Parable

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 Characteristics
2 History
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

For a comparison of parable with other kinds of stories, see Myth, legend, fairy tale, and fable.

A parable is a brief, succinct story, in prose or verse, that illustrates a moral or religious lesson. It differs from a fable in excluding animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as actors that assume speech and other powers of mankind.

[edit] Characteristics

Ignacy Krasicki.

The word "parable" comes from the Greek "παραβολή" (parabolē), the name given by Greek rhetoricians to any fictive illustration in the form of a brief narrative. Later it came to mean a fictitious narrative, generally referring to something that might naturally occur, by which spiritual and moral matters might be conveyed.

Examples of parable are Ignacy Krasicki's "The Blind Man and the Lame," "The King and the Scribes" and "The Drunkard."

A parable is the simplest of narratives. It sketches a setting, and describes an action and its results. It often involves a character facing a moral dilemma, or making a questionable decision and then suffering the consequences of that choice. Many folktales could be viewed as extended parables.

The prototypical parable differs from the apologue in that it is an inherently probable and realistic story — one taking place in some familiar setting of life. Many fairy tales could be viewed as extended parables, except for their magical settings.

Plato, according to Raphael.

As with a fable, a parable should relate a single, simple, consistent action, without extraneous detail nor distracting circumstances. In Plato's Republic, parables like that of the shadows in the cave encapsulate an abstract argument into a concrete, more easily grasped narrative.

In the preface to his translation of Aesop's Fables, George Fyler Townsend defined "parable" as "the designed use of language purposely intended to convey a hidden and secret meaning other than that contained in the words themselves, and which may or may not bear a special reference to the hearer or reader."

A parable is like a metaphor that has been extended to form a brief, coherent fiction. Unlike the situation with a simile, a parable's parallel meaning is unspoken and implicit, though not ordinarily secret.

Though parables often have a strong prescriptive subtext, suggesting how a person should behave or believe, many parables simply explore a concept from a neutral point of view. Aside from providing guidance and suggestions for proper action in life, parables offer a metaphorical language which allows people to more easily discuss difficult or complex ideas.

Parable and allegory are often treated as synonyms, but are well distinguished by H.W. Fowler in Modern English Usage: "The object in each is to enlighten the hearer by submitting to him a case in which he has apparently no direct concern, and upon which therefore a disinterested judgment may be elicited from him." It then dawns on the reader or listener that the conclusion applies equally well to his own concerns. The parable, however, is more condensed than the allegory: a single principle comes to bear, and a single moral is deduced.

[edit] History

Prodigal Son, by Jeroen Bosch.

Parables are favored in the expression of spiritual concepts. The best-known source of parables in Christendom is the Bible, which contains numerous parables. Besides the familiar parables of Jesus in the New Testament, such as those of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, two parables in the Old Testament are the parable of the ewe-lamb told by Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:1-9, and that of the woman of Tekoah in 2 Samuel 14:1-13.

Medieval biblical exegesis often treated Jesus' parables as detailed allegories, with symbolic correspondences found for every element in the brief narratives. Modern critics regard these interpretations as inappropriate and untenable.

Recently there has been interest in contemporary parable, exploring how modern stories can be used as parables. A mid-19th-century contemporary parable is the Parable of the broken window, which exposes a fallacy in economic thinking.