Parable
Encyclopedia
A parable is a succinct story, in prose
or verse
, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or (sometimes) a normative
principle. 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
.
Some scholars of the Canonical gospels and the New Testament
apply the term "parable" only to the parables of Jesus
, though that is not a common restriction of the term. Parables such as "The Prodigal Son
" are central to Jesus' teaching method in both the canonical narratives and the apocrypha
.
παραβολή (parabolē), meaning "comparison, illustration, analogy". It was 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.
A parable is a short tale that illustrates universal truth
, one of the simplest of narrative
s. It sketches a setting
, describes an action, and shows the result
s. It often involves a character facing a moral
dilemma
, or making a questionable decision
and then suffering the consequence
s. Though the meaning of a parable is often not explicitly stated, the meaning is not usually intended be hidden or secret but on the contrary quite straightforward and obvious.
The defining characteristic of the parable is the presence of a prescriptive subtext
suggesting how a person should behave or believe. Aside from providing guidance and suggestions for proper action in life, parables frequently use metaphor
ical language which allows people to more easily discuss difficult or complex ideas. Parables teach an abstract
argument, using a concrete narrative which is more easily grasped.
The parable can be distinguished from other narrative types which have a moral content, such as the apologue
and the allegory
, although this distinction has not always been clear.
The apologue
is a type of fable
which is intended to express a simple moral lesson. Like the apologue, the parable generally relates a single, simple, consistent action, without a great deal of circumstantial detail. And like the apologue, the parable expresses a moral lesson. However, unlike the apologue, the parable is a realistic story that seems inherently probable and takes place in a familiar setting of life. For example the characters in a parable are exclusively human, whereas the characters in an apologue may be animals or plants or other natural phenomena. For this reason, Folktales and fairy tale
s may generally be regarded as fables or apologues rather than parables.
The allegory
is a more general narrative type, which covers any use of figurative metaphor
. Like the allegory, the parable uses metaphor to make its point. But unlike allegory, the parable makes a single, unambiguous point. The allegory may have multiple noncontradictory interpretations, and may also have implications that are ambiguous or hard to interpret. As H.W. Fowler puts it in Modern English Usage
, the object of both parable and allegory "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." The parable, though, is more condensed than the allegory
: a single principle
comes to bear, and a single moral
is deduced as it dawns on the reader or listener that the conclusion applies equally well to his own concerns.
Medieval interpreters of the Bible often treated Jesus
' parables as allegories, with symbolic correspondence
s found for every element in the parables. Modern critics, beginning with Adolf Jülicher, regard these interpretations as inappropriate and untenable. Jülicher held that Jesus' parables usually are intended to make a single important point, and most recent scholarship agrees.
The parable is related to figures of speech
such as the metaphor
and the simile
, but should not be identified with these.
A parable is like a metaphor
in that it uses concrete, perceptible phenomena to illustrate abstract, ephemeral ideas. It could be said that a parable is a metaphor that has been extended to form a brief, coherent fiction. For example, Christian parables have recently been studied as extended metaphor
s. However, "extended metaphor" is not in itself a sufficient description of parable; the characteristics of an extended metaphor are shared by many narrative types, including the allegory, the fable and the apologue.
Similarly, a parable also resembles a simile
, i.e. a metaphorical construction in which something is said to be "like" something else (e.g. "The just man is like a tree panted by streams of water"). However, unlike a simile, a parable's parallel meaning is unspoken and implicit, though not ordinarily secret.
Parables are favored in the expression of spiritual
concepts. The best-known source of parables in Christianity
is the Bible
, which contains numerous parables in the Gospels section of the New Testament. Jesus' parables
. The New Testament parables are thought by scholars such as John P. Meier to have been inspired by mashal
im, a form of Hebrew comparison. Examples of Jesus' parables include "the Good Samaritan" and "the Prodigal Son". Mashalim from the Old Testament
include the "parable of the ewe-lamb" told by Nathan
in , and that of "the woman of Tekoah" in .
In Sufi tradition, parables ("teaching stories
") are used for imparting lessons and values. Recent authors such as Idries Shah
and Anthony de Mello
have helped popularize these stories beyond Sufi circles.
Modern stories can be used as parables. A mid-19th-century parable, the "Parable of the Broken Window
", exposes a fallacy in economic
thinking.
Examples of parables include:
See also:
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
or verse
Verse (poetry)
A verse is formally a single line in a metrical composition, e.g. poetry. However, the word has come to represent any division or grouping of words in such a composition, which traditionally had been referred to as a stanza....
, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or (sometimes) a normative
Normative
Normative has specialized contextual meanings in several academic disciplines. Generically, it means relating to an ideal standard or model. In practice, it has strong connotations of relating to a typical standard or model ....
principle. It differs from a fable
Fable
A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
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
Analogy
Analogy is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject to another particular subject , and a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process...
.
Some scholars of the Canonical gospels and the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
apply the term "parable" only to the parables of Jesus
Parables of Jesus
The parables of Jesus can be found in all the Canonical gospels as well as in some of the non-canonical gospels but are located mainly within the three synoptic gospels. They represent a key part of the teachings of Jesus, forming approximately one third of his recorded teachings...
, though that is not a common restriction of the term. Parables such as "The Prodigal Son
Parable of the Prodigal Son
The Prodigal Son, also known as the Lost Son and the Prodigal Father, is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in only one of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament. According to the Gospel of Luke a father extravagantly gives his sons their inheritance before he dies...
" are central to Jesus' teaching method in both the canonical narratives and the apocrypha
Apocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
.
Etymology
The word "parable" comes from the GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
παραβολή (parabolē), meaning "comparison, illustration, analogy". It was the name given by Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
rhetoricians to any fictive illustration in the form of a brief narrative. Later it came to mean a fictitious
Fictitious
For literary uses see FictionFor Legal uses see legal fiction*Fictitious defendants*Feigned action*Ejectment - an action to recover land*John Doe - commonly named as a fictitious defendant....
narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
, generally referring to something that might naturally occur, by which spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
and moral
Moral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
matters might be conveyed.
Characteristics
Truth
Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...
, one of the simplest of narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
s. It sketches a setting
Setting
Setting may refer to:* A location where something is set* Set construction in theatrical scenery* Setting in fiction* Setting up to fail a manipulative technique to engineer failure...
, describes an action, and shows the result
Result
A result is the final consequence of a sequence of actions or events expressed qualitatively or quantitatively. Possible results include advantage, disadvantage, gain, injury, loss, value and victory. There may be a range of possible outcomes associated with an event depending on the point of...
s. It often involves a character facing a moral
Moral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
dilemma
Dilemma
A dilemma |proposition]]") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is practically acceptable. One in this position has been traditionally described as "being on the horns of a dilemma", neither horn being comfortable...
, or making a questionable decision
Decision making
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.- Overview :Human performance in decision terms...
and then suffering the consequence
Consequence
Consequence may refer to:* In logic, consequence relation, also known as logical consequence, or entailment* In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior...
s. Though the meaning of a parable is often not explicitly stated, the meaning is not usually intended be hidden or secret but on the contrary quite straightforward and obvious.
The defining characteristic of the parable is the presence of a prescriptive subtext
Subtext
Subtext or undertone is content of a book, play, musical work, film, video game, or television series which is not announced explicitly by the characters but is implicit or becomes something understood by the observer of the work as the production unfolds. Subtext can also refer to the thoughts...
suggesting how a person should behave or believe. Aside from providing guidance and suggestions for proper action in life, parables frequently use metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
ical language which allows people to more easily discuss difficult or complex ideas. Parables teach an abstract
Abstract object
An abstract object is an object which does not exist at any particular time or place, but rather exists as a type of thing . In philosophy, an important distinction is whether an object is considered abstract or concrete. Abstract objects are sometimes called abstracta An abstract object is an...
argument, using a concrete narrative which is more easily grasped.
The parable can be distinguished from other narrative types which have a moral content, such as the apologue
Apologue
An apologue or apolog is a brief fable or allegorical story with pointed or exaggerated details, meant to serve as a pleasant vehicle for a moral doctrine or to convey a useful lesson without stating it explicitly. Unlike a fable, the moral is more important than the narrative details...
and the allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
, although this distinction has not always been clear.
The apologue
Apologue
An apologue or apolog is a brief fable or allegorical story with pointed or exaggerated details, meant to serve as a pleasant vehicle for a moral doctrine or to convey a useful lesson without stating it explicitly. Unlike a fable, the moral is more important than the narrative details...
is a type of fable
Fable
A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
which is intended to express a simple moral lesson. Like the apologue, the parable generally relates a single, simple, consistent action, without a great deal of circumstantial detail. And like the apologue, the parable expresses a moral lesson. However, unlike the apologue, the parable is a realistic story that seems inherently probable and takes place in a familiar setting of life. For example the characters in a parable are exclusively human, whereas the characters in an apologue may be animals or plants or other natural phenomena. For this reason, Folktales and fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s may generally be regarded as fables or apologues rather than parables.
The allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
is a more general narrative type, which covers any use of figurative metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
. Like the allegory, the parable uses metaphor to make its point. But unlike allegory, the parable makes a single, unambiguous point. The allegory may have multiple noncontradictory interpretations, and may also have implications that are ambiguous or hard to interpret. As H.W. Fowler puts it in Modern English Usage
Fowler's Modern English Usage
A Dictionary of Modern English Usage , by Henry Watson Fowler , is a style guide to British English usage, pronunciation, and writing...
, the object of both parable and allegory "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." The parable, though, is more condensed than the allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
: a single principle
Principle
A principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed...
comes to bear, and a single moral
Moral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
is deduced as it dawns on the reader or listener that the conclusion applies equally well to his own concerns.
Medieval interpreters of the Bible often treated Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
' parables as allegories, with symbolic correspondence
Correspondence (theology)
In theology, correspondence is the relationship between spiritual and natural realities, or between mental and physical realities.- Correspondence and esotericism :Pierre A...
s found for every element in the parables. Modern critics, beginning with Adolf Jülicher, regard these interpretations as inappropriate and untenable. Jülicher held that Jesus' parables usually are intended to make a single important point, and most recent scholarship agrees.
The parable is related to figures of speech
Figure of speech
A figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile,...
such as the metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
and the simile
Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by employing the words "like", "as". Even though both similes and metaphors are forms of comparison, similes indirectly compare the two ideas and allow them to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas...
, but should not be identified with these.
A parable is like a metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
in that it uses concrete, perceptible phenomena to illustrate abstract, ephemeral ideas. It could be said that a parable is a metaphor that has been extended to form a brief, coherent fiction. For example, Christian parables have recently been studied as extended metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
s. However, "extended metaphor" is not in itself a sufficient description of parable; the characteristics of an extended metaphor are shared by many narrative types, including the allegory, the fable and the apologue.
Similarly, a parable also resembles a simile
Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by employing the words "like", "as". Even though both similes and metaphors are forms of comparison, similes indirectly compare the two ideas and allow them to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas...
, i.e. a metaphorical construction in which something is said to be "like" something else (e.g. "The just man is like a tree panted by streams of water"). However, unlike a simile, a parable's parallel meaning is unspoken and implicit, though not ordinarily secret.
History
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
concepts. The best-known source of parables in Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
is the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, which contains numerous parables in the Gospels section of the New Testament. Jesus' parables
Parables of Jesus
The parables of Jesus can be found in all the Canonical gospels as well as in some of the non-canonical gospels but are located mainly within the three synoptic gospels. They represent a key part of the teachings of Jesus, forming approximately one third of his recorded teachings...
. The New Testament parables are thought by scholars such as John P. Meier to have been inspired by mashal
Mashal
A Mashal is a short parable with a moral lesson or religious allegory, called a nimshal. "Mashal" is used also to designate other forms in rhetoric, such as the fable and apothegm.-Biblical Parables:...
im, a form of Hebrew comparison. Examples of Jesus' parables include "the Good Samaritan" and "the Prodigal Son". Mashalim from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
include the "parable of the ewe-lamb" told by Nathan
Nathan (Prophet)
Nathan the Prophet was a court prophet who lived in the time of King David and Queen Bathsheba. He came to David to reprimand him over his committing adultery with Bathsheba while she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite whose death the King had also arranged to hide his previous transgression.His...
in , and that of "the woman of Tekoah" in .
In Sufi tradition, parables ("teaching stories
Teaching stories
Teaching stories is a term used by the writer Idries Shah to describe narratives that have been deliberately created as vehicles for the transmission of wisdom...
") are used for imparting lessons and values. Recent authors such as Idries Shah
Idries Shah
Idries Shah , also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi , was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.Born in India, the descendant of a...
and Anthony de Mello
Anthony de Mello
Anthony de Mello was a Jesuit priest and psychotherapist who became widely known for his books on spirituality. An internationally acclaimed spiritual guide, writer and public speaker, de Mello hosted many spiritual conferences...
have helped popularize these stories beyond Sufi circles.
Modern stories can be used as parables. A mid-19th-century parable, the "Parable of the Broken Window
Parable of the broken window
The parable of the broken window was introduced by Frédéric Bastiat in his 1850 essay to illustrate why destruction, and the money spent to recover from destruction, is actually not a net-benefit to society...
", exposes a fallacy in economic
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
thinking.
See also
Examples of parables include:
- The Parables of JesusParables of JesusThe parables of Jesus can be found in all the Canonical gospels as well as in some of the non-canonical gospels but are located mainly within the three synoptic gospels. They represent a key part of the teachings of Jesus, forming approximately one third of his recorded teachings...
- Ignacy KrasickiIgnacy KrasickiIgnacy Krasicki , from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno , was Poland's leading Enlightenment poet , a critic of the clergy, Poland's La Fontaine, author of the first Polish novel, playwright, journalist, encyclopedist, and translator from French and...
's "Son and Father", "The Farmer", "Litigants" and "The Drunkard". - The Rooster PrinceThe Rooster PrinceThe Rooster Prince, also sometimes translated as The Turkey Prince, is a Jewish mashal or parable told by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, founder of the Breslov form of Hasidic Judaism. It was first told orally, and later published by Nathan of Breslov in Sippurei Ma'asiot, a collection of stories by...
— a Hasidic parable.
See also:
- Matthew effectMatthew effectThe Matthew effect may refer to:* Matthew effect , the phenomenon in sociology where "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer"* Matthew effect , the phenomenon in education that has been observed in research on how new readers acquire the skills to read...
- exemplificationExemplificationExemplification is a mode of symbolization characterized by the relation between a sample and what it refers to.- Description :Unlike ostension, which is the act of showing or pointing to a sample, exemplification is possession of a property plus reference to its label...
- comparisonComparisonComparison may refer to:-Language:* Comparison , a feature of many languages* Degree of comparison, an English language grammatical feature* Mass comparison, a test for the relatedness of languages-Mathematics:...