ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Definition of fable-A short allegorical narrative making a moral point, traditionally by means of animal characters who speak and act like human beings. Examples: Aesop’s Fables, Definition of folktale-A traditional narrative, usually anonymous, handed down orally-e.g., fables, fairy tales, legends, etc.

Detailed explanation-2: -Fables usually have a moral. The Columbia Encyclopedia, gives a fuller definition: “A fable is a brief allegorical narrative, in verse or prose, illustrating a moral thesis or satirizing human beings. The characters of a fable are usually animals who talk and act like people while retaining their animal traits.

Detailed explanation-3: -Folktales and fables are two types of stories. Folktale is a story originating in popular culture, typically passed on by word of mouth. A fable is a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral.

Detailed explanation-4: -Animal Fables. They are the most common, where relationships are established between animals, humans, gods but really the protagonists are the animals. Human fables. Fables of the plant kingdom. Mythological. Inert things. Agonal. Etiological.