Linguistic pecularities of english-american fable
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE, YOUTH AND SPORTS OF UKRAINE
IVAN FRANKO NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LVIV
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
LINGUISTIC PECULARITIES OF ENGLISH-AMERICAN FABLE
Graduation paper
presented by
Patskal Natalia
a fifth year student
of the English department
SUPERVISED BY
N. Nera
a lecturer
of the English department
Lviv 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction………………………………………………
Part I. Theoretical background of fable as a genre ………………………………….6
1.1. Genre of fable in literature and its history…………………………………………..6
1.2. Form and content of fables........................
1.3. The main characteristics of fables ………………………………………………...15
1.4. History of English and American fable……………………………………………18
Part II. Means of actualizing irony in English-American fable of 18th and 19th centuries ……………………………………………………………………………
- Satirical irony of English-American fables of 18 century……………….……24
- Humorous irony of English – American fables of 19 century ……………….36
- Comparative table of English – American fables of 18-19 century ………….45
Conclusions…………………………………………………
Summary ………………………………………………………………………………
References ………………………………………………………………….……….
Introduction
Fable is a short tale that illustrates universal truth, and is one of the simplest of narratives. It sketches a setting, describes an action, and shows the results. It often involves a characters who face a moral dilemma, or make a questionable decision and then suffer from the consequences. A fable generally relates a single, simple, consistent action, without extraneous detail or distracting circumstances [19; 113-131].
Fables have been used in a variety of social contexts,
such as pedagogical, therapeutic or religious, usually for the purpose of teaching or reaffirming a moral value. The
close study of the internal structure of such type of texts is therefore
a valuable aid to teachers, psychologists and related professionals
in their current practices.
Many scholars differentiate
various approaches to the study of nature of fable. Some of them are
the following ones:
- Ontological, in the course of which scientists are trying to determine: “What is fable?”
- Gnoseological, in the course of which the question is asked: “For what it is?”
- Psycholinguistic, representatives of which intend to find the answer: “How fable affects the reader?”
- Structurally- semantic, is trying to find the solution to the question: "How the text of the fable acquires connectivity, integrity and internal unity?"
The aim of the diploma paper is to study thoroughly English-American fable, demonstrate its linguistic peculiarities; to highlight the main features of fable, its peculiarities and the differences between fable, parable; to determine linguistic peculiarities of the fable on the basis of English- American fables; to carry out structurally - semantic and functionally -stylistic analysis of irony as the dominant means of the fable;
Realization of the tasks has been accomplished with the help of the following methods:
- componential analysis(attempts to reduce meaning to its smallest components);
- contextual analysis(method of observing words in actual speech, as well as their influence on one another in speech );
- semantic analysis ( the process of relating syntactic structures, from the levels of phrases, clauses, sentences
and paragraphs to the level of the writing as a whole, to their language-independent meanings. It also involves removing features specific to particular linguistic and cultural contexts, to the extent that such a project is possible. The elements of idiom and figurative speech, being cultural, are often also converted into relatively invariant meanings in semantic analysis.) - descriptive method which involved gathering information about the history of fables and creative activities, examining it deeply and thoroughly and for analyzing the text proper;
- method of text interpretation to study the fables properly.
The object of the diploma paper is English-American fables of 18th and 19th centuries.
The subject of the diploma paper is to find linguistic peculiarities of English-American fables.
Practical value of the research : results and conclusions of our paper consist in using them in stylistics, lexicology courses, in literature and English teaching practice.
Our research consists of introduction, two chapters, conclusions, summary and the list of references.
The first chapter deals with theoretical backgrounds of fable as a genre, history, and structure. The main characteristics of the fable are described.
The second chapter consists of analysis of linguistic peculiarities of fable on lexical and syntactical levels.
CHAPTER I
Genre of fables in literature and its history
A fable is a very short story which illustrates or teaches us a lesson which is also called morale. Usually, if not always, fables are stories with animal characters that talk like humans.
Despite the widespread dissemination and consumption of this genre, there have been few studies on fable criticism . Most of the research in the field is oriented towards readers’ understanding of moral values, as well as the socio-historical influence of fables on other kinds of literary genres in terms of style. Whereas their contribution is insightful for the reception of this genre by its audience, they do not address the characteristic features that lead readers to treat different fables as belonging to the same generic category.
One can find many definitions in different dictionaries. According to Oxford dictionary, fable – is a traditional short story that teaches a moral lesson, especially one with animals, as characters; these stories considered as a group: Aesop’s Fables [12; p.522].
According to Macmillan English dictionary , fable
is traditional story, usually about animals, that t
The American Heritage Dictionarygives its explanation of fable: fable is a literary genre; it is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which areanthropomorphized (given human qualities), and that illustrates a moral lesson [ 14 p.453].
Merriam Webster dictionary : narration intended to enforce a useful truth; especially: one in which animals speak and act like human beings [10; p. 543].
The term ‘Fable’ is used in two senses, with two distinctive meanings.
First, as ‘fabula’it isemployed to denote the myths or fictions which, by the aid of imagination and superstition, have clouded, or have become blended with, the history of the remote past. Such are the stories related of Scandinavian and Grecian heroes and gods; beings, some of whome doubtless had an actual human existence , and were wise and valiant and powerful, or the reverse, in their day, but around whosenames and persons have clustered all the marvelous legends that are to be found in mythological lore. The better name for these is ‘romance’.
Secondly, as fabella, it is used to signify a special branch of literature, in which the imagination has full play, all together unassisted by superstition in any shape or form. The fabulist confers the powers or gifts of reason and speech on the humbler subject over whom he exercises sway, and so has ample scope for his imaginative faculty; but there is no attempt on his part at any serious make-believe in his inventious. On the contrary, there is a tacit understanding between him and his listeners and readers, that what he narrates is only true in the sense of its application to corresponding circumstances in human life and conduct.
The fable or apologue has been variously defined by different writers. Mr. Walter Pater, paraphrasing Plato’s definition, says that ‘ fables are medicable lies or fiction ,with a provisional or economized truth in them, set forth under such terms as simple souls can best receive’[8; p.225].
The sophist Antiphon , talking the same view, defines the fable as ‘a false discourse resembling truth [15; p.277].
Dr. Johnson , in his ‘Life of Gay’, remarks that “A fable or epilogue seems to be , in its genuine state, a narrative in which beings irrational , and sometimes inanimate – are , for the purpose of moral instruction , feigned to act and speak with human interests and passions”[ 13; p. 277 ].
Dodsley says that ‘It is the very essence of a fable to convey some moral or useful truth beneath the shadow of an allegory’ [3;p. 277].
Boothby defines the fable as ‘a maxim for the use of common life, exemplified in a short action, in which the inhabitants of the visible word are made the moral agents.’[3; p. 277 ]
G. Moir Bussey states that ‘the object of the author is to convey some moral truth to the reader or auditor, without encroaching the province of the professor or lecturer. The lesson must therefore be conveyed in an agreeable form, and so that the moralist himself may be as little prominent as possible.’ [3; p. 277 ]
Mr. Joseph Jacobs says that ‘The best fable may be defined as a short humorous allegorical tale, in which animals act in such a way as to illustrate a simple moral truth or inculcate a wise maxim.’ [3; p.277 ]
Speaking about fables it is important to mansion about Aesopian fable. Fable‘s appearing is closely connected with the name of legendary Greek fabulist Aesop. The fables were in the first instance only narrated by Aesop, and for a long time were handed down by the uncertain channel of oral tradition. His fables had been written in prose. Many common sayings come from Aesop’s Fables like” Honesty is the best policy”, and “Look before you leap” are familiar examples of fables. What is certain, however, is that the Aesop’s Fables are timeless. They are so wonderful that they have been told over and over again for several thousand years.
The Aesopian fable or apologue is a short story, either fictious or true, generally fictious, calculated to convey instruction, advice or reproof, in an interesting form, impressing its lesson on the mind more deeply that a mere didactic piece of counsel or admonition is capable of doing. We say a shot story, because if the narration is spun out to a considerable length it ceases to be a true fable in the ordinary acceptation of the term, and becomes a tale, such, for example, as a fairy tale. Now, a fairy or other fanciful tale usually or invariably contains some romance and much improbability; it often deals largely in the vehicle for conveying a moral. The very opposite holds good of a fable. Although animals are usually the actors in the fable, there is an air of naturalness in their assumed speech and actions. The story may be either highly imaginative or badly matter-of-fact, but it never wanders beyond the range of intuitive (as opposed to actual or natural) experience, and it always contains a moral. In a word, a fable is, or ought to be, the very quintessence of common-sense and wise counsel couched in brief narrative form. It partakes somewhat of the character of a parable, though it can hardly be described as a parable, because this is more sedate in character, has human beings as its actors, and is usually based on an actual occurrence. Though parables are not fables in the strict and limited meaning of them, they bear a close family relationship to them. Parables may be defined as stories in allegorical dress.
The history of the origin of the fable is very long and interesting.
The folk tale is the expression of that fanciful heritage spontaneously created
in any kind of culture, for the man's innate needs.
At first it was handed down by word of mouth, then it was collected
by enthusiasts and scholars, and in the end, it was revised by the individual
inspiration of story-tellers and fabulists
The fable has its own evolution in the time, according to the development of the people expressing it. Some famous collections belong to the oriental traditions, which, in that way, handed down warnings rich in ancient wisdom or adventures rich in extraordinary fact, tricks and unexpected events. Other collections, the Greek and Roman ones, show religious elements (the origin of the world or cosmology, the stories of gods, heroes and men), where we can search for the fanciful transfiguration of the struggles of man against nature, of his advance towards his redemption from ignorance and from atavic terrors: these are exactly called “myths”.
With the advance of society it is asserted the need of a different kind
of fable, more critical towards man and society itself: so it was born
the Aesopic fable which, employing the animals as main characters, intends to represent,
by them, well-defined human types: the bully,
the insatiable, the sly, the fool, the vain, the arrogant, etc.
This genre of fables is the one which has had the best luck and has
produced the greatest number of imitators; in fact, although the progress
changes the aspect and organization of society and man's habit, the
human instincts and vices are timeless and, luckily, the exigency of
condemning their deceits, passions and faults is kept alive at the same
rate.
Aesop's fable was taken to Rome
by Phaedrus who renewed its language and spirit; it revived in the Middle Age
in France, when, during the XI century the Aesopic matter was collected
by some French authors who worked together to compile the “Roman de
Renart” (Romance of the Fox), which tells the fox and wolf's adventures.
In it, with eloquent and acute vein, are told the adventures of the
sly fox, which always succeeds, with unpredictable and funny tricks,
in making fun of Ysenguin, the wolf.
The Eighteenth century, the age of Enlightenment and
of education, was the golden age of the fable, whose theory was then formulated by Lessing (1759).
Among the Italians we can remember A.Bertola, author of a Saggio sopra
le favole (Essay about fables) (1788), L.Pignotti, G.B.Roberti, etc.
The Romantics, who also preferred the fairy tale, rejected the fable as too didactic and not very naive.
Today a magnificent animal epos is The Jungle Books by R.Kipling (1894-95),
which, however, are different from the fable and the fairy tale, while
the Roman poet Trilussa refers back to the tradition of fables.
In the more modern texts, above all in the fables of our century, the authors more
frequently bring out the behaviours which are different from the ones
of most people (the non conformist attitudes) and explain that truth
and justice do not always triumph, in this way they offer a not much
optimistic outlook on society, but also a more truthful and didactic
one, with pedagogical aims.
Remarkable are the differences between yesterday's and today's fables:
in the latter ones, besides, the characters and places are
described in detail and the story appears better-constructed.
Our time has not lost its liking for the fable, but it has put in
it a sharper critical, symbolical and moral
The fable is one of the most enduring forms of folk literature, spread abroad, modern researchers agree, less by literary anthologies than by oral transmission. Fables can be found in the literature of almost every country.
Form and content of the fables
A fable should carry its moral without the telling; nevertheless the application is often worth supplying, because it puts, or should put, the lesson taught by the fable in a terse and impressive form. Above and beyond all, a fable should possess the quality of simplicity, and whilst easy to be understood, it should have force and appropriateness.
It is a question in casuistry (game of words) how far justice and injustice are done to the inferior animals and the members of the vegetable kingdom by this liberty that is taken with them in the fable. If they had the knowledge of the fact, and the power of remonstrance, it may be conceived that some of them, at least, would repudiate the characters and propensities which we in our superior conceit so glibly ascribe to them in the fable. And, indeed, there is doubtless a good deal of unfairness in our habit of stigmatizing this one with cunning. That one with cowardice and the other with cruelty, or stupidity, or dishonesty, as suits our purpose. Possibly if some of the humbler creatures thus branded were gifted with the power of writing fables for the benefit of their fellow creatures and associates, they might be able to point to characteristics in the higher order of beings which it is desirable to hold in reprobation, and this, too, with as much or more reason and justice on their side than we have on ours. But, in truth, the fabulists themselves tacitly admit the force of this argument, in as much as the failing and defects and general qualities which they ascribe to the characters in the fable are, of course, those of the human species. A fable of Aesop, The Man and the Lion, is very much to the point here:
A fable is generally a fiction, as has been already said. It is a singular paradox, however, that nothing is truer than a good fable. True to intuition, true to nature, true to fact. The great virtue of fables consists in this quality of truthfulness, and their enduring life and popularity are corroboration of it. If not true in the sense of being reasonable, they are nothing , or foolish , and therefore intolerable. We instinctively feel their truth , and are encouraged, or amused. Or conscience-smitten by the narration, for they deal with principles which lie at the very root of our human nature.
It is a remarkable feature of this species of composition that a departure from the natural order of things loses its incongruity in the fable; and although this view has been controverted, the argument against it fails to carry conviction in face of the excellent examples that can be adduced. By way of illustration, take the fable of the man and his goose that laid the golden eggs. We do not remember ever meeting with a goose of this particular breed out the fable. There are numberless geese in the world – human and other. But the goose that lays a golden egg every morning is a rare sheep. Nevertheless, she has a veritable existence in the fable, and we would as soon think of casting a doubt on our own identity as on that of the fabled bird. The story has always been, and will contribute to be, and we never recall it without sympathize the untimely end of the poor obliging goose, and thinking , at the same time , what a goose its owner must have been the fortunate owner of such an uncommon fowl, one golden egg each day would have contended us!
Certain early authors, with the formalism which characterizes their writings, have attempted an arrangement of fables under three distinct heads or classes, designating them, respectively, Rational, Emblematical, and Mixed. The Rational fable is held to be that in which the actors are either human beings or the gods of mythology; or, if beasts, birds, trees, and inanimate objects are introduced, the former only are the speakers. The Emblematical fable has animals, members of the vegetable kingdom, and even inanimate things for its heroes and these are accordingly gifted with the power of speech. The Mixed fable, as the name implies, is that in which an association of the two former kinds is to found. The distinction, though perfectly accurate, serves no useful purpose and need not be observed. As a matter of fact, all fables are rational or reasonable from the fabulist’s standpoint; and all are emblematical or typical of moods, conditions, and possible or actual occurrences in daily life, whoever and whatever be the actors and speakers introduced.
Marshall McLuhan in “Understanding Media” makes a number of arguments pertinent to the study of fables as a form. The first is that the form of communication has proliferate psychic consequences that are independent of content. To briefly illustrate, reading a play in the quiet of one's home and attending a live performance of the same play will be different psychic and social experiences [11; p.23].
Fables s as a form can be better understood against this background of illustrations. They are stories, of moderate length, amenable to repeated readings in one short sitting. They surprise the reader, arrest the regular “processing” of information and, in so doing, irritate the psyche. The reader cannot quite let go, because letting go is usually conditioned on closure which in the case of a true parable cannot be reached [ 18; p.95 ].
Thus when the fable is officially “ended”, the reader cannot serenely put the fable to rest. It sits in the psychic craw as a piece of unfinished business.
Fables are cool, inviting and participatory, unless sabotaged. The more powerful the fable, the more furious the involvement, the more sustained and profound the impact [16; p.56-59]. Many complain that the words of the wise are always merely fables and of no use in daily life.
According to Marshal McLuhan several features of fables are distinguished [11; p. 443-444].
- The parable allows deep communication between the narrator and the reader. The fable begins “benignly”, disarming readers, drawing them in, and encouraging them to compare features of the story to their own experiences. They identify with a certain character or characters, and with the characters encounter dilemmas or unanticipated circumstances that call for choices. At this point the story teller departs and readers must tap their own resources, moving more deeply into self examination.
- The fable involves indirect communication that provokes self discovery. Direct communication conveys information and, by reference to authorities, endorses certain lines of thought.
- Experiences with indirect communication cultivate the capability for developing the self. Whereas direct learning does not change the capability of a person (learning simply adds to knowledge) indirect communication jolts the person out of mental routines once and for all. Rather than a simple change in information there is a change in consciousness
- And the last is that fables are memorable and amenable to oral tradition.
V.A. Harvey and H. Bergson distinguish some more features of fables[ 13; p.20]:
- Generalization of the meaning - the situations described in the fable can be applied in real life.
- The structure of the fable reflects the world sensation of the people who started to learn about the world.
- An action has a fable character only when it is said in it: act like this and all will be well.
To understand the fable correctly we should take into account the following points:
First, it is not necessary that everything described in the fable has really happened. Moreover not all the actions described are good. The purpose of the fable consists not in exact transmission of an action, but in revelation of highest spiritual powers.
Second, it is necessary to realize the purpose of the fable that can be understood from the circumstances that induced somebody to create it.
Third, it shows that not all the details of the fable can be understood on the spiritual level.
Fourth, notwithstanding this, except for the main idea, the fable can have the details that remind us about other truth or confirm itimpact [13;p.56-59].
The main characteristics of fables
Composition of the fable has three main elements: orientation, which contains the message about the idea of moral, complicating action-the main events which are described there, and the resolution with evaluation.
Let’s focuse on one of the features of fable - moral, that is combined with an element of humour (perhaps not laugh-out-loud but at least a small smirk at the foolish behaviour that is described). What fables do not do is supply us with a sentimental ending, or indeed much sentiment at all - losers are losers and little feeling is spared on them. The message is practical and frequently hard-hearted, force and cunning prevail and advantage is taken of the feeble.
The fable is composed of two parts, of which one may be termed the body and the other the soul. The body is the subject – matter of the fable and the soul is the morale.
Fables have been told to children for centuries. The majority of fables use animals that talk and they are usually used as a teaching tool. A fable's moral usually consists of a negative outcome for making the wrong decision. One easy way to create a fable with a moral is to think back into your own life lessons and put animals in the place of the humans involved.
So, what is moral in the tales? It is something that you can learn from a story or experience [5; p.921] .
Moral is an indispensable element of fables. Whenever it is present as a separate part of the text, it always comes in the form of a promotion. In the fables in which the moral is not an independent element it is included within the fable proper . The moral is a preceptorial voice, a statement of evaluative power and of mentorial function. It is usually expressed on the form of a proverb or as a direct advice to be followed [13; p.56-59].
In more modern times however the fable has fallen out of favour, perhaps we prefer more subtle forms of teaching or dislike or simply disbelieve the morals.
Fable is one of the satirical and humorous kin
Alvin Schwartz, a folklorist and author, says ‘Humor is a slippery subject’. What makes one person laugh is quite different to another. What a person finds funny is influenced by many things: the historical period in which we live, cultural and social experiences, age, gender and their own unique personality.
In the English fables embodiment of the literal concept of comic is going through verbalization of its components (humor and s
J. Glavatska defines humorous and satirical kinds of irony, which are differentiated with the help of function (function of characterization and function of paradoxes), the manner and conditions of realization. Satire ceases to be a satire, if there are no components of humor. And on the contrary , it is typical for humor to have the elements of satire, there is no objection, but there is a criticism of something to be laughed at.
Humorous irony – it is a kind of irony, that is the result of semantic lack of reasons, resulting from the contrast between the context of fables and direct meaning of the word or phrase, and is focused on the removal, elimination of defects, that are inherented for ambivalent and grotesque images of people. To implement the humorous irony the fallowing lexical and syntactic features are used: metaphor, simile, allusion, illogical use of phraseological units, hyperbole. Indicated type of irony depends on the linear context.
Satirical irony is oriented on objectof ridicule, because there is a sense of annoyance, resentment, anger. Satirical irony is characterized by: paronymy, repetitions, inversion, separate sentence, nominative sentence, antithesis, rhetorical figures and parcelation.
Speaking about stylistic devises which are used in the fable, allegory takes the most important place. Allegory is a device used to present an idea, principle or meaning, which can be presented in literary form, such as a poem or novel, fable or fairytale, in musical form, such as composition or lyric, or in visual form, such as in painting or drawing. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation. Allegory is generally treated as a figure of rhetoric; a rhetorical allegory is a demonstrative form of representation conveying meaning other than the words that are spoken.
As a literary device, an allegory in its most general sense is an extended metaphor. As an artistic device, an allegory is a visual symbolic representation.
Analytical review of works, which are connected with the problem of studying the genre of fables, allowed penetrating in the ontological and epistemological nature of fables, to track a number of trends and changes in the development of English tales [21; p.9]
History of English and American fable
One, of the earliest and most notable collections of animal fables is that of Aesop, who lived in the 60th century BC. Aesop retold his fables orally, and they were transmitted in this manner for a long period. Greek and Roman writers subsequently wrote down versions of Aesop’s fables in their prose or verse.
The best known early fable in English is the Nun’s Priest Tale in The Canterbury Tales by English poet Chaucer. Composed in the 1390s, the 626-line narrative poem is a beast fable and mock epic based on an incident in the Reynard cycle. The story of Chanticleer and the Fox became further popularised in Britain through this means.
The Nun's Priest’s Tale is a wonderfully crafted short story and beast fable that provides an excellent example of Chaucer’s vast learning and scholarship. The tale abounds with an impressive number of diverse scholastic references ranging from the Bible to Greek philosophy and from medieval medicine to theology. The Nun's Priest’s story of the cock and the fox is based on an Aesopian fable. Chaucer probably adapted the French ‘Roman de Renard’ by Marie de France and the German ‘Reinhart Fuchs’ for his beast fable. However Chaucer has made the tale more real and interesting. He also adds the characters of the widow and her daughters and places his story in their humble farmyard [37; p. 54].
The Nun's Priest’s Tale also speaks volumes for Chaucer’s skill as a craftsman and short story writer. Chaucer’s choice of the Nun's Priest for telling the tale is a brilliant stroke of luck. The tale is perfectly suited to its teller. The Nun's Priest is a religious man and is expected to be a man of vast learning and knowledge. His story is thus replete of learned allusions. The fable also has all the traditional ingredients of an exemplum that the Nun's Priest could preach. The reader can easily associate the Nun's Priest with the moral of his fable. The tale focuses attention upon the Nun's Priest himself and may be seen as a comment on his own position. Like Chaunticleer, the Nun's Priest too is ruled by women and evidently does not like it.
The Nun's Priest’s Tale is a mock epic and is absolutely hilarious because of the ridiculous disparity between the manner of writing and the subject matter. An epic is usually a long, narrative poem on a serious subject, narrated in a formal and elevated style. It is centered on a quasi-divine figure on whose actions depends the fate of an entire nation. The Nun's Priest’s Tale also has as its central character, a cock named Chaunticleer on whom nothing but his own life depends. Nonetheless it’s a long narrative poem and adopts various conventional features of the heroic poem. The setting of an epic is ample in scale. However Chaunticleer is owned by a widow and has a barnyard as his hall. The action of an epic involves superhuman deeds in battle such as Achilles’ feats in the Trojan War. However Chaunticleer’s plight is his being stalked and carried away by a fox, to be eaten as a meal. His journey takes him from the yard to the edge of a wood. Chaunticleer escapes by a reversal of Fortune. The fox had tricked Chaunticleer through flattery and he in turn tricks the fox. At the end of the tale both have learned survival strategies[32; p. 45].
The tradition of the fable was continued in the 17th and 18th century, by John Dryden and John Gay.
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, and playwright. Besides being the greatest English poet of the later 17th century, Dryden wrote almost 30 tragedies, comedies, and dramatic operas. He also made a valuable contribution in his commentaries on poetry and drama, which are sufficiently extensive and original to entitle him to be considered, in the words of Dr. Samuel Johnson, as “the father of English criticism.”
The Fables were greatly admired throughout the 18th century, and their form and versification were imitated many times."
His last work for was” Fables , Ancient and Modern” (1700), which were mainly verse adaptations from the works of Ovid, Geoffrey Chaucer, andGiovanni Boccaccio, introduced with a critical preface.
The book “Fables, Ancient and Modern “, was published in March 1700, two months before the poet's death at the age of sixty-eight. The volume consists of tales or narrative episodes in verse translated from two classical poets (Homer and Ovid) and two medieval writers (Chaucer and Boccaccio), together with a number of ‘original’ poems, most notably the St Cecilia's Day ode, ‘Alexander's Feast’, for long Dryden's most celebrated single poem. Fables was widely believed for over a century after the poet's death to be Dryden's crowning achievement, and to constitute proof positive that he had been, in the words of his friend William Congreve, ‘an improving Writer to his last; improving even in Fire and Imagination, as well as in Judgement’. The volume was thought to have combined the vitality, daring, exuberance and unsentimental shrewdness of youth, with the sober wisdom, sympathy, and geniality of mellow maturity – a combination all the more remarkable in the light of the political disappointment and ill health under which Dryden had laboured during the period of its composition [28; p. 76].
John Gay - English poet and dramatist, chiefly remembered as the author of “The Beggar’s Opera”, a work distinguished by good-humoured satire and technical assurance.Gay’s poetry was much influenced by that of Alexander Pope, who was a contemporary and close friend.
“The Fables, Volume 1” consists of 50 fables. Among them : “The Lion, the Tiger and the Philosopher”, “The Lady and the Wasp”, “The Lion, the Fox, and the Geese”, “The Butterfly and the Snail”, “The Two Monkeys “, “The Owl and the Farmer”, “The Hare and many Friends”, “ The Man and the Flea “, “The Court of Death”, “ The Hound and the Huntsman” and others.
As a writer of Fables Gay stands preminent amongst English writers, as in all the history of literature only four names deserve special notice besides Gay ; these are
Esop, Phsedrus, Pilpay, and La Fontaine : and only two of these wrote in verse.
Gay wrote a second series of Fables, which were published after his death, in 1738; but, whereas the first series consisted of fifty fables, the second was only sixteen, one, "Ay and No," being subsequently added in later editions[13; p.231].
Mary Howitt (12 March 1799 – 30 January 1888) was an English poet, and author of the famous poem “The Spider and the Fly”.
Among her original works were “The Heir of West Way Ian” (1847). For three years she edited the Drawing-room Scrap Book, writing (among other articles that would be included therein) "Biographical Sketches of the Queens of England". She edited the Pictorial Calendar of the Seasons, translated Ennemoser's History of Magic, and took the chief share in The Literature and Romance of Northern Europe (1852). She also produced a Popular History of the United States (2 vols. 1859), and a three-volume novel called The Cost of Caergwyn (1864).
Mary Howitt's poem the "Spider and the Fly" was originally published in 1829. When Lewis Carroll was readying Alice's Adventures Under Ground for publication, he replaced a parody he had made of a negro minstrel song with a parody of Mary's poem. The Lobster Quadrille, which is an important part of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is a parody of Mary's poem concerning a spider and a fly[34; p. 72].
The use of the fable in the 20th century can be seen in James Thurber's “ Fables for Our Time” (1940) and in George Orwell's political allegory, “Animal Farm“(1945).
James Grover Thurberwas born in Columbus, Ohio, on December 8, 1894.Uniquely among major American literary figures, he became equally well known for his simple, surrealistic drawings and cartoons and fables.
Thurber wrote over seventy-five fables, most of which were collected in Fables for Our Time & Famous Poems Illustrated (1940) and Further Fables for Our Time (1956). These usually conformed to the fable genre to the extent that they were short, featured anthropomorphic animals as main characters, and ended with a moral as a tagline. An exception to this format was his most famous fable, "The Unicorn in the Garden", which featured an all-human cast except for the unicorn, which didn't speak. Thurber's fables were satirical in nature, and the morals served as punchlines rather than advice to the reader. His stories also included several book-length fairy tales, such as The White Deer (1945), The 13 Clocks (1950) and The Wonderful O (1957). The latter was one of several of Thurber's works illustrated by Marc Simont.
In “Fables for Our Time” , Thurber the Moralist is in the ascendancy. The fables are imperishably illustrated, and are supplemented by Mr. Thurber's own pictorial interpretations of famous poems in a wonderful and joyous assemblage. This book includes such fables as:”Mouse who went to the country”, “Little girl and the wolf”, “Two turkeys”, “Tiger who understood people”, “Fairly intelligent fly”, “Lion who wanted to zoom”, “Very proper gander”, “Moth and the star”, “Shrike and the chipmunks”, “Seal who became famous” and others[33; p. 89].
George Orwell - English novelist, essayist and critic, famous for his political satires” Animal Farm “ (1945), an anti-Soviet tale, and “Nineteen Eighty-Four”(1949), an attack on totalitarianism and the metric system, which shows that the destruction of language is an essential part of oppression.
Contemporary readers are more
often introduced to Orwell as a novelist, particularly through his enormously
successful titles “Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four”. The former
is considered an allegory of the corruption of the socialist ideals
of the Russian Revolution by Stalinism, and the latter is Orwell's prophetic
vision of the results of totalitarianism. Orwell denied that “Animal
Farm “ was a reference to Stalinism. Orwell had returned from Catalonia
a staunch anti-Stalinist and anti-Communist, but he remained to the
end a man of the left and, in his own words, a 'democratic socialist'.
Animal Farm is regarded as a successful blend of political satire and animal fable[25;
p. 65].
The American poet Marianne Moore wrote poems quite similar to fables in their use of animals and animal traits to comment on human experience; she also published an excellent translation of ” The Fables of La Fontaine” (1954).
Marianne Moore was one of the most interesting poets writing in English in the 20th century. It is impossible to compare her with other poets, because she was so special - a fabler whose animals remain animals, a baseball fan, and a praiser of museum rarities, office furniture, scientists, and biblical characters. Her poetry embodies precise observation and language, syllabic meter and light rhyme, the flow of cultivated American talk, and unique forms. Her experimental method, however, served traditional values, for Moore was a moralist, aware herself that she was sometimes too didactic.
In 1946 Moore began her long labor of translating “ LaFontaine's
Fables”. Her “Collected Poems “appeared in 1951, and the following year she won a Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Bollingen Prize. She published her translation of “ The Fables of La Fontaine” in 1954. Like all creative translators, she had entered into the original, and at times one is conscious not so much of La Fontaine as of her wit, language, and imagery[38; p. 99]
Part II. Means of actualizing irony in English-American fable of 18th and 19th centuries.
Satirical irony of English-American fables of 18 century
In our investigation we rely on the classification of J.Glavatska. She distinguishes satirical and humorous irony.
Satirical ironyis characterized by:
- Paronymy (the relationship between two or more words partly identical in form or meaning, which may cause confusion in reception or production:affect/effect ; feminine/feminist).
- Repetitions (the act or process or an instance of repeating or being repeated:The teatcher thought and thought and thought).
- Inversion(putting the verb before the subject in a sentence: No sooner had he got into the bath than the phone rang).
- Separated sentences ( extraction of one member of the sentence with the help of pronunciation and intonation in speaking, and in writing by commas from both sides : This lady, slim and tall, does not leave my thoughts).
- Nominative sentence (composite nominative sentences:What a picture! ).
- Antithesis( the rhetorical con
trast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences :action, not words; they promised freedom and provided slavery). - Rhetorical questions ( any question asked for a purpose other than to obtain the information the question asks:Why me, God?!).
- Parcelation (separation of the sentenceswith the help of intonation to pay the reader’s attention: So, we should be ready. We leave soon. Almost now).
As a result of quantitative analysis of the English and American fables of 18th century, the following datas had been fouded:
Repetitions :
It is the key of thehouse, in the house is a cat, the cat has a rat[3; p.45];
Ring-a-ding-dill, ring-a-ding-dill [3; p. 45];
Who knows--who knows what Heaven designs [3; p.342];
Tis the necessity of trade-necessity is no transgression[ 3; p. 342];
Whilst there is life,there's hope![3; p. 342];
Shestarts, she stops, she pants for breath,she hears the near advance of death[4; p. 684];
"Ha! ha! my good friend, are you there? There you may be! [15; p. 113];
Brer Rabbit laughed and laughed and laughed, but he made sure he kept out of Brer Fox's way for some time afterwards[14; p.129];
"Stick! Stick! Beatdog! Dog won't bite pig; piggy won't get over the stile and I shan't get home to-night [14; p. 139];
Fire! Fire! Burnstick; stick won't beatdog;dog won't bite pig; piggy won't get over the stile and I shan't get home to-night." But the fire wouldn't[14; p.139];
Water! Water! Quenchfire; fire won't burn stick; stick won't beat dog; dog won't bite pig; piggy won't get over the stile and I shan't get home to-night." But the water wouldn't [14; p. 139];
Such forward airs, so pert, so smart, were sure to win his lady's heart; Each little mischief gained him praise; so pretty were his fawning ways![14; p.129];
One night several wolves were killed in earthquake and this was blamed on the rabbits/ On another night one of the wolves was killed by a bolt of lightning and this was also blamed on the rabbits/ This was blamed on the rabbits , for it is well known that carrot –nibblers with long ears cause floods[14; p.152];
For that was it! Ignorant of the long and stealthy march of passion, and of the state to which it had reduced Fleur; ignorant of how Soames had watched her, ignorant of Fleur’s reckless desperation … – ignorant of all this, everybody felt aggrieved [9; p. 451].
Paronymy:
One small step for a man, one giant leap for allmankind[3; p.185];
Dog won't bite pig; piggy won't get over the stile and I shan't get home to-night [14; p. 139];
But how can finite grasp infinity?[2; p. 329];
name-flame/depend-friend/dawn-
On my track, let me refuge on your back [5; p. 343];
Then she implored the stately bull, his answer we relate in full / “ Madam, each beast alive can tell how very much I wish you well”/ But business presses in a heap, I am appointment have to keep [5; p. 345]
People of talents, sure, should thrive,And not be buried thus alive [5;p.321];
Believe a friend, and take my word,This jaunt of yours is quite absurd[5; p. 321];
Go to your froggery again;In your own element remain[5; p. 321];
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