What is the difference between fables and parables

Start networking and exchanging professional insights Register now or log in to join your professional community. Literature English English Literature. Upvote 1 Views Followers 5. Write an Answer Register now or log in to answer. Upvote 3 Downvote 0 Reply 0. My understanding is that a fable involves speaking animals or other mythical creatures, while a parable does not. A moral is typical for both genres. A fable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized given human qualities , and that illustrates a moral lesson a "moral" , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.

A parable is a brief, succinct story, in prose or verse, that illustrates a moral or religious lesson. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human characters.

It is a type of analogy. The most famous fables Aesop's all feature animal protagonists, but I don't believe that has ever been a requirement, Wikipedia notwithstanding. Any fictitious story with an implied or explicit moral, or lesson, and which is obviously contrived for the purpose of communicating that moral or lesson can be referred to as a fable.

A parable is not necessarily contrived, but usually contains a relatively specific analogy. A fable is more vague and illustrates a more general principle or concept.

The parables in the New Testament per my poor memory are all things that "could have actually happened like that". Edit: Apparently the root of "parable" is from the Greek "to compare", so a specific analogy is definitely implied. Fables are stories that feature animals, plants, or forces of nature that have been given human qualities.

Since the main characters are animals, they are a good way to introduce serious topics to children. They are set in the real world, with realistic problems and results. However, since its main aim is to provide a moral lesson to the reader or the listener, it is not entirely meant for entertainment like a fairy tale, which is also essentially grounded on the fantasy world.

A parable is also a brief, succinct story written either in prose or verse form conveying usually a religious lesson at the end. Unlike a fable that features animals and other mythical creatures, a parable typically features humans as its characters. Therefore, a parable falls into the category of an analogy. Thus, they are rooted in the realistic world, unlike the fables. Moreover, parable often uses symbolic imagery and metaphors that the audience can easily recognize.

Therefore, parables mainly focus on teaching a basic moral truth or a religious principle to its audience. It involves human characters who are suffering from some moral agony and thus are forced to make a decision which is usually wrong and with the course of time, he learns the impact of his ill-doings and the wrong decisions eventually learns the basic truth concerning life and the religious principles.

Many folktales from all cultures fall into the category of parable. It is set in an imaginary world and often talks about animals or mythical creatures. Fables never have any religious aspect to them and are strictly focused on delivering a moral message to the readers. Parable A parable is a short story, which involves humans and real life situations.

They tend to have some religious aspect to them, but aren't primarily focused on it. They also have a moral message in them.