Jean De La Fontaine s Poetry Of Fables - 1495 Words

The first ever set of fables are associated with a Thracian slave who lived in the 6th century BC named Aesop. In fact, his work has taken its place to be some of the most admired in Ancient Greek History. Similarly, Phaedrus was another Thracian slave after being set free, whilst living in Rome, he completed 5 books of fables in verse, written in Latin; which some of these were adapted from the fables attributed to Aesop. The first edition of these were published by the Frenchman Pierre Pithou in 1596. Due to these two people and numerous others, Jean de la Fontaine was inspired to write 12 books of fables in Vers libres. La Fontaine was a poet well known, especially, for his fables. It is worth mentioning that La Fontaine wrote in†¦show more content†¦In my opinion, this fable suggests a grim but also a realistic view on the world as it implies that if you cannot help and survive yourself, others cannot help you, like the ant refused to help the cicada. Besides, this also implies that you shouldn t be lazy or depend on anyone else. For instance, the cicada relied on the ant for grain in the winter but the result was not as expected, we should stand on our own feet and be able to provide for ourselves. Furthermore, there is a well known, generalised theory that life is a paradox and so everything good is harmful which works for this fable because the cicada enjoyed himself all summer but it was harmful for him when it got to winter season. However in contrast, if we asked the ant whether he was content with his work, he would still not be satisfied even though he has everything he needs; he would want to collect more grain, collect more materials for his shelter. In a like manner, the ant is a character with concerns for the future whilst on the other hand the cicada is a character who lives in the moment with no interest in the future. Inconveniently, both characters carry out an excess of one thing, either working too hard or having fun whereas in r eality both of those things need to be balanced together, this could be another moral that La FontaineShow MoreRelatedGreek Mythology s Influence On The Arts And Literature Of Western Civilization2652 Words   |  11 Pageslong wanderings and adventures of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, as he travels home from the war. The fullest and most important source of myths about the origin of the gods is the epic Theogony. It was written by the Greek poet Hesiod about 700 BC. Hesiod s Works and Days, another source of myths, tells of various ages of humankind. Many of the ancient Greek lyric poets preserved various myths. The odes of the poet Pindar, who flourished in the 6th–5th century BC, are particularly rich in myth and legend