Question

Summary of the poem Fable by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Answer 1

"Fable" is a poem written by Ralph Waldo Emerson. A "fable" is a short tale to teach a lesson. A "prig" is someone who is self-righteous. In this tale, Emerson tells us to not judge others and try to understand that people unlike us also have qualities that we don't have. For example, the mountain may be able to carry forrests on his back but he can't crack a nut like a squirrel.

"Fable" is written as one stanza with 19 lines. The rhyme scheme is AABCBDDEEFFGHHIJKJK. As you can see, not all the lines rhyme. This is Emerson's way to put importance on a line and change the rhythm to change emotion.

Answer 2

Summary of the poem Fable by Ralph Waldo Emerson-

1. The poem  'Fable' is written by Ralph Waldo Emerson who was an American poet.

2. The poem conveys to the readers a moral lesson that is valuable for our life. The term 'fable' generally involves animal stories and these tales generally carry a lesson or a moral value within them.

3. The poem starts with a quarreling encounter between a squirrel and a mountain. The squirrel was mocked for his size and was said the squirrel thinks himself to be ethically superior or a pharisaic soul. The poem continues with the dispute between them. The mountain was enormous whereas the squirrel was comparatively trivial but, both were a part of the Universe. The mountain was a physical feature of the earth whereas the squirrel was a living element of the diversified eco-system. Both had different functions to execute and different activities to perform but both were an integral part of nature and this universe. Every single thing on the Earth comprises the whole universe, no matter what is the size of it.

4. The ethical lesson propagated is everything has got its unique significance and is equally important for the universe to function. Every element present performs in a coordinated manner to uphold the functions of the world.