Parable
A short story that teaches a moral or spiritual lesson — most famously, the parables of Jesus.
A parable is a short, simple narrative used to illustrate a moral or spiritual point. The form is most strongly associated with the New Testament — the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan — but it is also central to Sufi, Zen, and Hasidic traditions.
A parable differs from an allegory in scale and method. An allegory sustains symbolic correspondences over a long work; a parable does its work in a paragraph and leaves the moral implicit, for the listener to draw out.
Many of the most-quoted lines in world literature come from parables, which is why so much aphorism inherits the rhythm of teaching.
“A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves.”
Keep reading the glossary
An extended metaphor in which characters or events stand for abstract ideas.
A short, sharp statement that compresses a truth or observation into a single line.
A figure of speech that describes one thing as if it were another.
The art of persuasive speaking and writing — the discipline behind every great quoted line.