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odd_buttonsThe following is an excerpt from Part III of the book Making Shapely Fiction, by Jerome Stern. The first two parts are very much worth reading as well. The book is available in paperback.
Parable
A parable is a very short tale that often carries a moral or spiritual message.
Unlike fables, which usually append a moral to be sure everyone gets the point, parables are often cryptic. Unlike allegories, which may be puzzling at first but have a code that, once understood, makes clear what everything means, parables do not have a clear relationship between the story and the interpretation. Biblical parables, the most famous of which are the parables of Jesus, tell of mustard seeds and bridesmaids; they dramatize subtle religious questions, but they often have several possible interpretations.
Contemporary parables are not easy to create. Would-be parable makers tend to fall into hokey oracular cadences or some other highly mannered style. Since parables are both mysterious and meaningful, they can sound confused and portentous. Writers of parables often neglect the first necessity -- to tell a good story well. But parables remain fascinating because of the tension between a brief anecdote and the elusive evocation of philosophical and spiritual mysteries. Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" develops the idea of the parable into a classic short story that admits of no single interpretation, and so remains forever open to new meanings.
See Allegory, Didacticism, Satire, Style.
Parable
A parable is a very short tale that often carries a moral or spiritual message.
Unlike fables, which usually append a moral to be sure everyone gets the point, parables are often cryptic. Unlike allegories, which may be puzzling at first but have a code that, once understood, makes clear what everything means, parables do not have a clear relationship between the story and the interpretation. Biblical parables, the most famous of which are the parables of Jesus, tell of mustard seeds and bridesmaids; they dramatize subtle religious questions, but they often have several possible interpretations.
Contemporary parables are not easy to create. Would-be parable makers tend to fall into hokey oracular cadences or some other highly mannered style. Since parables are both mysterious and meaningful, they can sound confused and portentous. Writers of parables often neglect the first necessity -- to tell a good story well. But parables remain fascinating because of the tension between a brief anecdote and the elusive evocation of philosophical and spiritual mysteries. Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" develops the idea of the parable into a classic short story that admits of no single interpretation, and so remains forever open to new meanings.
See Allegory, Didacticism, Satire, Style.