Fables

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Fables

work by La Fontaine

Also known as: “The Complete Fables of Jean de la Fontaine”

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June 26, 2026

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Jean de La Fontaine's Fables are considered masterpieces of French literature. Published in two main collections (1668 and 1678-79), these fables are not original inventions but draw heavily from the Aesopic tradition and Eastern sources.12

La Fontaine transformed simple stories into miniature dramas, often featuring animals that speak and act like humans to highlight human follies and weaknesses. His fables offer a witty and insightful commentary on human nature, social hierarchy, and everyday moral experiences, often with a touch of skepticism and genial epicureanism. While sometimes satirical, his primary aim was to entertain and offer wisdom with a light, charming touch. The fables are celebrated for their poetic skill, diverse characters, and timeless portrayal of the human comedy.132

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Marc Chagall
Maturity
…poet Jean de La Fontaine’s Fables, with coloured illustrations resembling 18th-century prints. Chagall prepared 100 gouaches for reproduction, but it soon became evident that his colours were too complex for the printing process envisaged. He switched to black-and-white etchings, completing the plates in 1931. By this time Vollard had come…
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…poet Jean de La Fontaine’s Fables, with coloured illustrations resembling 18th-century prints. Chagall prepared 100 gouaches for reproduction, but it soon became evident that his colours were too complex for the printing process envisaged. He switched to black-and-white etchings, completing the plates in 1931. By this time Vollard had come…
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Jean de La Fontaine
…Paris) was a poet whose Fables rank among the greatest masterpieces of French literature.
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…Paris) was a poet whose Fables rank among the greatest masterpieces of French literature.
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fable, parable, and allegory
Influence of Jean de La Fontaine
He published his Fables in two segments: the first, his initial volume of 1668, and the second, an accretion of “Books” of fables appearing over the next 25 years. The 1668 Fables follow the Aesopian pattern, but the later ones branch out to satirize the court, the bureaucrats…
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He published his Fables in two segments: the first, his initial volume of 1668, and the second, an accretion of “Books” of fables appearing over the next 25 years. The 1668 Fables follow the Aesopian pattern, but the later ones branch out to satirize the court, the bureaucrats…
Read More

French literature
Nondramatic verse
Jean de La Fontaine’s Fables (1668; 1678–79; 1694; The Complete Fables of Jean de la Fontaine) succeed in transcending the limitations of the genre; and, although readers formerly concentrated heavily on the moral teaching they offer, it is possible to appreciate beneath their apparent naïveté the mature skills of…
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Jean de La Fontaine’s Fables (1668; 1678–79; 1694; The Complete Fables of Jean de la Fontaine) succeed in transcending the limitations of the genre; and, although readers formerly concentrated heavily on the moral teaching they offer, it is possible to appreciate beneath their apparent naïveté the mature skills of…
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light verse
…the English Puritans, and the Fables (1668, 1678–79, 1692–94) of Jean de La Fontaine, which create a comprehensive picture of society and minutely scrutinize its behavior.
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…the English Puritans, and the Fables (1668, 1678–79, 1692–94) of Jean de La Fontaine, which create a comprehensive picture of society and minutely scrutinize its behavior.
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