Lessing Fable

Author: Lessing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: Most of the fables written by Lessing are adapted from Aesop, Roman, and Phaedrus, among others, from ancient Greece, but they have been rewritten to give new meaning. They are closely related to the political, ideological, and literary struggles in German society at the time, hence possessing a strong sense of reality. For example, in fables such as "The Water Snake," "The Fairy's Gift," "The Sheep," and "The Protected Lamb," through the depiction of snakes, wolves, kings, and Juno, readers naturally think of the cruelty, brutality, hypocrisy, and folly of the feudal autocratic rule in Germany. Other fables, such as "The Donkey and the Wolf," "The Goose," "The Donkey," "The Fawn and the Stag," and "The Mouse," offer sharp satire on the arrogance, ignorance, servility, and opportunism of the petty bourgeoisie in Germany. And so on. Lessing's fables have profound social content and political significance, with a strong sense of struggle and contemporaneity. Franz Mehring wrote when discussing Lessing's fables: "These fables are like 'continuous flames from small firearms.'" Thomas Mann, in a passage about Lessing, said: "He pricks foolishness, hates fraud, scourges servility and spiritual laziness, and upholds intellectual freedom with great respect."