Flashcards
Aesop's Fables
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Aesop's Fables — Study Flashcards
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Who wrote the introduction to this 1912 edition of Æsop's Fables? | G. K. Chesterton |
| Who translated this edition of Æsop's Fables? | V. S. Vernon Jones |
| Who illustrated this 1912 edition? | Arthur Rackham |
| Who was the historical Æsop, according to legend? | A Phrygian slave believed to have lived around the sixth century B.C., during the time of Croesus |
| According to legend, how did Æsop die? | He was said to have been thrown over a high precipice at Delphi |
| What is a "fable" according to Chesterton? | A story using impersonal, abstract animal characters (like pieces in chess) to teach a simple, universal truth |
| How does Chesterton distinguish a fable from a fairy tale? | A fable has no good human characters and animals that always act true to their fixed nature; a fairy tale depends entirely on human personality and choice |
| Why must animals in fables always act the same way (e.g., the fox is always crooked)? | Because fables work like symbols or chessmen—each creature represents a fixed truth, so the lion must always be strong and the fox must always be sly, without human complexity |
| What comparison does Chesterton make between Æsop and Uncle Remus? | Both were said to be slaves who were loved or worshipped and both told their best stories about beasts and birds |
| What comparison does Chesterton make between Æsop's Fables and Grimm's Fairy Tales? | Both are named after collectors rather than original creators; the true authors are anonymous and universal, but the collectors earned lasting fame for gathering them |
| What does Chesterton say is the "immortal justification" of the fable form? | It teaches the plainest truths simply, using animals, in a way that could not be done as clearly with human characters (since humans complicate simple truths with individual exceptions) |
| What example does Chesterton give about the fox and dishes? | That a fox who gets the most out of a flat dish may easily get the least out of a deep dish — illustrating how fables encode simple truths |
| What "truism" does Chesterton mention about the mouse and the lion? | A mouse is too weak to fight a lion, but too strong for the cords that can hold a lion |
| What does Chesterton say is the single moral underlying all fables? | That superiority is always insolent because it is always accidental; that pride goes before a fall; and that one can be "too clever by half" |
| Name three fables listed in the Contents that feature a fox. | "The Fox and the Grapes," "The Fox and the Crow," "The Fox and the Stork" (among others) |
| What fable in the Contents teaches about greed leading to loss? | "The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs" |
| What fable features a wolf pretending to be something he's not? | "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" |
| What fable is about a slow but steady competitor beating a faster one? | "The Hare and the Tortoise" |
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