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Literature vocabulary · Genres and Forms

Parable

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In literature, parable means: A short illustrative story about a human situation that invites a moral or spiritual lesson.

In Turkish: ibret öyküsü, mesel

How it is used

Use for a story whose events invite a lesson beyond the immediate situation.

Example sentences

  1. The teacher read a parable about two neighbours who refused to share water.

    The neighbours' decision invites discussion of selfishness.

  2. The novel's closing parable asks readers to reconsider the meaning of generosity.

    A short final story guides the interpretation of a larger theme.

Common collocations

  • tell a parable
  • a moral parable
  • fableA short story, often with animal characters, that teaches a clear moral lesson through simple actions and consequences.
  • allegoryA story, poem or picture in which characters and events stand for abstract ideas or real situations, so that it has a second, hidden meaning, often moral or political.

More terms: Genres and Forms

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