a synonym for cunning, lies and deceit.
It is worth highlighting such features of the fable:
a) morality;
b) allegorical (allegorical) meaning;
c) the typicality of the situation being described;
d) characters;
d) ridicule of human vices and shortcomings.
V.A. Zhukovsky in the article “On the fable and fables of Krylov” indicated four main features of the fable.
First feature of the fable - character traits, the way in which one animal differs from another: “Animals represent a person in it, but a person only in certain respects, with certain properties, and each animal, having with itself its own integral permanent character, is, so to speak, ready and clear for everyone the image of both a person and the character that belongs to him. You force a wolf to act - I see a bloodthirsty predator; bring a fox onto the stage - I see a flatterer or a deceiver..." Thus, the Donkey personifies stupidity, the Pig - ignorance, the Elephant - clumsiness, and the Dragonfly - frivolity. According to Zhukovsky, the task of a fable is to help the reader, using a simple example, understand a complex everyday situation
Second The peculiarity of the fable, writes Zhukovsky, is that “transferring the reader’s imagination into new dreamy world, you give him the pleasure of comparing the fictional with the existing (of which the former serves as a likeness), and the pleasure of comparison makes morality itself attractive." That is, the reader may find himself in an unfamiliar situation and live it together with the heroes.
Third feature of the fable - moral lesson, a moral that condemns a character's negative quality. "There is a fable moral lesson which you give to man with the help of animals and inanimate things; presenting to him as an example creatures that are different from him in nature and completely alien to him, you spare his pride“, you force him to judge impartially, and he insensitively pronounces a strict sentence on himself,” writes Zhukovsky.
Fourth peculiarity - instead of people in the fable, objects and animals act. “On the stage on which we are accustomed to seeing man acting, you bring, by the power of poetry, such creations that are essentially removed from it by nature, a miraculousness that is just as pleasant for us as in an epic poem the action of supernatural forces, spirits, sylphs, gnomes and the like. The strikingness of the miraculous is in some way communicated to the morality that is hidden beneath it by the poet; and the reader, in order to reach this morality, agrees to accept the miraculousness itself as natural."
