Editing Parable (section)

==Characteristics==
[[File:Jan Wijnants - Parable of the Good Samaritan.jpg|thumb|left|[[Parable of the Good Samaritan]], as depicted by [[Jan Wijnants]] (1670)]]
A parable is a short tale that illustrates a universal truth; it is a simple [[narrative]]. It sketches a setting, describes an [[Action (philosophy)|action]], and shows the results. It may sometimes be distinguished from similar narrative types, such as the [[allegory]] and the [[apologue]].<ref name="fowler558">{{cite book|title=A Dictionary of Modern English Usage |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00fowlrich |url-access=registration |last=Fowler |first=H.W.|year=1965 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00fowlrich/page/558 558]}} See entry at '''simile and metaphor'''.</ref>

A parable often involves a character who faces a [[morality|moral]] dilemma or one who makes a bad decision and then suffers the [[unintended consequences]]. Although the meaning of a parable is often not explicitly stated, it is not intended to be hidden or secret but to be quite straightforward and obvious.<ref>[[George Fyler Townsend]], in his translator's preface to ''[[Aesop's Fables]]'' (Belford, Clarke & Co., 1887), defined the parable as being "purposely intended to convey a hidden and secret meaning other than that contained in the words themselves, and which may or may not bear a special reference to the hearer or reader." However, Townsend may have been influenced by the 19th century expression, "to speak in parables", connoting obscurity.</ref>

The defining characteristic of the parable is the presence of a [[subtext]] suggesting how a person should behave or what he should believe. Aside from providing guidance and suggestions for proper conduct in one's life, parables frequently use metaphorical language which allows people to more easily discuss difficult or complex ideas. Parables express an [[Abstract and concrete|abstract argument]] by means of using a concrete narrative which is easily understood.

The allegory is a more general narrative type; it also employs [[metaphor]]. An allegory may have multiple noncontradictory interpretations and may also have implications that are ambiguous or hard to interpret. As [[H.W. Fowler]] put it, 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, ..."<ref name="fowler558"/> The parable is more condensed than the allegory: it rests upon a single [[principle]] and a single moral, and it is intended that the reader or listener shall conclude that the moral applies equally well to his own concerns.
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