Knowra Jean de La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (1621–1695) was a French poet whose Fables recast inherited stories in lively verse, using animal characters to examine human conduct and social power.
Fable : A short narrative that uses characters and events to convey a moral or expose human behavior. La Fontaine made this compact narrative form the foundation of his best-known work.
La Fontaine's Fables : A twelve-book collection of French verse fables published between 1668 and 1694. This collection is the central achievement through which La Fontaine developed his distinctive method.
Nicolas Fouquet : A French statesman and patron of the arts who served as superintendent of finances under Louis XIV. Fouquet's patronage supported La Fontaine before the king's minister fell from favor.
Aesopic fables : Fables attributed to Aesop or composed in the tradition associated with his name. They provided a foundational store of plots and moral patterns for La Fontaine to recast.
Moralism : The practice of judging conduct through explicit principles of right and wrong. La Fontaine's morals often invite scrutiny rather than delivering a simple, uniform rule.
Aesop : An ancient Greek storyteller traditionally credited with a collection of animal fables. Aesop's stories supplied major plots that La Fontaine reshaped for French readers.
The Fox and the Grapes : An Aesopic fable in which a fox dismisses grapes it cannot reach as sour. La Fontaine's version shows how a familiar plot can become a compact study of self-deception.
Louis XIV : King of France from 1643 to 1715, whose reign centralized royal authority and patronage. La Fontaine's career unfolded amid the court culture and power of Louis XIV's reign.
Roman literature : Literature written in Latin in ancient Rome, including poetry, drama, and prose. Roman poets such as Phaedrus transmitted and reshaped fable material that La Fontaine later reused.
Social satire : Humorous criticism of social behavior, institutions, or hierarchies. His animal stories satirize pride, flattery, exploitation, and the unequal exercise of power.
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