Beast fable

Beast fable

The beast fable, usually a short story or poem in which animals talk, is a traditional form of allegorical writing [M. H. Abrams, "A Glossary of Literary Terms" (5th edition 1985), p. 6.] . It is a type of fable, in which human behaviour and weaknesses are subject to scrutiny, by reflection into the animal kingdom.

Important traditions in beast fables are represented by the "Panchatantra" and "Kalila and Dimna" (Sanskrit and Arabic originals), [Ramsay Wood, "Kalila and Dimna, Fables of Friendship and Betrayal" by Ramsay Wood, Introduction by Doris Lessing, Postscript by Professor Christine van Ruymbeke, Saqi Books, London, 2008. [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0863566618/] and [http://www.ramsaywood.com/kalila.html] ] Aesop (Greek original), "One Thousand and One Nights" ("Arabian Nights") and separate trickster traditions (West African and Native American). The medieval French "Roman de Reynart" is called a beast-epic, with the recurring figure Reynard the fox, of whom story is built upon story [H. J. Blackham, "The Fable as Literature" (1985), p. 40.] .

Beast fables are typically transmitted freely between languages, and often assume pedagogic roles: for example Latin versions of Aesop were standard as elementary textbook material in the European Middle Ages, and the Uncle Remus stories brought trickster tales into English.

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