Discover the 6 types of FABULA that exist

The fable is a type of narrative that is characterized by being short and having a message as a moral which is emphasized at the end. It is a type of text that, by its nature, is usually indicated for a child audience since it has a didactic intention. In this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to discover what the fable types that exist since, depending on the characteristics of each story, we are faced with one type or another. Keep reading this lesson and find out all about this popular literary subgenre in the history of literature.

Before getting to know the types of fables that exist, it is important that we know well what this narrative text consists of as well as the characteristics of the text. A fableit's a short story what does one count fictional story and that it has characters that, for the most part, are not human beings. Typical characters in a fable are animals or inanimate beings that are presented with human features and that are the ones who receive the action of the story.

But, in addition to this, one of the most distinctive peculiarities of fables is that they have a final moral, that is, at the end of the story, a conclusion about what has been learned through history; In this way, the author makes it very clear what the message he wanted to convey was and, thus, it is not lost in the reader's interpretations.

Due to these characteristics, the vast majority of fables that exist in literature are aimed at a child audience since they have a clear didactic intention. However, it is true that there may be fables that are addressed to an adult audience, although these are less abundant.

Main characteristics of the fable

So that you finish understanding what a fable is, below we are going to make a brief summary with the features more detailed information on this type of short story. A fable is easily recognizable by elements such as those listed below:

• Short extension: like the stories, the fables are also characterized by their brevity. However, it is important that we learn the differences between story and fable because, although they look alike, they are two very different subgenres
• In prose: these texts are generally written in prose. There may be some fables in verse but they are a minority
• Non-human characters: Another of the most common characteristics of fables is that they are texts that have protagonists who are not human persons. They are usually animals or inanimate beings endowed with human qualities such as speech, feelings, emotions, etc. .
• Didactic intention: is another of the peculiarities of this narrative subgenre. And it is that a fable has a concise objective, it wants to communicate an idea, a behavior, give a moral lesson to the person who is reading the story
• Universal themes: Due to their didactic intentionality, fables usually speak of universal themes to offer the best modes of social behavior. They usually talk about topics such as envy, lies, greed, etc., to condemn them and teach readers the best way to deal with these emotions or attitudes
• Final moral: it is the most prominent feature of this type of text and it is unique. At the end of the plot, the author summarizes the message of the story told in a final moral that serves as a conclusion

Let's go fully into the matter at hand and get to know the different types of fables that exist in literature. It is important to know that parts of a fable they are always the same, that is, they are made up of the presentation, the middle and the end. But depending on the theme and / or the characters used to perform the action, this fable may be of one kind or another.

Scholars have determined the existence of different types of fable that are included in these large groups. Take note!

Animal Fables

The types of fables are usually grouped depending on the protagonists of the same or the theme. In this case, if the stories are starring animals, the type is known as "animal fable" and are all those that have characters belonging to the animal kingdom. They usually present themselves with attributes typical of human beings, such as the ability to speak, think, and so on.

Mythological fables

These types of fables can be those that are starred by gods or mythological beings or that the theme that is explained in the fable is related to some classic myth. In these stories humans are often mixed with animals and, of course, legendary gods with divine power also appear. They can collect some religious or cultural message.

Fables of the plant kingdom

In the event that the stories are starring vegetables or plants we are faced with fables of the vegetable kingdom, another type of story in which human characteristics are given to these living beings. They are usually stories in which nature is very present and where animals can also appear but the protagonists are plants or vegetables.

Of inanimate beings

It may also be the case that the protagonist of a fable not be any living being (neither person, nor animal nor plant) and, against him, be an inanimate being such as a chair, a table, a clock, and so on. In these cases, we are faced with the type of fable known as "inanimate beings" and which is also very common in literature of this caliber.

Agonal Fables

Although the name of this typology is somewhat strange, the truth is that we are referring to a type story in which it does not matter who or what the protagonist is, but what matters is the nature of the text. They are stories in which two characters give a different opinion on a subject in question and, therefore, a dialectical debate with their argumentation and the final conclusions that the two end up reaching.

Etiological fables

And we finish this summary on the types of fables that exist to tell you about this last type in which the theme also matters more than the characters. Etiological fables are those that focus on telling us historical events with the intention that we know the story in a more friendly way.

Now that we know the different types of fables that exist, as well as their characteristics, We are going to finish this lesson by taking a historical journey and talking about the origin of this story. brief.

You should know that in ancient Mesopotamia, the place where civilizations such as the Akkadians or the Sumerians lived, fables already existed. We can know this because these societies left them written on clay tablets where there were short stories starring cunning animals. Back then, there was no alphabetic writing but it was cuneiformand scholars of this type of writing have determined that these were the first fables that we have evidence of. The date dates from more than 5000 years behind.

However, the first fable that we know reliably is "The nightingale fable", a work of the century VII AD and it was written by the Greek poet Hesiod. The author had a very clear intention when writing this text: that readers reflect on the meaning of Justice.

The usual thing was that the fable was spread by oral tradition and, precisely because of this original nature, today there may be stories with different versions or with very significant differences. With the appearance of the printing press, fables and other stories of oral tradition began to be written and spread through written paper.